In a healthcare industry that shifted much more virtual during the COVID-19 pandemic, many healthcare practitioners are back to offering services in-person, while others are choosing to remain virtual or partially virtual. While remaining virtual likely (hopefully!) has nothing to do with the pandemic at this point, this relatively recent shift in virtual care has illuminated how virtual healthcare does have its benefits, for certain conditions and situations.

As someone who works as a dietitian offering virtual nutrition counseling services for eating disorders / disordered eating, in today’s blog post I wanted to highlight 4 key benefits of virtual nutrition counseling (specifically for eating disorder recovery).

Virtual nutrition counseling isn’t right for everyone, and a certain severity of disordered eating warrants in-person medical care. That being said, by highlighting some of the benefits of virtual nutrition counseling below, hopefully this post helps you discern whether seeing a dietitian virtually might be a helpful next step to take in your recovery journey.

Benefits of Virtual Nutrition Counseling for Eating Disorders

Better continuity of care

One of the main benefits of virtual nutrition counseling for eating disorder recovery is the ability to keep seeing the same dietitian even if you have a major life transition like going away to college or moving, provided you are still within the same state (or are heading to a state where your dietitian is licensed). Your dietitian might even be willing to get licensed in the state you are heading to!

One of the BEST predictors of healing and success in recovery from an eating disorder is the quality of the relationship you have with your dietitian and therapist.

Virtual nutrition counseling can be an invaluable asset to your recovery when it allows you to keep seeing a practitioner who you’ve formed a close and healing relationship with. Most of us are familiar with how challenging it can be to find someone who is a good fit, and to take the time to start over with your story and forming a new relationship!

With virtual nutrition counseling, when you are already experiencing a big life change, sessions with your dietitian are one thing that can remain stable. This stability can be gold in your ongoing recovery.

Dramatically increased convenience 

Given the frequency of sessions generally needed to recover from an eating disorder, having these sessions be as convenient as possible is especially helpful.

Whether you are in between classes, crazy-busy studying for an upcoming exam, or taking a break during your work day, being able to simply hop on Zoom and get the care you need is so much easier and less stressful than taking anywhere from a few minutes to an hour or more to drive to an appointment!

Going back to our first point, when sessions are dramatically more convenient, we are also more likely to be consistent in pursuing / receiving our eating disorder recovery support. Convenience and consistency go hand in hand in making your recovery that much more obtainable.

Using technology to enhance sessions

My favorite benefit of virtual nutrition counseling for eating disorders is the ability to creatively use technology to enhance client sessions. This is something that I do routinely in sessions with clients, and the “work” we do together directly over and using the computer is key to facilitating healing and growth.

Examples of how I might use technology to enhance client sessions include:

• Typing up what I call a “processing document” before a session with questions to process and take notes together on as I share my screen. These documents and the processing questions on them are directly related to what a client is specifically struggling with psychologically and emotionally when it comes to her relationship with food.
• Screen sharing and looking at Pinterest, food blogs, or my meal/snack ideas handouts to brainstorm ways to add variety and increase satisfaction in food choices.
• Screen sharing and seamlessly switching between key client handouts as we discuss relationship with food dynamics. I would consider my sessions with clients highly visual. Most people find visuals helpful in describing how they are feeling or in exploring a new concept, both of which are essential in eating disorder recovery!

Increased options for better care

With the ability to see clinicians virtually, the world becomes your oyster when it comes to finding someone who is both highly competent and a good fit relationally for you in supporting your eating disorder recovery.

As long as the dietitian you want to work with is licensed in the state in which you live, he or she could be an option for you! With virtual care, you are no longer confined to the handful of (potentially mediocre) options within driving distance of you.

If you are someone who has “tried this whole recovery thing before” and are hesitant about giving it another go, maybe getting synced up with a dietitian who is a better fit for you is one missing piece that might help you move forward.

On the flip side, if you are new to recovery, I’d encourage you to consider virtual care as an option for getting the best care you can find!

Interested in exploring if working together would be a good fit?

Currently I am licensed to see clients in Michigan, Idaho, Texas, Arizona, and Colorado. You can read more about my counseling style and the clients I work with by heading here.

You are also welcome to book a free consultation call where we can discuss the possibility of working together one-on-one. I’d love to chat more and hear what’s been going on in your relationship with food, and how I might be able to support you.

Ways to connect more!

–> Follow me on Instagram
–> Book a free consultation call
–> Check out the blog for more recovery content 💫