Strategies for Nutrition Counselling

Identify Challenges and Overcome Client Barriers to Health Behaviour Change

Do you ever feel like you get stuck when counselling your clients?

You’ve given them recipes, meal plans and endless nutrition tips with advice, but they are ambivalent, still making the same nutrition, food, and body choices without ever really moving forward?

You meet with a client for a few sessions and they are gone, or they keep coming back dissatisfied with their progress?

Do you want to go deeper with clients, but aren't sure where to start?

If so, it might be time to learn how to transition from being a nutrition educator to a nutrition counsellor!

Counselling skills aren't taught in school. It's something we've had to pick up along the way - many times, unsure how to use the tools we should all be taught!

Do you wish you had:

  • A set of tools to deconstruct patient eating behaviours
  • Understand the barriers and competing commitments clients struggle with?
  • The ability to move your client forward without 'telling them' what to do?

If you want to expand your nutrition counselling tool-kit, you’ve come to the right place!


Join our Workshop Replay - available for you on demand!


Your Instructor


Susan Watson, RD + CIEC
Susan Watson, RD + CIEC

Susan Watson is a registered dietitian and a certified intuitive eating counselor. She is the co-founder of Nutrition Academy and owner of A Little Nutrition Inc. based in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. A Little Nutrition Inc. incorporates a team approach to health by having a dedicated team of registered dietitians, therapists, and occupational therapists. With her extensive expertise and passion for promoting a good relationship with food, Susan co-founded Nutrition Academy to help empower individuals to cultivate a positive relationship with food and provide valuable non-diet weight-inclusive resources for healthcare providers. Susan incorporates Health at Every Size® Principles into her practice.


We've all been there. Helping a client on their nutrition journey is challenging, especially when you feel like you've done all the things possible, but the changes aren't sticking.

Moving from nutrition education to counselling requires a specific skill set and tools - but many of us aren't given a chance to learn or develop these skills!

You CAN learn to apply counselling skills and tools in client sessions and make a lasting impact on a clients health behaviour change!

If you want to get deeper with clients and start to build these practice-changing skills - you're in the right place.

After training countless staff, we realized - nutrition counselling is something you have to 'figure out' after graduating. And we wanted to change that.

Using tools, scripts, and resources we use to train our staff, Susan will be teaching you exactly what you need to know to have an effective session with a client - at any stage of change through the lens of HAES & an intuitive eating practice model.


In this workshop you will learn how to

  • Define and develop the therapeutic relationship
  • Address the “Therapist trap”
  • Office atmosphere, appointment styles, grounding techniques
  • Questions you should be asking all of your client at every appointment
  • Start out on the right foot by learning how to call out the 'elephant in the room'
  • Tailor a care plan or treatment plan for a client
  • Understand the difference between empathy and sympathy and prevent compassion fatigue
  • How to initiate the conversation with clients to go below the surface of their issues
  • Learn to let go of the 'righting reflex'
  • Utilize OARS effectively (Open questions, affirmation, reflective listening, and summary reflections)
  • Understand clients cognitive distortions and how to address them in counselling sessions
  • 3 nutrition counselling tools/ strategies that address barriers to change

By the end of this workshop you will be able to:

  • Know how to ask the right questions to go deeper with your clients and address the root problems they face
  • Learn what it takes to listen (REALLY listen!)
  • Gain confidence in how to transition from an educator role & effectively take on a nutrition counsellor role


PLUS! Get handouts and guided scripts to use with patients!


Excited? Let’s do this!

Frequently Asked Questions


When does the course run?
This workshop is the replay of a live workshop event and is available for you on demand, on your own schedule!
How long do I have access to the course?
How does lifetime access sound? After enrolling, you have unlimited access to this course for as long as you like - across any and all devices you own.
Does this course provide CE credit?
This course will provide you with a certificate for the training which you may use to meet your college competency requirements, contingent on your college's rules and regulations.
Can I share this course with my colleagues?
NO. You cannot share the login for your account. This course, as with all Nutrition Academy courses, are licensed for individual use only. We appreciate you respecting our intellectual property and all the support you give us!

Ready to feel CONFIDENT in client counselling and have a box full of tools you can use to go DEEPER and be MORE EFFECTIVE with clients?


Then this workshop is for you!

Get started now!