6 Secrets of a Nutritional Psychologist that Can Forever Change Your Practice

6 Secrets of a Nutritional Psychologist that Can Forever Change Your Practice

by Marc David

After being in practice as a healer, counselor, coach, teacher, mentor and facilitator for over 30 years, I’ve made enough mistakes and stumbled upon enough insights to finally feel qualified to say that I’ve learned some important lessons that I’d love to share with you. My hope is that you’ll be the kind of helping professional who is truly effective, serves others in a brilliant way, and experiences the inner and outer rewards of being gifted at your craft.

So here’s how I’d like to be your mentor for today: I’ve come up with 6 principles of counseling in the nutritional and eating psychology realm that I have found to be very powerful guidelines in helping practitioners to turbo-charge their personal growth and professional effectiveness. Please note the word “growth.” As long as we are growing in our own personal universe, in our professional skill-set, and in relation to our own challenges  – we can expect that the universal law of “inner richness reflecting outer richness” to graciously operate in our lives.

With that said, please consider the following 6 guidelines:

1. You don’t need to know “everything” in order to help people

Many practitioners have a core belief that they need to know every single bit of arcane and rare nutritional information in order to be qualified to help others. This is a trap, and it’s simply a version of “perfectionism.” If someone comes to you with a problem you can’t solve, then send them on their way, or refer them to someone better. Doctors do this all the  time. Trust that the wisdom of life has sent you every client for a reason. Stop filling the airwaves with doubt and let your practice teach you as you go along. Be confident about the  things you DO know.

2. You don’t need to have the perfect body and perfect health to serve others and make a powerful difference in their lives

Are you familiar with this one? Far too many healers and coaches are caught in the trap of believing that they need the perfect body or perfect weight or perfect health as a  prerequisite to help others. Ouch. The point is, none of us are perfect, and perfectionism itself IS the dis-ease we are looking to help others heal from. Stop putting so much pressure on yourself, do your best to get over it, love what is, embrace what you have, and relax into the fact that we are all a work in progress. Can you be big enough to be kind to yourself in this way?

3. See the beautiful opportunity in our challenges around weight, body image and health

Far too many practitioners and an even greater percentage of clients hold the false belief that our unwanted symptoms and habits and ailments are “problems.” We see our health challenges or eating issues as the enemy that must be attacked and defeated. This is an insane strategy that seldom works.  How can attacking oneself possibly lead to healing.  Has war ever led to peace?  Has self-hate ever been a useful road to self-love?  We cannot fight our health challenges and food issues.  It’s about loving them.  It’s about seeing these as amazing opportunities for growth and healing and personal evolution. That’s why those challenges are there in the first place. To help us grow and unfold in ways we could not have imagined.

4. Stop fixing, and start deepening and relating and listening

This is a big one. Most practitioners believe that it’s their job to “fix” people. You can fix a car, or a computer, or any widget in the mechanical universe. But you can’t fix a human because none of us are truly “broken.” We are spiritually whole beings who may have food issues, health issues, or life threatening diseases. But we are still not broken. When people believe they are broken, they become victims – disempowered, helpless, and without their true creative potential ever reached. Don’t fix you clients. Love them, coach them, cheerlead them, educate them, and see them as whole human beings who are learning deeper soul lessons on planet earth.

5. Stop trying to “get client’s” and focus on giving your gift

So many practitioners are concerned and stressed about “getting” clients. Of course, this makes perfect sense. The problem is, clients are not “things” that one acquires. When we focus our energy on getting clients from a place of lack or fear, our life becomes more uptight and it’s easy to attract clients who simply aren’t a good match for us. Yes, we need to market ourselves and do some great PR or advertising. But do it from a place where you are looking to give your gift to the world, not from a place of  “ I need more clients, I need more money.” As you can tell, when we “need” clients, we often show up as “needy.” And who wants to be the client of a needy practitioner? Attract your clients from a place of abundance, confidence, humility, and patience. Neediness won’t build your practice.

6. Redefine “Success” with clients – help them in their largest goal, not just their smaller ones

One of the greatest mistakes practitioners make is that they aren’t clear and conscious around how they measure success with their clients. Most health professionals measure success in terms of our client having no more symptoms, no more disease, no more overeating, and they’ve lost all the weight they wanted to lose. This all sounds nice and sweet, but it’s seldom the case. Our ailments and unwanted habits are here to teach us. They aren’t merely an enemy that we are trying to get rid of. Redefine success with clients to mean that ultimately, success is about your client expressing their fullest potential and creativity in their life. The more you can help them be who they are truly meant to be in their relationships, in their career, with family, and in their inner world – the more their body and metabolism can express it’s fullest potential.

I hope you can see the beauty in making your professional practice not just a business, but as a vehicle to learn about yourself, to grow, to evolve, and to serve others by giving the gifts you are here to give. What better way to build a business and a career? If this approach intrigues you, please feel free to learn more about our work and our programs at the Institute for the Psychology of Eating. We offer powerful trainings in eating psychology and mind body nutrition that are cutting edge and unlike anything you’ll find.

Marc David

Best selling Author and Founder of:

The Institute for the Psychology of Eating

Psychologyofeating.com

We’re now enrolling for our Professional Certification Training in Boulder Colorado that begins in October, and our Professional TeleTraining that begins in September. Please go to our website to learn more, and feel free to spread the good word.  Questions?  Call us at 303-440-7642 or email info@psychologyofeating.com.