What major would you consider this?

[I_royalty_I]

I have looked around a little bit trying to find the answer to this but figured I would ask you guys because everyone here is very knowledgeable!

Something that is psychology related, yet ties in with nutrition. More specifically, talking out issues related to eating disorders. Is there a specific specialty in psychology to deal with that or something?

[Umbreon]

I believe they're literally generally just called specialists.

There are tons of sub-categories for specialists in psychology.

Like there are some that deal specifically with eating disorders, self-harm, sleeping disorders, children, etc etc.

I don't think there's a specific major, other than taking psychology in general, and then taking extra classes such as nutrition classes along-side that.

There are positions at hospitals called nutrition/dietary specialists, but they usually deal with just preparing patient meals and whatnot. I'm not sure how much that ties in with psychology work, but it may be a thing to look into if you're wanting to go into the field for psychological nutrition-based stuff, to get more acclimated with the specific dietary stuff.

[I_royalty_I]

I wasn't too sure if it would involve just going through the psychology work and then maybe minoring in something nutrition based or if there was an actual major kind of thing that you could do for that. My gf has been trying to decide what to go back to school for and after a lot of chatting this seemed to combine a lot of things that she was passionate about so I was looking around trying to get a better idea of what sort of classes and such it would entail. What you said definitely makes sense though and lines up with what I had thought.

[Umbreon]

I would tell her to look into local hospital or maybe even nursing homes - any care facility and see if they'll let her volunteer for their nutritional work. Most hospitals will hire people with little to not experience to do that kind of work, or some places will even let you volunteer!

I knew a guy that worked at a hospital as a dietary specialist, and he had zero experience in the field. My sister also worked at a hospital as a dietary specialist while she was going to school.
They pay decent money too, and it'd probably be good part-time work for her to get used to the environment and see if it's really something she's interested in with the nutrition aspect, while she goes back to school for psychology. Would be really good experience on a resume in the future, as well!

[Ribbon]

That looks within the scope of practice of a psychiatrist who has specialised in ED. Since interdisciplinary care is very important nowadays, other health professionals like social workers & dietitians & nurses etc. will also be involved but the psychiatrist is probably the one who takes the biggest involvement in the patient's life. There's also a few clinics that specialise in eating disorders which hire a whole team of different health professionals because there is a big overlap in who can help somebody recover from their eating disorder.
Take this with a grain of salt though, since I'm more familiar with the health practices of Australia than the US and we all know those two countries aren't directly comparable.

[I_royalty_I]

I would tell her to look into local hospital or maybe even nursing homes - any care facility and see if they'll let her volunteer for their nutritional work. Most hospitals will hire people with little to not experience to do that kind of work, or some places will even let you volunteer!

I knew a guy that worked at a hospital as a dietary specialist, and he had zero experience in the field. My sister also worked at a hospital as a dietary specialist while she was going to school.
They pay decent money too, and it'd probably be good part-time work for her to get used to the environment and see if it's really something she's interested in with the nutrition aspect, while she goes back to school for psychology. Would be really good experience on a resume in the future, as well!

That would definitely be worth looking into! I think she wants to focus more on eating disorders and helping people overcome them and become healthier moreso than doing the dietary planning sort of thing by itself. But with getting a feel for things by working at a hospital or something like that, it would certainly allow her to get a feel for what it would be like. Things like that would always look good on a resume too. Good point!

[Umbreon]

That would definitely be worth looking into! I think she wants to focus more on eating disorders and helping people overcome them and become healthier moreso than doing the dietary planning sort of thing by itself. But with getting a feel for things by working at a hospital or something like that, it would certainly allow her to get a feel for what it would be like. Things like that would always look good on a resume too. Good point!

Yeah, working at a hospital probably won't DIRECTLY help her, but it'll help a bit. Kinda like volunteering at an animal shelter if you're interested into going into a veterinary field. (':

Hope she figures everything out, though! I'm still trying to decide what to do with my life ahah.

[I_royalty_I]

That looks within the scope of practice of a psychiatrist who has specialised in ED. Since interdisciplinary care is very important nowadays, other health professionals like social workers & dietitians & nurses etc. will also be involved but the psychiatrist is probably the one who takes the biggest involvement in the patient's life. There's also a few clinics that specialise in eating disorders which hire a whole team of different health professionals because there is a big overlap in who can help somebody recover from their eating disorder.
Take this with a grain of salt though, since I'm more familiar with the health practices of Australia than the US and we all know those two countries aren't directly comparable.

I'm sure things are relatively similar even with you being familiar with that Australian side of things and me being in the US. It's still treating the same thing. It would make sense for there to be a whole team of people to help out for something like that though. I don't have very much experience with either field so it's difficult for me to figure out what sort of environment one could find themselves in while looking to start a career with something like this.

---------- Post added at 02:49 PM ---------- Previous post was at 02:47 PM ----------

Yeah, working at a hospital probably won't DIRECTLY help her, but it'll help a bit. Kinda like volunteering at an animal shelter if you're interested into going into a veterinary field. (':

Hope she figures everything out, though! I'm still trying to decide what to do with my life ahah.

Definitely! It would help with one side of things and give experience there. I think the psychology side would require more schooling anyway, so the volunteering or working somewhere like that would provide some great experience.

I'm hoping to be done with my degree this summer and I still don't know if it's what I want to do for the rest of my life. Decisions are hard!

[Sci_Girl]

Keep in mind that a Psychiatrist is a Medical Doctor. Medical school is required for that.

Clinical psychology is a route in hospitals or private practice that would deal with eating disorders, as a specialty avenue. To attain that is a full psychology degree, the whole 4 years. Most often graduate school is required after that as well. But I have seen positions in hospitals focusing on eating disorders and the applicant just need to be registered as a clinical psychologist.

A registered psychologist is the big thing to get though. Once you have the psych degree you need to apply for registration, then you can do the multitude of specialities. Research what the requirements for a registered psychologist or therapist is in your area. Sometimes it is more courses sometimes it is just an exam.

No matter what to help people in that manner will require a good amount of schooling. I would say have her go to a University and meet with an advisor. They are super good at steering people in the right direction.

[Ribbon]

Medicine is definitely the most guaranteed path that someone can take to help people with eating disorders. Psychology/psychologist is another option. But both of those courses take a lot of blood/sweat/tears/money and it's certainly not for everyone so she has to be 1000% sure that this is what she wants to do. If she picks a nursing/dietitian/occupational therapist/etc. the course is easier, but those people usually end up elsewhere. Even dietitians will see more people that are overweight/obese or people with diabetes/with modified diets. Real life decisions are hard indeed D: