Colette West
Colette West
My aim for all of my clients is total recovery, and I am positive that this is achievable. I recognise that this looks different for each person, so I work on an individual basis and every plan or goal is personalised to the client.
Consultations are not always about a meal plan, weight or BMI, but establishing a better understanding of the role nutrition plays in health and well-being, along with having a better relationship with food.
My approach is client-led and I strongly believe in progress/recovery being led by the client. I am flexible, friendly, and empathic and aim to develop a trusting relationship that facilitates better outcomes and ultimately recovery.
Experience:
I have worked in the community covering residential/care homes, assisted living and substance misuse, specialist accommodation, domiciliary care, and GP dietetic practices, treating a wide range of medical issues. My dietetic experience also covers delivering nutrition and health education, plus psychoeducation to service users, and other health care professionals.
I have worked for over two and a half years in a Tier 4 eating disorder unit, covering both in and outpatients. In this setting, I had the opportunity to support service users who have diagnoses of eating disorders with other complex comorbidities such as Borderline Personality Disorders, Autism, OCD, and Pervasive Arousal Withdrawal Syndrome (PAWS).
I currently work as an advanced specialist eating disorder dietitian at the East London NHS Foundation Trust, where I am developing services for the disordered eating pathway of the Transformation Project. I work alongside colleagues who are experts by experience, carers, and also those who have lived the experience of eating disorders. My clients include but are not limited to those with a diagnosis of Anorexia Nervosa, Binge Eating Disorder, Bulimia Nervosa, Avoidant/Restrictive Food Intake Disorder (ARFID), and Other Specified Feeding or Eating Disorders (OSFED). For clients with disordered eating, I also do food exposure and workshops challenging food fears, food rules, and myths around food and diet culture.
Through this collaborative working, I have gained a greater insight into effective treatments and have received confirmation of what works and what doesn’t, when it comes to nutrition therapy. This has improved my approach and will greatly enhance my practice.
Qualifications:
I qualified as a dietitian from London Metropolitan University in 2015 and my dietetic experience includes extensive nutrition support which includes meal plans, oral nutritional supplements, texture modified diets, and nasogastric tube feeding, along with food fortification.
