Nutritional Therapist
What is the work like?
Nutritional therapists help people to improve and maintain their health and sense of wellbeing through diet and nutrition. They use their knowledge of food and nutrition to give advice on diet, which may encourage the body’s natural healing process.
As a nutritional therapist, your work would start with a consultation with your clients. This would involve:
- taking a detailed medical history, covering their moods, stress levels, digestion, diet, exercise and family history
- conducting diagnostic tests, using hair samples and allergy testing
- encouraging clients to understand the link between diet and their own future health.
When you have gained a true picture of your client's needs, you would then provide one-to-one counselling, together with an individual therapeutic diet programme. This may focus on which foods to eliminate or increase, vitamin or mineral supplements and other lifestyle changes.
You could see people of all ages with problems relating to issues with their skin, digestion, stress, migraine, and allergies. Your clients could also include people with chronic illness or children with behavioural or weight problems.
What qualifications and experience will employers look for?
There is no legal requirement for you to complete a specified course or join a professional register. However, to enhance your status with potential clients and employers, you would need to work towards registration with the Nutritional Therapy Council (NTC).
The NTC (a voluntary regulatory body) works closely with the British Association of Nutritional Therapists (BANT) and the Wholistic Nutritional Medicine Society (WNMS) to regulate the practice of nutritional therapy.
You can join the NTC based on your experience and training or by completing an NTC accredited course (these generally lead to a degree or diploma in nutritional therapy). To get on to an approved course you will usually need:
- at least five GCSEs (A-C)
- two or three A levels, possibly including human biology or chemistry.
Alternative qualifications may also be accepted – check with course providers (listed on the NTC website) for details.
If you already have a degree you may be able to do a postgraduate course in nutritional therapy. However, some courses at this level target qualified medical practitioners or other state registered health care professionals, such as dentists, pharmacists, nurses or midwives.
A driving licence will be useful for this work.
New regulatory body
The NTC has worked closely with the Prince's Foundation of Integrated Health (PFIH) to develop a single, regulatory body for a wide range of complementary therapies. The new register is expected to be launched during 2008. See the PFIH website for details and a link to the new Complementary and Natural Healthcare Council (CNHC).
What further training and development can I do?
Once you are on an NTC approved course, you will study areas such as health sciences, nutritional therapeutics and practice management. You will also usually have a minimum of 50 hours' supervised clinical practice with clients.
As a qualified and registered nutritional therapist, you will be expected to keep your skills and knowledge up to date. There are a range of professional bodies you could join, such as the BANT or WNMS, which can give you access to a range of professional development opportunities like lectures, workshops and networking events, as well as professional indemnity insurance – check their website for details.
Where can I go for more information?
33 - 41 Dallington StreetLondon
EC1V 0BB
Tel: 0203 1193 100
London
WC1N 3XX
Tel: 0870 606 1284
Farnborough
Kent
BR6 7ED
Tel: 020 7935 3533 Goldsmiths House
Broad Plain
Bristol
BS2 0JP
Tel: 0117 922 1155
Maidenbower
Crawley
West Sussex
RH10 7HL
Bournemouth
BH1 9BL
If you would like to discuss your career options with a learning adviser, call 0800 100 900 or use our online enquiry form
Alternatively, you can visit our website at: www.direct.gov.uk/careersadvice
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What salary and other benefits can I expect?
- Starting salaries can be around £15,000 a year.
- With experience this can rise to between £20,000 and £30,000 a year.
The majority of nutritional therapists are self-employed and charge an hourly rate, which can be between £40 and over £100 an hour.
Figures are intended as a guideline only.
What are the hours and working conditions?
You would usually work in a health clinic or other therapeutic setting and occasionally in patients' homes. There are no set working hours, however, you may need to cover evenings and weekends to meet clients' needs.
You are likely to work at more than one centre, or have clients in more than one place.
What skills and knowledge will I need?
- empathy with your patients
- sensitivity to the needs of your clients
- a genuine desire to help people
- the ability to understand scientific and nutritional concepts and information
- the ability to communicate complex information and treatment plans
- time management skills
- good listening and negotiation skills
- a logical approach to problem solving
- the ability to keep an emotional distance from clients
- an understanding of when to refer a patient to a conventional medical practitioner.
What opportunities are there?
Demand for nutritional therapy is increasing and you may find opportunities for work throughout the country within private practice, and occasionally with organisations such as the prison service, NHS and mental health groups.
As a qualified nutritional therapist you are likely to be self-employed. To be successful you need to build up and maintain a sound reputation and client base. You will need to be prepared to market your business, which may involve working long hours at first until you have established your practice.
Depending on your area of interest, you may be able to build up links with local healthcare providers and receive referrals from GPs and local maternity services. You may also find opportunities within health promotion or in areas such as sport development, the media and marketing.
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