Introduction – Assessment

Understanding the client’s current intake, dietary restrictions, and relationship with food is essential before giving restricted diet recommendations.

Look for patterns that suggest a particular food sensitivity (e.g., the client is experiencing digestive issues with high FODMAP foods). Unfortunately, clients usually do not fit neatly into a box (e.g., their history sounds like FODMAP intolerance, but they also report problems with low FODMAP foods).

Clients usually like answering questions with a lot of detail. FINALLY- someone is listening! I still find it challenging to balance letting the client talk versus conducting a more structured assessment. If you must redirect your client, paraphrase their concerns, and shift the conversation. For example, “It sounds like you have been frustrated with not getting the follow-up that you were expecting from your doctor.  You said that you were diagnosed with celiac disease. When was that?”