Any nutritional therapists?

Hi susananne. It depends why you ask. Many nutritional therapists struggle and fail to make a decent living. At the end of the day its all about value. Because what NTs off is an intangible service, one must then focus on the value one will get from working with him/her.

Thank you for your reply, I ask because at the moment I offer advice and write articles etc on nutrition without any payment. But was wondering how or if I could do it and get paid as it is something I feel passionately about and would like to make a income of it also, even if it was on a small scale

Nutrition Advisor and Nutritional Therapist are two different categories. Anyone can be a Nutrition Advisor, so the quality of the information they give can be variable.

But to call oneself a Nutritional Therapist you should be registered is with BANT or NTC and CNHC, which now requires a degree in Nutrition with clinical practitioner training too. Based on the understanding of biochemistry and Functional Medicine, a NT uses food and supplements to help the body heal from imbalances. The results can be amazing, and reputations are made from passing this information on to new clients.

However setting up in practice is only going to be as good as your ability to publicise yourself and possibly finding a niche market (if you are in a city conurbation). Clients pay you - it is not NHS yet - and need to buy supplements and quality food too, so a level of income to cover this is needed. Starting as part of a group of complementary therapists is probably going to be an easier option, and if you (as a new NT) do free consultations for all the other therapists, they can then see what you do and maybe refer some of their clients to you. Another part-time job is necessary, especially when starting off.

It is certainly not easy, as there is so very much to learn. For me it has been being sure of my facts and understanding so many different medical problems that held me back to a degree. However confidence grows with having clients recover from what has at times seemed intractable and also being able to sort them out when the doctors have come to a "Well, I'm sorry you'll have to live with it" situation. Nothing pleases me more than a client's recovery - it's brilliant.

The public are confused about [url]dietitians and Nutritional Therapists[/url], ([url]see here [/url]too) not understanding their different roles, which makes it a slow-starter too. However the message is gradually getting out about how much difference it is possible to make with someone's health status by following the right advice for the individual - each person has to be assessed individually, there is no one diet suits all situation - so hopefully as the message spreads then there will be a greater call for Nutritional Therapy rather than relying on drugs and/or surgery for every ailment.

Fellow students are doing well - I have had personal issues to contend with and for me it has been a stop-start process. I am happy to give general advice here too.