Volunteers Needed for Weight Management Counseling Experience

Senior dietetic students in the Department of Nutrition and Dietetics who are not registered dietitians will use this experience to prepare for dietetic internships and future professional practice.

Because the exercise is conducted by students, volunteers should not be following a special physician-recommended diet.

Appointments are available from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 26 or Friday, Oct. 28. A follow-up session will be scheduled when the original appointment is made. Follow-up appointments will be schedule from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Nov. 16, 18 or 30.

Volunteers will need to complete a three-day food record, a nutrition history and a weight history form, which will be emailed to participants by the student counselors. The forms should be returned to the student counselor so that they can prepare for each individual session.

At the scheduled sessions, dietetic students will perform a brief nutrition assessment and determine energy needs for the volunteer. Students then will help the volunteer develop behavior-change goals for a healthy lifestyle approach to weight management using motivational interviewing.

The first session will last about 60 minutes, and the second meeting will take approximately 30 minutes for follow-up goal-setting. Sessions will be videotaped so that the student and instructor can critique the student's counseling skills.

Anyone interested in helping students develop their counseling skills should call the Department of Nutrition and Dietetics at 314-977-8523 or email Melissa Baker at michellebaker@slu.edu with their preferred appointment date and time, phone number and email address.