Volunteers Needed for Weight Management Counseling Sessions

10/20/2020

Dietetic students are seeking volunteers from the SLU community for a four-week weight management and nutrition counseling experiences.

Initial appointments will be made from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 28, or at the same time on Friday, Oct. 30.

Three follow-up appointments will occur between 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. on Wednesdays or Fridays. The four-week experience will end on Tuesday, Nov. 24.

What to Expect

All sessions will occur via telehealth. After scheduling the first appointment, you will receive an email with instructions and a calendar invite.

At the scheduled sessions, student counselors will perform a brief nutrition assessment and determine your energy needs. Student counselors will then help you 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, third, and fourth meetings will take between 30 to 60 minutes depending on your goals and preference. Student counselors will record the sessions to aid in improving their counseling skills.

Senior dietetic students in the department, who are not registered dietitians, will use this experience to prepare for dietetic internships and future professional practice.

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

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

Anyone interested in helping students develop their counseling skills should email Kate Aragonwith her, his or their preferred appointment date and time, phone number and email address.

For those wishing to participate and who are not available on those dates or times, please contact Kate Aragon or  Maria Romo-Palafox, Ph.D., and the project organizers will try to accommodate your schedule.

You may withdraw at any time.

You are not required to complete all four weeks of counseling.

Maria Romo-Palafox, Ph.D., supervises the students. The counseling sessions are part of the lab for the course, DIET 4500.

Submitted by Haley Pucel.