Meet EDRD Pro member Caroline Young, MS, RD, LD, RYT (she/her) of Whole Self Nutrition! Caroline is a non-diet registered dietitian and nutrition therapist, trauma-informed yoga teacher, and health communicator.
Keep reading to learn more about Caroline and her amazing work!
What’s your favorite meal?
This is a very hard question! I would say my favorite basic meal is homemade pizza with salad, and my favorite more elaborate meal is a Spanish seafood paella or Spanish tapas spread that must include Manchego.
If you could have dinner with anyone, who would it be, and why?
It would be my late grandfather or late mother-in-law who I never met because they both sound like such amazing and fun people.
What is a piece of career advice that you would share with someone starting off in the eating disorder field?
Remember you are a guide, not a savior, and that you are more than what you do.
What’s something that’s brought you joy recently?
Hiking in the mountains with my dog and smelling the roses in our garden.
What’s something you’ve learned recently?
Very few things in life merit urgency.
Why eating disorder treatment? What drives you to do this work?
I battled with my own eating disorder as a younger person, and once I reached true freedom, I knew I needed to show others that they can and deserve to arrive here, too.
Do you have specific areas of interest or special populations with whom you work?
Personally, I love working with people who are wanting to and ready to do the deeper work, underneath their food intake and symptoms, so they can reach lasting healing and live a values-aligned life. I work with all eating disorder diagnoses except ARFID (although the rest of my team works with ARFID!) and incorporate several techniques into my counseling, including nervous system regulation, internal family systems, mindfulness, and acceptance and commitment therapy.
What’s your favorite part about being involved in EDRD Pro?
I love the weekly Round Up newsletter to help me stay informed with new research and to read articles spanning a variety of topics. I also love knowing I can turn to the Facebook group for help when I need it.
What projects, products, or services do you offer that you want to share with our audience?
Within my private practice, Whole Self Nutrition, we (myself and three other RDs) offer virtual non-diet and weight-inclusive nutrition counseling for all ages, genders, and diagnoses.
Within my work as a media dietitian and nutrition communicator, I offer several services including freelance blog and article writing, webinars, nutrition and yoga videos, recipe development, resource creation, nutrition media consulting, and more.
As a yoga teacher, I offer private online classes for individuals and groups and also offer occasional workshops through Yoga for Eating Disorders.