Meet Anny Ha! She is a registered dietitian specializing in eating disorders and diabetes. She works with clients to empower them to break free from food rules, making mealtime easier. What Anny finds most fulfilling in her work is nurturing enduring relationships with clients and witnessing transformative change in them.
Take, for instance, a client with ARFID (avoidant/restrictive food intake disorder), whom she has been working consistently with for almost two years. He started out only consuming a limited selection of 4–5 foods. Now he embraces a diversity of different foods. He also has a newfound confidence in social dining situations with friends, his girlfriend, and his family. As they approach their final session, she sees a soon-to-be college graduate who is prepared to venture forth independently, equipped with the skills he has acquired and ready to build on them. She hopes that the tools he has developed in their time together will serve him for a lifetime.
Her approach
Anny’s approach involves incorporating regular meals or snacks during sessions, bringing practicality into the sessions. Nutrition is complex, but when she and a client can share a meal or snack together, the client gets to experience slowing down to enjoy a meal and a nice conversation, and they also learn what it feels like to choose a food that they really want to eat.
Sustainable healing is her goal. She regularly asks herself: “Can the strategies I’m employing now benefit this individual 5–10 years from today?” She often engages her clients in discussions about cultivating and sustaining healthy habits, emphasizing the importance of incremental progress. Sometimes, this entails focusing on a single habit for weeks or even months.
At its core, nutrition education is about supporting people to trust in themselves and listen to their own needs. So in Anny’s work with clients, she emphasizes:
- Individualized care
- A non-diet stance
- Weight neutrality
- Challenging thoughts about food, eating, and nutrition
- Practical guidance on how to bring more structure and balance to your eating
Healing from an eating disorder is possible.
Evolve offers individual, nutrition & group therapy using evidence-based techniques like cognitive behavioral therapy along with mindfulness & other holistic approaches.
If you’d like to work with a therapist or nutritionist specializing in eating disorder recovery, get in touch today for a free intake call.
