Meet Corinne Dobbas, MS, RD, who contributed a spotlight with NutritionJobs back in 2011! Since then, she has revamped and enhanced her career to include more of a mindful approach to nutrition. She now specializes in eating disorders and body image coaching. Read on to learn about her fascinating career path and how she grew and became more enriched along the way. It’s so exciting to note that we can modify and grow within our industry and the options we have to practice what we love are endless. - Sarah

What attracted you to the field of nutrition and dietetics?
To be very candid, if you asked me 15 years ago, when I was in my DPD program, I would have told you that I got into this field because I wanted to help people live healthier lives. A part of that was very, very true. But, there was also a part of that that was stemming from my own disordered relationship with food and exercise. Yet, at the time I had no idea that it was disordered. I thought it was “healthy.”

Your Job Title?
Registered dietitian, certified intuitive eating counselor, and nutrition therapist.

Company you are with now?
My own practice, Corinne Dobbas Nutrition and Body Image Counseling in Marin County, California

Website:

https://corinnedobbas.com/

Social Media:

Instagram: @DietitianCorinne

Podcast: My Podcast (The Body Image Podcast)

Describe a typical (or not so typical) day-in-the-work-life for you?
I take care of my toddler in the morning. We watch Barney, go on a walk with the dogs, eat breakfast, play outside, play inside, and her babysitter who she adores comes and I switch into “work mode.” I see clients typically from 1 pm until 8 pm and work 3 days a week.

How did you get your current job in dietetics?
It has been a journey with various turns and twists, but I’m finally where I believe I’m supposed to be. I began my work in body image, disordered eating, and eating disorders, after spending some time working with clients through the traditional weight-normative approach in the first few years of my career (where the emphasis is on weight and weight loss when defining health and wellbeing). (I've been a dietitian for 10 years now.) It was in these early years in my career that I started to become disillusioned with our profession. I realized something had to change, as this weight-normative approach felt unethical, uncaring, and most of all, unhelpful for my clients. Ironically, it never helped me, so what was I doing trying to instill the same "healthy" habits in others that were actually quite disordered?! (e.g., drink water, if you're hungry because you may just be thirsty; stop eating at a certain time, etc.) This sets us up to be at war with our bodies and disconnects us from our bodies’ cues, which is what we need the most to build a kind, caring, compassionate relationship with our bodies. After all, even if we all ate and moved the same, different body shapes and sizes would still exist.

So, I left my practice and took a full-time job in social media and nutrition communications about 7 years ago. I also had some odd jobs along the way to help pay my bills, such as being a matchmaker for 1.5 years and working at a body positive gym to help them develop a better working environment. I also had a very small practice on the side. But, it was during this time that I began to hone my skills in working in a weight-inclusive, Health at Every Size® (HAES) informed way.

I started off working with clients who wanted to stop dieting, then clients who had disordered eating, then clients with body image concerns, and as my skills and training grew, I then started working with clients with eating disorders. So, I'll tell you that I've spent the latter part of my career engaged in clinical supervision with a wonderful CEDRD-S and in various trainings to enable me to competently and successfully work with individuals struggling with food and body image concerns, disordered eating, chronic dieting, and eating disorders. And it’s been one of the best decisions I ever made (or else I think I would have entirely left the field).

Today, I see clients in my office and online via video sessions and work from a weight-inclusive approach (where the emphasis is on viewing health and wellbeing as multifaceted and on reducing weight stigma). I am currently working towards certification to become a Certified Eating Disorder Registered Dietitian (CEDRD) through the International Association of Eating Disorder Professionals (iaedp). I hope to offer supervision to fellow dietitians, as I grow in my practice and skills one day soon.

What skills were you born with and what skills have you learned along the way?
I’m naturally very giving and fairly sensitive. I also have a very strong sense of self, which has been imperative in my work (and life). This is something I’ve honed with a lot of personal work, therapy, and life experience. I’ve had to learn how to be a better counselor and various counseling modalities to bring into my work from acceptance commitment therapy tools to embodiment practices and self-compassion. I’ve had to learn the best ways to work with adolescents and families and how to work in a therapeutic way with my clients. I’ve had to know that learning and investing in yourself as a clinician never ends, and your personal work matters just as much as how you’re showing up for your client. Lastly, I’ve had to wake up to an approach to health, wellness and nutrition that isn’t focused on weight, which I’m incredibly grateful for.

What advice do you have for others wanting to be just as successful and fulfilled as you?
To know that no matter how successful or fulfilled someone else looks that they are still just a human being with their own human struggles. And to know that growing is an inevitable part of the process of your work and that you’re allowed to change your perspective and what you stand for. That is growth!

If you could be paid for your job with something other than a paycheck, what
would it be?
Notes from clients sharing about how our work made a difference in their lives.