Read our Frequently Asked Questions
Step One
As RDs who specialize in eating disorders, disordered eating, and Intuitive Eating, we help clients get in touch with their hunger and fullness cues, honor their cravings and their bodies, and learn to use nutrition knowledge to fit their lifestyles and medical conditions.
We also align with the Health at Every Size® movement, which is an approach to becoming as healthy as possible - physically, mentally, and emotionally - regardless of size, weight, or BMI.
By working with one of our RDs, you will learn skills to challenge unhelpful food rules, harmful diet culture beliefs, and pitfalls that sabotage our relationship with food and our bodies. Your dietitian will help support you in creating realistic goals that align with your food values to help you take care of yourself physically and emotionally.
We are accepting of all bodies, genders, orientations, races, ethnicities, and abilities.
We offer virtual appointments through a HIPAA-compliant video conferencing software as well as in-person appointments at our offices in Thousand Oaks, CA. We are currently offering in-person sessions during the COVID-19 pandemic while taking appropriate measures, like distancing, sanitizing hands and surfaces, and wearing masks.
Thank you so much!! Health care providers can fill out one of the referral forms that are linked here.
Our appointments are 50-60 minutes and we often start seeing clients once per week (because if we’re hitting a roadblock with our goals, more than a week is a long time to wait when we need to eat multiple times every day!)
Appointments will be highly individualized, much like therapy sessions, as they are very client-focused based on your current goals, challenges, and concerns.
During the initial session, your dietitian will review your health history and explore your current and past relationship with food and body. Over the next few appointments, we will complete our assessment and work with you to formulate a plan to best meet your needs and help you to feel empowered on your journey to becoming an intuitive eater.
During follow-up appointments, we will discuss progress, barriers, and wins (!!). You will work with your dietitian to process your concerns, celebrate your successes, and create new goals to move you forward on your road to food freedom and body peace. You can also keep a food log to help us work together in learning about your experiences with food and track any physical symptoms you’re experiencing. Your dietitian will also help you with all food-related tasks to set you up for success, like making grocery lists, planning meals for the week, and fitting all your meals and snacks into your schedule to keep you fueled and satisfied.
A Registered Dietitian Nutritionist (RDN) is more than a nutritionist. RDNs are accredited by the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics and must pass a rigorous national exam to become experts in nutrition. All RDNs complete extensive academic coursework in biochemistry, metabolism, medical nutrition therapy, food science, research, and eating behaviors. Registered Dietitian Nutritionists also complete a year of internship rotations as part of an accredited nutrition program, including clinical rotations in hospitals to apply nutrition science to care for critically ill patients. RDNs also must complete Continuing Education to maintain their accreditation. However, nutritionists or certified nutrition experts have completed degrees or certification programs in nutrition.
In other words, all RDNs are nutritionists, but not all nutritionists are RDNs.
This completely depends on the individual. Some clients with eating disorders or who are working on their relationship with food will work with their treatment team for years throughout their recovery process, while others may work with a dietitian for only a few months. We hope to offer support for as long as clients need to feel confident in their relationship with food.
Since we are in an outpatient setting, we try to give people the least amount of structure they need to be successful. We don’t want to give clients too much structure - then it often feels like an unsustainable, restrictive diet. However, we want our clients to feel like they know how to navigate meals and snacks with knowledge and confidence. This may require a loose framework of typical meals and snacks, or more structure in order to meet clients where they are at in their recovery process.
If a client comes from a treatment center with a meal plan, we are happy to continue using their existing meal plan structure for consistency and continued progress.
Even if we don’t create a meal plan, we will often help our clients to come up with meal and snack ideas that work for them, discuss grocery shopping lists, and plan food strategy for vacations, events, and holidays to ease stress.
We will reach out within 1-2 business days to schedule a discovery call (if you requested one) or give you an update on when we can schedule an initial appointment.
We schedule on a first-come, first-serve basis based on your insurance and whether you are able to pay out-of-pocket to start immediately. We also consider your availability and specialties to match you with the right clinician for you.
Read our Insurance & Payment FAQs
For all clients hoping to use insurance benefits: Please read this section first!
Prior to our initial appointment we ask that you verify your insurance benefits. Even though we may be in network with your insurance, not all plans cover seeing a dietitian for any reason, so we need you to call and ask the following questions to ensure you know whether your insurance will cover appointments or if there are any limitations to your coverage.
If your insurance denies coverage, we’ll have to charge you for your balance with your credit card on file. We'll only charge it after we notify you. However, we can give you a statement to submit to your insurance provider so you can try to appeal their decision and receive reimbursement directly from them. If you have a copay or payments before reaching your deductible, we charge a 3.2% convenience fee for credit card storage and payments, as this is what our credit card vendor charges us. You may pay over Zelle instead, if you wish.
Our practice has a 48-hour cancellation policy. Any cancellations within less than 48 hours of your session time (except in the case of an emergency) will result in a charge for the missed session of $100 to the credit card on file, as insurance does not reimburse for canceled or missed appointments.
step two
Based on your specific plan, they may not cover sessions with a dietitian, or will only cover sessions if you have a specific diagnosis or for a certain number of sessions. We recommend calling the number on the back of your insurance card to ask:
Make sure to write down the insurance rep name and reference number just in case they later deny coverage. Please keep this number saved somewhere safe.
- If they cover nutrition counseling sessions (specifically CPT billing codes 97802 and 97803).
- If you have a copay for in-person sessions or for telehealth sessions.
- If you have to hit a deductible before your insurance starts to cover sessions.
- If there are restrictions for covered diagnoses (ex: only covering certain diagnoses).
- If there is a restriction on the number of sessions.
- If you need a physician referral or prior authorization.
Make sure to write down the insurance rep name and reference number just in case they later deny coverage. Please keep this number saved somewhere safe.
Based on your specific plan, they may not cover sessions with a dietitian, or will only cover sessions if you have a specific diagnosis or for a certain number of sessions. We recommend calling the number on the back of your insurance card to ask:
And make sure to write down the insurance rep name and reference number just in case they later deny coverage. Please keep this number saved somewhere safe.
- If they cover nutrition counseling sessions (specifically CPT billing codes 97802 and 97803).
- If they have RDs in-network with your HMO and if any specialize with eating disorders.
- If you can request a Single Case agreement or pre-authorization to see a dietitian in the PPO network by getting a physician referral or letter of medical necessity to work with us because we specialize in eating disorders.
- If you have a copay for in-person sessions or for telehealth sessions.
- If you have to hit a deductible before your insurance starts to cover sessions.
- If there are restrictions for covered diagnoses (ex: only covering certain diagnoses).
- If there is a restriction on the number of sessions.
And make sure to write down the insurance rep name and reference number just in case they later deny coverage. Please keep this number saved somewhere safe.
We recommend checking your out-of-network benefits. Based on your specific plan, they may not cover sessions with a dietitian, or will only cover sessions if you have a specific diagnosis or for a certain number of sessions. We recommend calling the number on the back of your insurance card to ask:
And make sure to write down the insurance rep name and reference number just in case they later deny coverage. Please keep this number saved somewhere safe.
- If they cover nutrition counseling sessions (specifically CPT billing codes 97802 and 97803).
- If you have any out-of-network benefits, since we are not in-network with your insurance.
- If you have a copay for in-person sessions or for telehealth sessions.
- If you have to hit a deductible before your insurance starts to cover sessions.
- If there are restrictions for covered diagnoses (ex: only covering certain diagnoses).
- If there is a restriction on the number of sessions.
And make sure to write down the insurance rep name and reference number just in case they later deny coverage. Please keep this number saved somewhere safe.
Yay! Let’s do it! Let us know the form of payment you prefer.
Complete our Inquiry Form
step three
Step four
Call your insurance to ask the questions from the Insurance FAQ.
Step five
Get a referral from your health care team.
As dietitians, we are not licensed by the state of California and need a referral to provide our services. Ideally the referral would come from your primary care physician or psychiatrist. You can find the forms for your provider here.
Are you a health care provider looking to refer us?
Health care providers can either:
- Fill out this online form, OR
- Print and fill out this PDF
A completed form can be emailed to hello@nourishedwithkindness.com or faxed to 805-930-0101.
You will hear back from us soon!