My Life as an Eating Psychology Coach: Nadeije Athlan

What made you want to become an Eating Psychology Coach?

A few years ago, as I was browsing on the Internet, I came upon a video by Marc David talking about eating psychology. From one video to another, I became more and more intrigued by the contents which made so much sense, and more important, felt right and sane.
I have been struggling with my weight on and off for many years, not really understanding what made me gain or lose weight, except that stress seemed to be playing an important role. I was never a fan of dieting of any kind, preferring healthy living and smart choices in food and lifestyle.
Being of French origin, processed food was never much part of my diet and pleasure was definitely part of eating.
I decided to try the personal program ‘Transform Your Relationship With Food’ because it seemed a good way to start and try out the notions and get to know Marc and his program better.
Once the class was finished, I was clear I wanted to learn in the full Training. I am a naturopath and always on the lookout for more learning, keeping myself abreast and awaken at the wheel of my life.
So I took the full Training the following year.

What do you love about being an Eating Psychology Coach?

Working with people’s relationship with food was new and opened up a world I had never explored before. It gave me an insight into what people really are like in their lives. It told me things I would not otherwise have noticed. It is easy, in a therapy session, to show only a part of yourself. Asking people about their relationship with food enabled me to go deeper into the heart of some of the problems they were consulting with me on. It helped me dive into intimate places where I could be of most help to them.

What does your practice look like?

I have had extensive training. Not only in Naturopathy, but also on the relationship between certain stresses, the brain functions, and the onset of diseases. So I usually work one-on-one, in-person. I sometimes do Skype sessions and rarely phone session. I like to see the person I am speaking with so I can feel the communication, read the body language, and ascertain that I understand well.
My session lasts an hour and a half because I have learned about myself that I like to take my time and, often, an hour seems too short.
I also teach workshops on the brain and diseases and I am planning to teach about the relationship with food.

How did your education at the Institute prepare you to work successfully with clients?

I just loved the program! I am an experienced therapist. Over the year I have learned, by myself, what works and what doesn’t. I have worked on my attitude as a therapist, on myself as a person, and treated the helping relationship as a sacred space. It was so good to hear many of the strategies that took me years to learn explained from the beginning of the Training. It was put in plain speech, easy to understand and to practise. It made me feel full of joy on two counts: first being comforted in my way of working, which is very marginal in my field. For example, ‘loving’ clients is considered a breach of neutrality, where I found that letting my feelings be a part of therapy made that relationship saner and closer to reality. Finding a way to remain at the right distance with a client and be compassionate at the same time took years of practise. And hearing Marc outlining the way to be able to do that was a breeze of fresh air.
Second, I felt happy for all the beginners in the field that, unbeknownst to them, would start with such a headstart compare to anyone else in the field. I wished I had learned that 15 years ago!
I am quite certain that students are better prepared with the IPE than many trainings I have taken.

What was your favorite aspect of the Training?

My favourite aspect of the training? Probably the live teleclass where we get to ask question and have Marc answer. It is a great way to see, well hear, a truly amazing teacher and therapist at work. It gives better insights at how to work.
I also loved the fact that I have kept all my audios and can re-listen as much as I want. I have found through experience that I always miss information on my first hearing. Now I can go back to it whenever I want to or need to. I especially love the deliberately positive aspect of both the Training and the way we work with clients.

How has being an Eating Psychology Coach impacted your professional life/financial well-being?

Becoming a coach has given new tools and new places to experiment with clients on a topic that is so necessary nowadays with all the confusion about diet, nutrition, and what is ‘right’ to eat. It has brought a different kind of clientele to work with. It has boosted my pleasure in working with clients and, since I am already results oriented, being an Eating Psychology Coach has given me very good tools towards good results.

How has being an Eating Psychology Coach impacted you personally?

On a personal level, the Training has helped me gain insight about my own relationship with food, body image, digestion, and has given me tools to listen to myself and make changes that I needed to make. So, I feel closer to myself, I appreciate my body and all the treasures of pleasure that come with being more present with food, and body and life in general. I would recommend the Training to anyone, regardless of what their goals are, just for the marvelous richness offered in that training.

What do you see for yourself in your future as an Eating Psychology Coach – where is your work evolving towards?

I would love to move more towards shifting my practise towards more psychology of eating clients. That work is so positive and rewarding, I feel I would rather work more in this area than I am right now. I am giving myself a couple of years to do the shift since I need to do an entire new network, with a new blog, a new Facebook page and so on.

Why Would You Recommend the Training to Others?

I would recommend that training to anyone who feels inclined to know himself or herself better and want to improve their overall quality of life. Food is such an essential issue!

Anything else you’d like to share?

Whether or not one wants to become a coach, this Training is a life training anyway.

NAME: Nadeije Athlan
WEBSITE: rouedemedecine.wordpress.com

BIO: Nadeije Athlan was born in 1967 and lives in Quebec, Canada. She has been passionate about healing since her teenage years. She has been a therapist for more than 25 years. She has trained extensively in the relationship between stress, the brain, and the onset of diseases. She is a certified Naturopath. She is a certified living, breathing and loving human who cares about others and wants to do her own part in healing the world. Having died once already, she doesn’t take herself too seriously. She has also been learning the Medicine Wheel as an apprentice, and now a teacher, and she believes that one day she will honestly call herself a medicine woman.

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P.S. – To learn more about the breakthrough body of work we teach here at the Institute for the Psychology of Eating, please sign up for our free video training series at ipe.tips. You’ll learn about the cutting-edge principles of Dynamic Eating Psychology and Mind Body Nutrition that have helped millions forever transform their relationship with food, body, and health. Lastly, we want to make sure you’re aware of our two premier offerings. Our Eating Psychology Coach Certification Training is an 8 month distance learning program that you can take from anywhere in the world to launch a new career or to augment an already existing health practice. And Transform Your Relationship with Food is our 8 week online program for anyone looking to take a big leap forward with food and body.