Helen Barnett – Dietitian, APD
Masters Nutr&Diet, BSC (Uni Medal), BA (Ancient History), Grad Dip. Music (Opera), Dip Opera
Helen Barnett Dietitian – In 2013, after 13 years of working as professional Opera Singer, I decided to go back to University to study Nutrition and Dietetics. I did not think that by 2019, I’d be back in the region I grew up (Narromine/Dubbo) and by 2023, I’d own and help run a Medical practice in Dubbo. Coming back “home” has been both incredibly rewarding and a privilege. My family have lived on farms in and around Narromine for almost 150years, so being able to bring back, and give back, to these communities warms and nourishes my soul. I also think of my wonderful Mother, Narelle, who came out to these parts in the 60’s as a young geneticist and worked at the Trangie Research station, before she met my father, Bob. Along with my father, she provided me with a thirst for knowledge, a value for education, and belatedly – a love of science. Her death from cancer when I was 15, inspires me to bring healthcare to remote areas in whatever way I can, and support the growth of the rural health force.
I was inspired to become a dietitian, because, believe it or not, I did not know how to eat, nor had a particularly good relationship with food. Having gone to Boarding School, where getting out of the dining room as fast as possible was paramount, and endured significant tragedy during my teens, I can’t say I understood how to eat well or in a way that nourished me mentally or physically. I also ended up working in an industry which prioritised appearance – despite needing strength and stamina to perform. As a professional, in a media driven industry, I have significant personal lived experience of enduring pressure to have a certain body size and type in order to maintain my career.
Hence, when I set out on my dietetics training, I always aimed to specialise in Eating Disorders.
After Graduating as a Dietitian, I slowly became a Certified Intuitive Eating Counsellor (I say slowly because I allowed this work to solidify into my being) – and completed numerous psychology short courses to complement my work as an Eating Disorders clinician, including ACT, Motivational Interviewing and IFS. I also trained in CBT-E, Family Based Therapy- FBT and Specialist Supportive Clinical Management – SSCM. As I spent years suffering from IBS (and my son has Coeliac disease), I also have a passion for gut health and the intersection between eating disorders, anxiety and the microbiome and hence I’ve completed numerous courses in Gastrointestinal Dietetics including the Monash FODMAPS course, multiple courses on the Microbiome, mastering SIBO, and the GUTSmart course on IBD.
In recent times I have been engaged in doing more work for participants in the NDIS. This has involved helping participants living independently, or supporting and educating carers with adequate food choices. I enjoy working with parents and families with children who are struggling with food intake and I use a Responsive feeding approach to help make mealtimes more enjoyable or perhaps, just more relaxed. Over the last couple of years I have done a significant amount of training in neuro-affirming dietetic care and dietetic approaches to support neurodivergent kids, families and adults. I love working in this space and hope to promote neuro-affirming approaches and slowly watch the paradigm shift.
Beyond my special interests outlined above, as a rural generalist Dietitian, I see people for a wide range of issues that are impacted by diet including Allergies and Intolerances, Menopause, PCOS and other Hormonal disorders, Diabetes, optimizing Thyroid health, Cardiovascular health (Cholesterol, blood pressure), Fatty liver, GORD/Reflux, Stoma management, Cancer nutrition, Sports nutrition, general healthy eating and much more. Most importantly, as I work within a Medical Practice in Dubbo, and a Psychology Practice in Orange, I work closely with referring GP’s and the multi-disciplinary care team to support my patient’s ongoing care.
At the beginning of 2023, I was thrilled to establish Dubbo Health Hub with colleagues Dr Heather Maleham and Dr Pethidia Mango.
My Qualifications
- Masters Nutrition and Dietetics
- Bachelor of Science (Univeristy Medal)
- Certified Intuitive Eating Counsellor
- Credentialed Eating Disorders Clinician (CEDC) – Dietitian
- Bachelor of Arts (Ancient History)
- Graduate Diploma of Music (Opera)
- Diploma of Opera
- Fellowship of Music – Singing (AMEB)
- Monash University Low FODMAP diet Training for Dietitians
- Microba Microbiome Analysis
- Motivational Interviewing I and II
- Health at Every Size (Day 1)
- CEDD Online Training for Health Professionals in Eating Disorders
- Marci Evan’s Online Nutritional Counselling for Eating Disorders training
- Body Image: The Missing Piece of whole body healing
- Eating Disorders in Sport
- Digestive Disorders and Eating Disorders: An interesting mix
- The RAVES Model for the Treatment of Eating Disorders
- The MAWDIVE Framework for the Management of Exercise and Eating Disorders
- CBT-E – Cognitive Behaviour Therapy Enhanced for Eating Disorders
- Family Based therapy – FBT for Anorexia
- Internal Family Systems (IFS) – 2 day Introduction to the Model
- Gut Smart – Inflammatory Bowel Disease
- SIBO Master Series
- DNA Testing in Practice – Bioceuticals
- Specialist Supportive Clinical Management – for Anorexia
Publications and Conferences
Barnett et al, (2017) “The Effect of folate Supplementation on Inflammatory markers in Individuals Susceptible to Depression: A Systemmatic review” Exploratory Research and Hypotheses in Medicine. Available online here
Nutrition Society of Australia 2017 – Australia Pacific Conference of Clinical Nutrition – Poster Presentation of “The Effect of folate Supplementation on Inflammatory markers in Individuals Susceptible to Depression: A Systemmatic review”
Australian Society for Medical Research 2018 – Oral Presentation of “An Exploration of Clinician perspectives of Paediatric Feeding challenges in the Southern sector of the WNSW LHD”
Australian Society for Medical Research 2018 – Poster Presentation of “The Effect of folate Supplementation on Inflammatory markers in Individuals Susceptible to Depression: A Systemmatic review”
Canberra Health and Research Meeting 2018 – Oral Presentation of “The Effect of folate Supplementation on Inflammatory markers in Individuals Susceptible to Depression: A Systemmatic review”
Canberra Health and Research Meeting 2018 – Poster Presentation of “An exploration of Clinician perspectives of Paediatric Feeding challenges in the Southern sector of the WNSW LHD”
