Date

9-17-2026

Department

School of Behavioral Sciences

Degree

Doctor of Philosophy in Psychology (PhD)

Chair

Jamie Clark

Keywords

constructivism, hermeneutic phenomenology, mental health professionals, nutrition, perspectives, reflexive thematic analysis, therapeutic practice

Disciplines

Psychology

Abstract

Growing evidence supports the relationship between nutrition and mental health. However, little is known about how mental health professionals (MHPs) experience nutrition, perceive its role in relation to mental health, or integrate nutrition into psychotherapy. The purpose of this hermeneutic phenomenological study was to explore Colorado MHPs’ lived experiences with nutrition and examine how those experiences informed their professional perspectives of nutrition. Guided by constructivist epistemology, semi-structured interviews were conducted with 11 MHPs practicing in Colorado, and data were analyzed using reflexive thematic analysis. Analysis generated eight themes. Findings revealed that 1) MHPs experienced nutrition as a lifelong developmental process shaped by lived experience, iterative meaning-making, and practices of self-stewardship, 2) MHPs understood nutrition and mental health as reciprocally related while recognizing that food and eating behaviors reflected psychological processes, and 3) MHPs integrated nutrition into psychotherapy through therapeutic responsibility grounded in client-centered care while maintaining professional competence through ethical boundaries and interdisciplinary collaboration. The findings suggest that professional perspectives of nutrition emerge through an ongoing interpretive process in which personal lived experiences, learning, and clinical practice continually inform one another. Implications include mental health training, clinical supervision, interdisciplinary collaboration, and future research examining nutrition-informed mental health care.

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