Dr Fiona Willer, PhD
Advanced Accredited Practising Dietitian (AdvAPD)
Australian Independent Dietitian-Nutritionist (AIDN)
Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (FHEA)
Graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors (GAICD)
B.A. (English and Communications), B. Health Sc (Nut & Diet) (Hons), PhD
Full details on LinkedIn
Fiona's mission is to empower health professionals to adopt weight neutral practice by providing support and training in how and why to do so. In short, she wants to destroy the perception and practice of 'dietitian as food police.'
As an Advanced Accredited Practising Dietitian and university lecturer in nutrition and dietetics, she values nourishment, autonomy, authenticity and evidence based practice. Her academic research areas are dietetic private practice benchmarking, interprofessional learning and HAES integration into dietetics. A love for research and presenting has led Fiona into presenting professional development workshops for HAES integration into clinical practice since 2013. Fiona has more than a decade of academic work (unit coordination, lecturing, tutoring, marking, research assisting) under her belt and has been employed by Queensland University of Technology (QUT), Central Queensland University (CQU) and the University of the Sunshine Coast (USC). Fiona has also reviewed submissions for peer-reviewed academic journals including Appetite and Fat Studies Journal.
After graduating from dietetics, Fiona initially spent three years as a clinical dietitian at The Wesley Hospital, Brisbane, working in a wide range of clinical areas in addition to coordinating and practising in The Wesley Hospital’s dietetic outpatient clinic, Dietitians Wesley. She also built a successful private practice, NutritionSense Allied Health, at Taringa in Brisbane from 2008 before selling it in 2014. Much of her private practice work was with chronic dieters with whom she frequently used the non-diet approach.
Fiona’s PhD research findings have cemented her resolve that weight neutral approaches should be part of every clinician’s skill set and her research continues to inform the professional development workshops and training she provides through Health, Not Diets (www.healthnotdiets.com). She is the author of two non-diet approach guidebooks for health professionals and developed the Non-Diet Approach Model, which operationalizes the Health at Every Size (R) principals for clinical practice. You can read Fiona's full PhD thesis here.
Fiona was awarded the 2017 and 2020 Dietitians Australia Research Awards at the Australia and New Zealand Association for Eating Disorders (ANZAED) conferences and the 2007 Queensland Meals on Wheels Nutrition Award, served as an elected member of the Dietitians Association of Australia (DAA) Queensland Branch Executive from 2008-2010, and held the position of President for the Association for Non-Diet Approach Research Inc from 2013-2016. She held the position of Vice President International for the Association for Size Diversity and Health 2016-2018 term and is the co-chair of the HAES Australia Governance Committee. Fiona is also the current administrator for the Society for Australian Independent Dietitian-Nutritionists (AIDNSoc).
Fiona has great enthusiasm for demolishing weight biased research and overusing food and eating metaphors in everyday life.
Email: [email protected], Twitter: @FionaWiller, Facebook: Health Not Diets
Health, Not Diets associate:
Fiona Sutherland
Accredited Practising Dietitian
Accredited Nutritionist
Fiona is director of The Mindful Dietitian & co-director of Body Positive Australia and has been practising for 15 years primarily in the areas of eating behaviour, eating disorders, body image, sports nutrition & education/training. Fiona is currently Nutrition Consultant at The Australian Ballet School & Racing Victoria’s Jockey Apprenticeship Program. More recently, Fiona has developed a passion for mindfulness practice, with a particular emphasis on mindful eating and the intersection of food environment, eating psychology and body image. She has trained in MBSR (Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction) and MB-EAT (Mindfulness Based Eating Awareness Training). Fiona is guest lecturer within Deakin University Dietetics course within the areas of eating behaviour, counselling skills and the Non Diet Approach.
Email: [email protected],
Health, Not Diets associate:
Louise Adams
Clinical Psychologist
Louise is the founder of Treat Yourself Well Sydney, a specialist psychology clinic for weight, eating and body image issues. She is the creator of UNTRAPPED, a Member of the Australian Psychological Society and a proud member of the Association for Size Diversity and Health. Louise is determined to make a difference in changing society’s perceptions of dieting and body image, She believes that people can be healthy and happy at a range of different body sizes. She is for body diversity and hates fat prejudice. As well as her work with individual clients, Louise conducts workshops and conferences for the general public and health professionals interested in weight management. She also speaks with the media and has appeared in magazines, newspapers, radio and television to help spread the message. She blogs, she tweets, she never shuts up about these issues!
In 2014, Louise and Fiona wrote The Non-Diet Approach Guidebook for Psychologists and Counsellors together and in 2016 Louise authored Mindful Moments, a fantastic book for the public about self compassion and mindfulness.
Email: [email protected]
Thinking about booking Fiona Willer for a presentation?
Head over to www.fionawiller.com.
