Rapidly increasing evidence suggests dietary modifications have great potential for managing psychiatric conditions.

On this three-week course from Deakin University, you’ll develop an introductory knowledge in Nutritional Psychiatry, addressing the known links between diet and physical and mental health. You’ll also focus on building practical skills through activities to help you apply your newly acquired knowledge in clinical practice.

Explore the biological mechanisms linking diet and mental health

There are a number of closely linked physiological pathways potentially explaining why and how diet can affect mental and cognitive health.

You’ll explore these different mechanisms, from inflammation and the immune system to the gut microbiome and neurogenesis. With each system, you’ll examine both how they function and the studies linking diet to mental health.

Discover diet- and gut-microbiota-related treatments

When looking to treat psychiatric conditions, gut microbiota and nutrition options hold great promise for novel treatment targets.

This course will take you through a number of diet- and gut-related treatment options, such as probiotics, fermented foods, faecal microbiota transplantation, and restrictive diets. You’ll explore how they interact with the body and their therapeutic uses for a number of physical and mental conditions.

Learn how to implement nutritional psychiatry in clinical practice

When implementing dietary interventions, the strategies need to be tailored to the relevant communities and age groups that you’re treating.

You’ll look at practical ways of communicating diet-related messages, how to address barriers in treatment, and the importance of positivity and self-care.