Which Course(s) did you graduate from at CNELM and when did you graduate?

I studied the BSc in Nutritional Therapy at CNELM and graduated in early 2010.

What did you do before doing this course?

I am a lawyer by background and I used to work for one of the largest commercial law firms in Denmark until my husband got a job offer in Australia and we moved there for a period of time. Our youngest son was only 1 ½ when we moved and we then had two more children so for a while I put my career on hold to focus on motherhood.

What made you decide to embark on this course of study and what attracted you to doing the BSc?

I had suffered some unsettling cardiovascular problems and had been a frequent guest at the hospital for a year or so. I soon realised that no drug was ever going to fix my problem, only mask the symptoms and I knew I had to take a renewed look at the way I was living my life and change what was clearly not working. I started looking for information and I was surprised to find that there was so much relevant scientific research on lifestyle factors related to cardiovascular risk and health out there and puzzled that no consultant had ever mentioned the potential contribution of nutrition and other lifestyle habits during all my stays in hospitals. I put the information I learned into action and soon saw huge improvements to my health, which was truly life changing. I was curious to learn more and nutrition soon became a newfound passion. I started playing with the idea of being able to share and educate others to help themselves too. I looked into various nutrition courses and as you can perhaps imagine, with a background as a lawyer, I was only interested in evidence-based nutrition. CNELM was way ahead in that game in the UK at the time, using functional evidenced based nutrition as the foundation for their BSc course, so for me the choice was easy. After some long and hard soul searching I left law behind and embarked on a new career and way of life.

What work were you doing alongside studying?

Well, the children were still young, my youngest only 3 when I started on the BSc and I chose to study full time wanting to complete the degree within the 3 years, so I only did some volunteer work at the local school and playgroup where my children were enrolled. Other than that it was a matter of juggling family commitments and studies at this point.

What work did you do after graduating from the BSc?

I went on the Zest4Life course as I thought it would be a good way to promote my services initially, having just graduated. I managed to very quickly get 42 people signed up for a 10-week zest4life programme and that was really the beginning of a busy career. It helped me get in front of a people and soon led to a constant trickle of clients coming through in my practice as well. I now own a complementary health clinic in Oxfordshire where I see between 20-25 clients per week. We are 9 practitioners working out of the clinic at this time offering a series of complementary therapies such as osteopathy, clinical psychology, hypnotherapy, NLP, massage and reflexology aside from cPNI and nutrition. It looks like we will soon be joined by a local GP so it is all very exciting.

I have done various other things over the years – worked as an independent consultant for a large Health Services and Innovation company producing and delivering presentations at events for HR directors of large companies and their customers, I have contributed to books, magazines and websites and delivered numerous presentations to various groups. Most recently I have joined the lecturer team at Natura Foundation, which I am very excited about.

Do you specialise in any specific health conditions?

It is not easy to attract sufficient clients with a particular type of health concern out here in the countryside where I am based, so no I do not specialise in any particular health condition, but see individuals with many different issues.  I guess you can say I specialise in a particular way of approaching health and disease, namely cPNI, which means that I do not practice in the same way that most functionally trained nutritionists do.

How did you discover Clinical Pyscho-Neuro-Immunolgy (cPNI) training and what made decide to take that route?

One of the things that soon became clear to me working with people was that although nutrition is a critical component of health and disease, it is just one component. To see real progress, you need to look beyond nutrition and consider other equally important aspects of health such as social aspects, psycho-emotional, cognitive and sexual. I knew that already from my functional training, but I did not feel entirely equipped to put that knowledge into practice. I had done the NLP training at CNELM and also completed the Master NLP course with UKCPD, so I was already using a broader skill set to look at a bigger picture, but I was not yet able to completely join all the dots. Then I went to Natura Foundation’s very first taster weekend on cPNI in the UK. In fact I sat next to Kate Neil, who was also attending, and I remember saying to her “this joins all the dots, I just have to do this.”  So I did and I have never looked back.

How do you use your cPNI training in clinic?

Psychoneuroimmunology is a science that integrates psychology, neurology, sociology, endocrinology and immunology and the way these systems communicate and influence the epigenetic activity of genes. It is based on medical science and takes its root in evolutionary medicine. It is fast moving, cutting edge and totally fascinating.

Clinical PNI is the application of this knowledge in a clinical setting, so how we can use this information with our clients. cPNI is therefore a mix of hard facts and soft skills and this is integral to practicing cPNI; you need to know your pathways and then have a skillset that allows you to work effectively with your client including at the psycho-emotional/cognitive level, using for example solution-focused brief therapy when necessary. We have a toolbox of so-called meta-models to help guide the assessment and on top of that we use a series of questionnaires and of course laboratory testing when necessary. The interventions are always lifestyle based and may include intermittent lifestyle factors such as intermitting eating, intermittent cold, intermittent heat, intermittent hypoxia, intermittent hypercapnia, specific foods, supplements, exercise, sleep rhythm, and psycho-emotional and/or cognitive support or challenge.  

For me cPNI ticks all the boxes; it considers all areas of human existence and it makes so much sense. When things make sense they are much easier to work with. It has revolutionised my way of working with clients and the results and feedback have been brilliant.

Is there anything you wish you’d known before finishing your studies that you might have prepared for differently?

I was not prepared for how difficult it would be to find a good balance between on the one hand providing a high standard of service and on the other hand running a profitable business and not spending hours of time on each client outside the consultation. I was writing long individualised reports, food plans, recipes and supplement forms, all of which diluted my income significantly. I was running a charity rather than a business and although I have made significant changes since, I am not sure I have still got it completely right – it is an on-going process. In most other professional careers you start out supervised by people, who have much more experience than yourself and you learn the tricks of your trade and how to avoid making the same mistakes that they did. When you qualify as a nutritional therapist you are on your own and we probably all make similar mistakes. That is a shame and I would have loved to learn from practitioners with more experience than myself. It was only when I went on a “Profitable Practice’ course run by Antony Haynes and Michael Ash that I got at least an idea of how to change things. It still took a long time to get it to where I am today. Hence, I would advise new graduates to make use of the new supervision offers that are now available, or to simply approach more experienced practitioners to learn how they do it and what they have learned. Knowledge sharing is good for all – we are better together.

What or who has most inspired you in your work?

The Natura Foundation Team is really who has inspired me most. Their knowledge, their exceptional ability to make very complex science easy to understand and their commitment to and generosity in sharing their knowledge.  Leo Pruimboom has especially inspired me with his passion, tireless hard work and enthusiasm to bring this field to the forefront of medicine.

Kate Neil has equally been a big inspiration with her determination and endless commitment to providing high standard education and helping us all gain recognition as a profession and there are many others I could mention who do a great job for us all – such passion and commitment inspires me. My clients have also been a huge inspiration and drive to continue to improve my knowledge and skills as a therapist.

Do you have any tips, hints, things you’d have done differently...?

Value your work and the difference you make for your clients and do not be afraid to charge appropriately for your time and services. I meet so many nutritionists who are under charging and struggling to make a living and that is a shame.  There are huge discrepancies in fees and although geographical socioeconomic differences, training and professional experience can and should be reflected in the fees, undercharging does not help us as a profession. If we do not value our time and work, then why should others?

CPNI at CNELM – Kate Neil

The term psychoneuroimmunology was first coined by Robert Alder in 1975 in an attempt to describe the interrelationships between the nervous, endocrine and immune systems. Its conceptual origins can be traced back thousands of years and is today considered a highly respected field of science and medicine.

I was first introduced to PNI in 1999 by Emeritus Professor Malcolm Hooper who was then Scientific Adviser for Gulf War Veterans. Professor Hooper was particularly interested in the number of overlapping syndromes that had shared pathology between the gut/brain/endocrine/immune axes. Professor Hooper contributed to several conferences hosted by CNELM between the year 2000 and 2006 as well as being a regular visiting lecturer on the BSc Hons Nutritional Therapy programme.

A substantial focus of my practice at that time was supporting parents of children diagnosed with autistic spectrum disorders. Autism was being understood and described by some at that time as an ‘overlapping syndrome’. Approaching support for children with autism from this perspective made a big difference to my practice.

Dr Alexandra Concorde contributed to the BSc programmes between 2008 and 2011 in the field of PNI, inspiring many students with her knowledge and clinical experience.

Around 2012 I was approached by the Natura Foundation regarding their trainings in cPNI. Immediately interested by the conversation I attended their two-day workshop delivered by Leo Pruimboom in London to identify whether the content would add to our programmes further. I remember being inspired within the first hour and by the end of the event had no doubt of the quality and value the Natura Team might add.

Since 2012, lecturers from the Natura Foundation have contributed to the MSc programme modules: Personalised Nutrition & Longevity; Personalised Nutrition & Chronic Illness; and Personalised Sports Nutrition.

The Natura Foundation teach cPNI over two courses – cPNI 1 and cPNI 2 – each 18 days in length. CNELM partnered with the Natura Foundation over 2015 and 2016 to facilitate the delivery of the two courses at CNELM. Three CNELM graduates attended the two courses and like Karina have found the content has made a positive difference to the way they practice.

Faye Hall as Module Leader for Coaching and Programme Leader for the development of new Coaching Courses for CNELM attended both courses to help inform the development of these courses.

When I opened CNELM in 2001 the courses immediately incorporated coaching. It was clear to me that empowering practitioners with the skills to help their clients as well as themselves to shift patterns of behaviour and away from limiting beliefs was as important as the knowledge they might impart about food and nutrition to help inspire positive and sustainable lifestyle change.

Nutrition and coaching education and training have run alongside each other successfully and over time and commitment from all involved there is much better integration of coaching to nutritional therapy practice.

In my view a major added benefit of cPNI is that it directly integrates both from a profound perspective, which is an excellent additional postgraduate training for nutritional therapists.

If you are interested in attending cPNI courses at CNELM then please email me kate@cnelm.co.uk to register your interest. We aim to start cPNI 1 again in 2018.

Last modified: Monday, 27 March 2017, 8:22 AM