Hello pals! My name is Maddie and i am a fully qualified nutritionist and culinary art therapist. What is culinary art therapy? Culinary art therapy is a relatively new term! We use a person centred approach to build skills, engage the senses to increase mindfulness, incorporate more play and create positive and empowering food related beliefs and experiences. Every session will look different but it could look like getting in the kitchen and making bread where we can smell the dough, squeeze it, watch the dough slowly rise, punch the air out of the dough, and even taste it when it's done!
This is part of our Dough Therapy program where using the senses helps us slow down and gives us a chance to talk and explore any feelings that come up. A session could also look like: Shadowing a family in the grocery store to offer tips and advice on increasing variation that suit someone's sensory needs. Increasing exposure and (potentially non-eating) experiences with food by using fun and interactive tools that we keep in our Culinary therapy kit.
Preparing a simple dish together to help increase confidence and self-esteem And more! Typical talk therapy tends to focus on what is “missing” rather than focusing on what someone is capable of. Culinary art therapy uses a person centred approach to highlight and build on the strengths and abilities that someone has.