Felice Jacka
Felice Jacka OAM is Alfred Deakin Professor of Nutritional Psychiatry, Co-Director of the Food & Mood Centre at Deakin University, and founder and president of the International Society for Nutritional Psychiatry Research. Professor Jacka has been responsible for establishing the highly innovative and impactful field of ‘Nutritional Psychiatry’, influencing policy and clinical guidelines and practice in psychiatry globally. She is an ISI Highly Cited Researcher (2020-2022), putting her in the top 0.1% of publishing scientists worldwide for impact. In 2021 she was awarded a Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) for her services to Nutritional Psychiatry.
Abstract
Nutritional Psychiatry: Current Evidence and Practice
Considerable evidence now exists for the role of health behaviours, including diet, in supporting health and quality of life of individuals living with mental illness. Dietitians and clinical nutritionists are best placed to design and deliver interventions which address individual nutritional requirements and are feasible and sustainable in the long term. However, consumers of mental health care may not have access to nutritional specialists within their treatment team. Alongside this, health professionals across the care continuum are increasingly encouraged to address diet and other lifestyle behaviours in their practice. This talk will discuss the current evidence in the field of Nutritional Psychiatry and its implementation in practice.
