Meet Eleanor Sutton, Dietitian with our Nutrition and Dietetics team here in St Patrick’s Mental Health Services (SPMHS).
Eleanor tells us more about her role, why she enjoys being a dietitian and what she likes about being part of the SPMHS team.
How I got into my career
I love food, farming, health and working with people. I studied in Robert Gordon University in Scotland. Prior to my role in SPMHS, I worked with people on dialysis (a treatment for people with kidney problems) who had to follow specific diets to ensure they remained well.
What my role involves
Dietitians don’t put people on diets - we work with the person to help support their eating and figure out what their goals around food are. We all have our own personal relationship with food for many reasons.
I work with service users with eating disorders. I see them for advice and support around eating and how to structure their eating day-to-day; such as meal planning or food shopping plans. The overall aim of my job is to give people the skills to look after their own diet long-term.
What my typical day looks like
I would usually be on the ward at St Patrick’s University Hospital, seeing people for reviews, liaising with nursing staff, working with catering, and doing group education sessions. My sessions would cover information around food and mood, fibre, fluid, portion sizes or how to think about eating out again in recovery from an eating disorder. I really enjoy the groups – it’s hugely beneficial to get a better understanding of where the service users are in their recovery journey.
My breaks involve drinking a lot of tea and eating. When I have time, I like to go on some walks in the Dublin 8 area - mostly to Manning’s Bakery.
When I’m not working, I love hanging out with my two girls: Meabh, who is age four, and Lucy, who is two. We like to go places, mostly playgrounds, and eat lots of nice food.
Working in mental healthcare
I had not worked in mental healthcare before starting in SPMHS: it was a good learning curve, but I now couldn’t imagine working anywhere else. I enjoy my role with SPMHS, the staff I work with, the ward I work on, and the flexibility within my role.
To anyone considering a career in this field, I would tell them that being a dietitian opens lots of doors - mental health, sports and clinical work. It’s a varied role - if you like people, food and health, it combines all these things, and allows me to help people develop a good relationship with food.
One piece of advice about mental health I would give is that the most important relationship in your life will be the one you have with yourself. Consider yourself first: it’s ok to say no, we are all busy, and, sometimes, taking a step back is ok.
