What the curriculum covers.
Module 3 looks at how diet culture, internalized weight bias, and cultural context shape a client's relationship with food and their body. It examines the connection between appearance concerns and eating, cultural humility in sessions, and two course tools: the Functional Body Framework and the Body Distress Response Protocol.
Diet culture and internalized weight bias matter because clients often bring the judgments they have absorbed into the room, and dietitians can carry them too. Cultural humility asks you to learn how a particular client's family, community, and history shape what a body means to them, rather than assuming.
When appearance drives the eating pattern.
Consider an illustrative client, Rosa, 52, referred for prediabetes. In the second session she says she has stopped eating lunch at work because a coworker commented on her weight. The prediabetes plan is fine on paper. The barrier is the comment, and what it stirred up.
A dietitian with body image training can name that connection gently, ask whether Rosa wants to talk about it, and keep the conversation within scope. If distress rises past what a nutrition session can hold, the RD has a protocol for responding and a clear sense of when to refer.
A respectful question sequence.
This sequence is an original example for RDs, not a course script. Each step waits for the client's answer before moving on.
The order matters. Asking permission before going further keeps the client in charge of how deep the conversation goes. Asking about function before appearance gives you both something steadier to talk about. And checking scope at the end, rather than only at the start, reflects that distress can build during a conversation that began calmly.
- Notice: "You mentioned the comment at work. It sounds like that stayed with you."
- Ask permission: "Would it be okay to talk about how that's affecting lunch?"
- Ask about function: "What does your body need to get through a workday?"
- Ask about context: "Are there other places where comments about bodies come up for you?"
- Offer choice: "We can keep going on this, or come back to meals. Either is fine."
- Check scope: notice signs that distress needs a referral, and document what you discussed.
What to look for in body image training.
Whether you study with New Approach Health or elsewhere, look for these elements in the curriculum itself, not only in the course title.
Inspect the curriculum for
- Content on diet culture and internalized weight bias
- Cultural humility as a practice, not a single lesson
- A function-based way to talk about the body
- A protocol for responding when body distress rises in session
- Clear scope and referral guidance placed before this material
Getting to Module 3.
Module 3 is part of Part II, which requires Part I. That order is deliberate: Part I covers scope, referral, the Contain-Refer-Document protocol, and the window of tolerance, which you will lean on when body distress appears. Complete Level 1 includes all of it, plus 37 CPEUs, 27+ clinical tools, weekly live Q&A, and lifetime access.
Complete Level 1 or individual Parts.
Complete Level 1 ($997) includes all eight modules, 37 CPEUs, the 27+ clinical tools, weekly live Q&A with Emahlea, and lifetime access. Completing the eight modules and the required case write-up leads to CPsyN™ Level 1 from New Approach Health.
- Foundations Pass ($69): Module 0, nine introductory lessons on scope, referral, and ethics.
- Part I ($397): Modules 0–1. Open to all credentialed RDNs.
- Part II ($297): Modules 2–3. Requires Part I.
- Part III ($497): Modules 4–7. Requires Parts I and II.
Brief answers.
- Which module covers body image?
- Module 3, within Part II.
- Can I take Part II first?
- No. Part II requires Part I.
- Is Rosa a real client?
- No. She is an illustrative example written for this guide.