Nutritional Therapy
Helping You to Empower Your Health
About me...
- Hi, I'm Rhona Paterson - welcome to my world of nutritional therapy.
For many years I had been interested in alternative health and complimentary therapies to support wellbeing. I trained in Reiki back in 2002 and was an early adopter of floatation tank therapy at The Edinburgh Floatarium in the early 1990s. I have long had a deep intuitive feeling, that somehow as a society we had lost our way and our perception of what true health and wellbeing looks like.
The pressures of modern day life may often feel like the cards are stacked against us and that we are running on empty some or all of the time. The body is designed to manage short term stress, but if this continues long term and becomes the norm, our bodies will eventually say no! This is when niggling health issues may start to appear.
On a personal level, I was keen to prevent the seemingly inevitable slide into long term prescription medication that seems prevalent in healthcare today. A depressing fact from a recent study (*) reported that 70% of the UK population is now on at least one prescription medication, and in some cases rising to 5 or more. People are sicker in the 21st century than ever before, but the good news is that we can take back control.
After resolving a few personal health issues that started to appear in my 40s through self-study and altering my diet, I became very aware and frustrated about how many people were now living with long term health conditions and the impact that this has on the quality of life. So, after a 30 year career working for global companies in the financial industry, the time was right to change career and deepen my understanding of how nutritional intervention and lifestyle changes can support and often overcome health issues and restore well being.
In 2019, I enrolled with the College of Naturopathic Medicine (CNM) for a diploma course in Naturopathic Nutritional Therapy. During my final year of study in 2022, I experienced the loss of a parent from a degenerative health condition lasting many years. This experience made me keenly aware of how bereavement trauma can also affect our own health, at levels and in ways that we may not even realise. It also led me further my studies in 2023 and complete a diploma as a Trauma Informed Wellbeing Coach.
I truly believe that experiences and past trauma can manifest in health issues many years later, if these emotions and experiences are suppressed and not processed. My mission is to empower you with the knowledge and education to look after your own health long term. Rather than just looking at the acute symptoms you may be feeling right now, I aim to take a mind, body and spirit approach considering the health history of the person as a whole.
I am also a volunteer in Oxygen Delivery Therapy with "Compass" and support student clinics for the College of Naturopathic Medicine as an Assistant Supervisor.
Compass is a fantastic charity based in Leith - they provide Oxygen Therapy and other therapeutic support services for neurological clients with a wide range of health conditions including MS, Fibromyalgia, Long Covid, ME and CFS.
I am a huge advocate of the benefits of nature therapy, and in my spare time you will find me out in nature, enjoying beach sauna, cold water dipping and at gigs and music festivals.
Qualifications: Registered Nutritional Therapist DipCNM - Diploma with Merit, Naturopathic Nutritional Therapy, College of Naturopathic Medicine (CNM), 2023
Professional Body Membership: mANP, mCNHC, mGNC
Further Training: FHT accredited Trauma Informed Wellbeing Coach: The Chrysalis Effect.
IoN Mastering Menopause in Clinical Practice.
Volunteering: Compass - Oxygen Delivery Support. The College of Naturopathic Medicine (CNM) - Assistant Supervisor Student Clinic
