Kay Kelly, RD, LDN

Kay has been a registered dietitian (RD) for over 12 years and is licensed in both Virginia and Maryland. In 2000, after receiving her bachelor’s degree in multicultural counseling and psychotherapy from Loyola University in Baltimore, Kay went on to study nutrition, food science and dietetics at the University of Maryland, College Park. Her dietetic internship followed in Colorado. Since 2009, Kay has worked with clients in residential, partial and outpatient treatment settings for eating disorders, as well in private practice using her clinical knowledge to support them in reaching their dietary and nutritional goals. She employs a firm but compassionate approach, while guiding clients to an understanding of mindfulness and intuitive eating. In addition to being well-versed in general nutrition, her expertise in medical nutrition therapy allows her to work successfully with individuals with medical diagnoses that can be managed or improved through dietary intervention to increase quality of life and nutritional status.

Kay enjoys working with people who desire a healthier, more positive relationship with food and their physical bodies. When a person struggles with body image, often their mental and emotional health in addition to their personal and professional relationships are negatively impacted. Helping you overcome your dietary challenges and finding your healthiest self while living in the real world, Kay will guide you towards living your most peaceful life.

Working with Kay

Hello, I am Kay! For 17 years I have enjoyed working with folks that want to improve their relationships with food and their bodies. I’m passionate about helping people see their own strength and ability. I practice medical nutrition therapy and take both a cognitive behavioral and a dialectical behavioral approaches to my work. For you, I will develop an individualized care plan that will adjust and evolve as you move toward your various goals. To find out if we would be a good fit, I want to ask some questions and tell you more about myself.

Have you recently learned you have high cholesterol, been told that you are pre-diabetic, or had a cardiovascular event like a heart attack or stroke? Do you have food allergies and have trouble nourishing your body? Maybe your blood pressure is too low or too high and you often do not feel well? Have you been diagnosed with a condition that requires you to change the way you eat in order to manage it? Do you want to make changes to how you eat or how you treat your body, but are unsure where to start? If you are saying, “Yes” Let’s talk, because I can help.

Do you experience “food noise” or use food to manage or distract from how you feel after a long day or an argument with a loved one? Do you follow rigid rules that dictate what and how you eat to avoid feeling anxious or guilty? Perhaps you have a loud voice in your head telling you what you should look like, or how to eat in order to be accepted in society? Do you have an eating disorder or disordered eating patterns that you just cannot seem to find freedom from? If so, I can help you break these unhelpful patterns, remove unhealthy labels and step away from feeling controlled by food noise, food rules, food fears to find lasting recovery.

More about Kay:

My journey to becoming a Registered Dietitian started in my last semester at Loyola University, where I was studying psychology and about to start a psychology doctoral program in the fall. My professor, Dr. Everly asked me to update the research for his book on PTSD. I moved through the references so quickly that he asked me to write a chapter on nutrition and stress. That was the lightbulb moment. I realized that while I was wired for psychology, I was fascinated by what I was learning about food, emotions and eating—and how what we put into our bodies has a impact on our mental health, and vice versa. I had to learn more.

I took a leave of absence from my doctoral program to see if I could hack organic chemistry. I found my stride in night classes while working in Washington DC during the day. I eventually went back to school at the University of Maryland to take Nutrition, Food Science, and Dietetics classes, and then moved to Colorado to complete my 16-month dietetic internship. I was fascinated every day as I moved through my program - I knew I had picked the right field to work in. I had zero regrets about leaving my doctoral program. None of my psychology background was wasted; I take it to work with me every day and I think it makes me a better Registered Dietitian. It equipped me to care for the whole person and understand that who we are is defined by so much more than what we eat.

You have a unique story, and I want to hear it! I know that listening to you and gaining your trust are most important for you to be successful in our work. I want to hear about you, your life, and the experiences that shaped the way you view yourself, your body, and your relationship with food.

There is absolutely no "one size fits all" approach to the work we will do together. Learning about you helps me choose the best approach to take while teaching and guiding you towards your goals, the lasting changes you want to make. My work is rooted in medical nutrition therapy and evidence-based research, which allows me to teach you a variety of skills that can aid in helping you 1) understand why you think and feel about food and your body the ways you do, and 2) reshape the way you think about food and your body. I will provide support and tools to help you trust yourself and your body that will improve your overall health and wellbeing.

We will move at the pace you are most comfortable. Whether our work together involves correcting laboratory results, managing a medical condition, learning to cook or meal prep, and/or finding longterm recovery from an eating disorder, I am here to support you. I am committed to stand beside you as you learn about yourself and develop the skills that will allow you to move forward with your life feeling empowered and confident about how to best feed your body. Let’s get started!

I see clients in-person and virtually. Let me know if you would like to set up a free consultation call with me to get a feel for me, and ask any questions you may have. I will work with your therapist, physicians and other practitioners to coordinate best care and to advocate for your needs and goals.

Publications

Published “Diet and Stress” in A Clinical Guide to the Human Stress Response, Everly and Lating (2003).

Peer Endorsements

Kay Kelly at Balanceworks Counseling is an incredibly warm, compassionate dietitian with extensive experience working with individuals with eating disorders. This combined with her comprehensive knowledge of nutrition and medical conditions allows her to help clients truly understand what is happening in their bodies and the “why” behind her recommendations. As a therapist who works with eating disorders, I can say that she is communicative, invested, and an incredible resource for clients seeking dietary support for eating disorder recovery. -Colleen McCarron, LPC