Angela Goens, MS, RDN, LD

About

  • Pronouns: she/her/hers

  • Occupation and Specialty: Registered Dietitian Nutritionist who works in the Mental Health field of Eating Disorders

  • Location (Clinic/hospital): In private practice at Rooted Nutrition Services and LynLake Centers for Wellbeing

  • Location (City): Twin Cities; virtual only

  • Offers Telehealth: Yes

  • Contact Information: Private practice is www.rootednutritionservices.com, Website for LynLake is www.therapy-mn.com

  • Bio: As a Registered Dietitian, Angela has dedicated her career to serving those in various levels of intensive care treatment for eating disorders, chemical dependency, depression, anxiety and trauma. Angela is an inclusive provider that operates from a weight inclusive, trauma-informed lens. As the owner of Rooted Nutrition Services, she supports those with marginalized identities, specifically BIPOC individuals who struggle with eating disorders. In her private practice, Angela primarily provides outpatient individual nutrition counseling, supervision, consultation services and facilitates support groups.

    Angela is invested in removing barriers for people of color, those in larger bodies, pregnant folks, LGBTQ+ and trans clients to seek the quality and equitable treatment they deserve. Angela is an advocate for improving access to mental health care, reducing stigma for all potential clients.

Approach to care

  • What does it look like for you to provide care to patients in larger bodies? How is, or isn’t, your approach different from how you care for patients in smaller bodies? If you work with children, how is or isn’t your approach different when working with children?

    I primarily work with adult clients. My approach for care is the same for those in smaller or larger bodies or any size body in between. I spend time listening to my clients in the initial assessment for what they are hoping to work on and get support around. I do like to openly discuss about weight, using the scale, size, body image, etc.

  • What is your perspective on how weight is or is not related to health?

    Over the years, I have learned that discussing weight is not a “bad thing”. It can feel uncomfortable at times, but client's usually appreciate having candid conversations about it and sharing their experiences with me. Tough conversations about body, weight, size, and a client’s personal goals around their body, are not to be avoided, but openly discussed. This can reduce shame and fear about recovery no matter what size their body is. As a straight-sized RD, I do acknowledge with clients that I do not claim to fully understand their perspectives at times, but as a Black, female RD, I do walk with them as an ally.

  • Finish this sentence: “Fat people are…” 

    people too, that deserve the same care that those in smaller bodies are afforded.

  • How do you, your clinic, and the healthcare system you work in use BMI (i.e BMI cutoffs for accessing certain services, BMI on charts and printouts, etc)? Is this flexible?

    I currently only work in an outpatient private practice. This does allow me certain flexibilities that others in larger healthcare systems might not have. So, I don’t use BMI in my practice, but do use growth charts as needed for younger clients. I also have open conversations about weight and scale use with clients to avoid it feeling taboo.

  • If a patient declines to be weighed, how do you and/or your staff proceed?

    If a patient declines to be weighed that would be their choice. I would want to follow that up with a conversation to better understand how and why they came to that decision. I do not have a rule that clients be weighed or weighed a certain day or number of times. There are agreements I have had with clients in the past that they weigh themselves and we discuss if needed, but no specific rules that are in place.

  • If a patient declines to discuss weight loss, nutrition, and/or exercise, how do you proceed?

    If someone does not want to discuss weight loss, nutrition or exercise in session, I believe that is their choice. I would want to explore more with them about this decision to better understand if it is never or just for that session. I do believe I have an expansive skillset beyond just the basics of a dietitian's training. I would hope that there is so much more to a person that chooses to work with me that we could discuss and if incorporating those topics into our sessions in the future could be possible. I assume, the more trust that is built, the deeper the conversations could become. My advanced training and experience has me comfortable working with more complex, chronic and unique mental health diagnoses.

  • What does the physical accessibility of your office space look like? What kinds of accommodations are present for people in larger bodies? Are there things you wish were in place that are currently not? 

    Right now I am completely virtual, so I am not seeing folks in person. In the past, I have made sure space is clear to move around safely and for the use of mobility aids. I also provide a variety of seating options for all body sizes.

  • What do you do to allow fat people to feel comfortable and welcome in your office? 

    Since I am virtual right now, this is really done verbally. I would share about myself and the size privilege that I hold, as well as ask the client the language they feel most comfortable for us to use together when discussing bodies. I also rotate my background art to display inclusive pieces.

  • If you’d like to use this space to talk about any identities (gender, race, size, sexuality, etc.) you hold and how this relates to your care, please do so. 

    I identify as a Black, female, cis-gender, size-privileged, educated, parent, partner, friend and survivor.