Research your dietician too. Ask around and find out what others have experienced. My experience with one in graduate school was less than impressive. Unfortunately, she was the only dietician covered on the graduate health insurance plan. She seemed unwilling to recognize my food allergies as legitimate because she had never heard of them. I cannot digest anything that comes from cow. It is not lactose intolerance, rather it is a beef and milk "allergy" (I put allergy in quotes because it won't cause anaphalactic shock, but I lack the ability to digest them). Every single menu she gave me had cheese or dairy in it, despite my repeated reminders of the allergies and bringing her documentation that such a thing existed.

The whole reason my doctor sent me there was to find meals that were safe for me to eat. At the time, I was about 15lbs underweight because if what you eat doesn't digest, you end up not only sick to your stomach but also getting pretty much nothing out of the meal. Since most of my cooking skills were along the lines of beef stroganoff and Hamburger Helper, I needed a bit of help finding non-beef and non-dairy meals that would be more nutritious than the pasta and tomato sauce I'd fallen into eating almost every night because it was easy to make and beef free.

The idea was that the dietician could help me broaden my meal choices into more poultry and pork products. She couldn't teach me how to cook of course, but could at least point me in the right direction. It was pretty much a total wash because she kept trying to put dairy into the meal plan so I couldn't even follow the meal plan. She did give me a pointer on a good cookbook for an unskilled cook at least. She also gave a good trail mix recipe that was very calorie dense and said to eat that for snacks. I think snacking on the trail mix alone is what put all the weight back on. Certainly it wasn't her meal plan since I couldn't even follow it due to all the dairy.

My kid and kids like her are so bombarded with movie and advertising expectations of  what a body should be, I think they pursue diets and fads for the wrong reasons. Now that she is out of h.s. I've noticed that her self-esteem has picked up; she is on a sensible regime of diet and exercise with a focus on health rather than appearence; and she has a confidence in herself that wasn't there before her h.s. graduation. I realize that teen years are a time of insecurity. I just didn't realize to what extent.

Shwaine, I hope you don't mind divulging us, but maybe you could tell us the name of this RD here so that we can be cautioned against her techniques (and obvious lack of education).  As for any medical professional, as you pointed out so well, everyone should make SURE to research them and after seeing them a couple times, re-evaluate if they're right for your condition or needs.  I can't COUNT the number of health "professionals" that I have gone through because they just don't understand what I needed for the situation, and I'm even currently dealing with finding a doctor that can even come close to empathising or understanding medically what an eating disorder truly is.

So yes, like Shwaine said, it's SO important to thoroughly research and not be afraid to "fire" your doctor/dietitian/therapist if they don't listen or address your issues!!!  (Make sure to be very outright and forthcoming about your issues, and stand your ground, though.)  I did list The ADA website, so you can find some sort of start, and word of mouth is a great way to get an honest "review," but honestly, it all comes down to how they are working for YOU!  Patient comes FIRST.

(Great point, though- good thing to be brought up.  And not to needlessly toot her horn for her, but my mother-in-law is an AMAZING dietitian, though I'm not quite sure if she does one-on-one consultations.  I should ask her about that tomorrow...)

Given the sue-happy nature of people these days, I don't feel comfortable naming names. But you can rest easy. I went to graduate school up at UC Davis, so she's practicing a good 300 miles away. Unfortunately, I got left on my own at the time because the graduate health plan didn't cover anyone else. Amazon.com got many of my dollars as I bought books on endometriois (since mine scarred some of the digestive tract and, oddly enough, dairy tends to aggrievate it even in women not allergic to dairy), allergies, nutrition and chronic illness. I even tried taking one of those books into her as a last-ditch effort, but it proved fruitless.