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"Every professional working at the intersection of nutrition and mental health eventually faces the same question: What am I authorized to do—and how do I do it ethically? NP 550 is the most comprehensive course built to answer this question."
The connection between nutrition and mental health is no longer speculative—it is supported by a rapidly growing body of evidence that is reshaping how professionals across psychology, nutrition, counseling, health coaching, and the health sciences approach their work.
Nutritional psychology (NP) is helping to fill this gap by offering a systematic framework for understanding how food shapes all aspects of our psychological experience — from cognition, motivation, and behavior to emotions and mental well-being.
With this knowledge comes a challenge that few training programs prepare you for: understanding the science is one thing —knowing how to translate it into systematic, ethical, evidence-based practice is another. That’s exactly what this course is built to help you address.
If you’re a mental health professional who has hesitated to discuss with a client how their dietary patterns may be affecting their mental health — or a nutrition professional who has hesitated to address the emotional and trauma patterns underlying a client’s entrenched eating behaviors — you are not alone.
The integration of the nutritional and psychological sciences has outpaced the ethical and legal frameworks designed to guide it, and until now, few continuing education courses have systematically addressed the questions that arise when professionals begin working at the intersection of these two fields.
Consider the questions professionals are quietly wrestling with:
These questions show up in everyday practice—and the answers matter—for your clients, your scope, and your career. NP 550 was designed to close this gap!
NP 550 is not a generic ethics refresher. It is the first and only continuing education course built from the ground up to address the scope-of-practice and ethical challenges unique to professionals integrating nutritional psychology into their work, including those actively practicing psychonutritional education in clinical, educational, and organizational settings.
Through six carefully structured modules, you’ll develop skills in:
Nutritional psychology (the connection between the psychological and nutritional sciences) is taking shape as a distinct interdisciplinary field, and CNP is defining the professional pathways and training through which this work can be practiced responsibly. As the evidence linking diet and mental health is consolidated, more practitioners are beginning to bring NP concepts into their work—but often without a clear, formal framework for doing so within their scope of practice. This can create risks: to clients, to professional standing, and to the credibility of the field itself.
NP 550 does not just teach ethics—it positions you as a pioneer in an emerging discipline by giving you the ethical architecture to practice with integrity. At the heart of this evolution is a new interdisciplinary level of clinical work that we refer to as psychonutritional education: a structured way for professionals to address the psychological, cognitive, and behavioral aspects of the nutrition-mental health relationship without crossing into psychiatric or medical treatment. Professionals who complete this course will be among the first in their fields to hold formal training in the scope of practice, ethics, and psychonutritional educational applications of nutritional psychology—a credential that will only become more valuable as the field matures.
By completing NP 550, you do not just gain knowledge. You gain the confidence to:
NP 550 is a continuing education course delivered fully online through the CNP educational platform. The course is self-paced and text-based, with figures, diagrams, and interactive components designed to deepen understanding.
Six Modules:
The course includes a syllabus, quizzes, a post-course assessment, and a course evaluation. Upon completion, you will receive an NP 550 Certificate of Completion. Once enrolled, learners have full online access for 3 months (90 days). For each module, learners may download a Module Download Kit containing all terms and definitions, figures, and APA-formatted references.
NP 550 is a cornerstone in CNP’s Clinical Applications Certificate #3 in Nutritional Psychology (NP-C), which also includes NP 510 (Psychonutritional Assessment in Nutritional Psychology) and the upcoming NP 520. Together with the Theoretical Foundations (NP-F) and Biological Mechanisms Certificates (NP-M), the NP-C contributes to the Micro-Degree in Nutritional Psychology—the most comprehensive professional credential available in nutritional psych.
The Center for Nutritional Psychology (CNP) is approved to sponsor continuing education for professionals through the following organizations:
NP 550 provides Continuing Education for Psychologists, RDs, DTRs, LMFTs, LCSWs, LPCCs, LEPs, and NCCs.
This course provides knowledge of the:
This course does not provide:
A: Yes. NP 550 is taught fully online through the CNP educational platform and can be completed at your own pace. Once enrolled, you have three months (90 days) to complete the course.
A: NP 550 has open enrollment, and you can begin at any time.
A: NP 550 is estimated to take TBD CE hours. This depends on your learning style and previous experience. If this information is new to you, or you are a deep learner, it may take more time.
A: No. NP 550 is designed for both licensed professionals (psychologists, counselors, dietitians) and Certified practitioners (health coaches, holistic nutrition professionals, health educators, NTPs, peer support specialists). The course addresses scope of practice for all of these professional groups.
A: Most ethics courses address a single profession’s code of conduct. NP 550 is the only course that addresses the ethical and scope-of-practice challenges unique to the intersection of nutritional and psychological sciences—across multiple professions simultaneously. If you work at the crossroads of nutrition and mental health, this course was built specifically for you.
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Ephimia Morphew-Lu is the Co-Founder of the Center for Nutritional Psychology (CNP), which she has built and led for over a decade, advancing the field of nutritional psychology and consolidating worldwide research on nutrition, mood, behavior, and mental health. Trained at the University of Illinois (MS, Engineering Psychology) and the International Space University, she previously served as a Senior Human Factors Psychologist at NASA Johnson Space Center/SPACEHAB — leading human performance, habitability, and cognitive task analysis work for International Space Station operations — and as a Human Systems Research Scientist at NASA Ames. Her work has been recognized with the NASA Outstanding Team Achievement Award and the Aerospace Medical Association President’s Citation Award. At CNP, she now brings that same operational lens — what supports the human being in extreme, high-stakes, high-tempo environments — to the nutrition–mental health relationship, and to the service members, families, and clinicians for whom resilience, cognition, and mission readiness are daily realities.
Dr. Meagan Lasecke is a licensed clinical psychologist specializing in pediatric behavioral health and the integration of nutrition, lifestyle, and mental well-being. She earned her Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from Palo Alto University and completed advanced training in pediatric health psychology and integrated behavioral medicine at Kaiser Permanente and Cleveland Clinic Children’s. Meagan’s work bridges psychology and nutritional science, with experience in pediatric primary care, gastroenterology, disorders of the gut–brain axis, and lifestyle-based behavioral interventions. She has a longstanding personal and professional passion for holistic wellness, functional medicine, and the gut–brain connection, informed by more than a decade of independent study and her own health journey. As a contributor to CNP, Meagan is dedicated to translating research in nutrition and mental health into accessible, evidence-based tools for families and clinicians. She is passionate about helping youth improve their mental, physical, and emotional well-being through nutritional psychology.
Dr. Riccardo Gurrieri earned a Master’s degree in Clinical and Health Psychology from the University of Pisa and a Master’s degree in Human Nutrition Sciences from San Raffaele University in Rome. He has also completed postgraduate training in Applied Nutrition and Dietetics. He is currently a PhD student in Translational Medicine at the Sant’Anna School of Advanced Studies in Pisa, and is undertaking postgraduate training in cognitive-behavioral psychotherapy. His academic and professional interests lie at the intersection of psychology, nutrition, and neuroscience, with a particular focus on the microbiota–gut–brain axis and its relevance to psychological well-being and resilience. Riccardo is interested in advancing a scientifically grounded understanding of how nutritional and biological factors may contribute to mental health outcomes, and how nutrition-informed approaches may complement psychological interventions in clinical practice.
Nabila is a life science researcher with a Master’s degree in Biotechnology. She works as a research intern at the Pakistan Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (PCSIR). She is interested in studying the intricate relationship between microbes and the human body and how they impact individual health and well-being. Her research specialization is in Health Microbiology and primarily revolves around E.coli, identifying and documenting the emergence of virulent E.coli genes responsible for Urinary Tract Infections (UTIs) in women. By presenting her groundbreaking research findings, Nabila aims to educate young girls and women on the importance of personal hygiene, the latest antibiotic resistance trends, and the significant influence of microbes on both physiological and psychological states.
NP550 Course Syllabus
Module 1: Defining Scope of Practice in an Interdisciplinary Context
Module 2: Scope of Practice for Licensed Mental Health Professionals
Module 3: Scope of Practice for Registered Dietitian Nutritionists
Module 4: Scope of Practice for Certified and Credentialed Practitioners
Module 5: Ethical Decision-Making and Interdisciplinary Collaboration
Module 6: Putting It Into Practice: Integration, Documentation, and Your Action Plan
This course provides X CE for Psychologists, Registered Dietitians (RDs), Dietetic Technicians, Registered (DTRs), Licensed Marriage and Family Therapists (LMFTs), Licensed Clinical Social Workers (LCSWs), Licensed Professional Clinical Counselors (LPCCs), Licensed Educational Psychologists (LEPs), and NCCs (National Certified Counselors). To receive credit for this course, learners must complete the course in its entirety and the course evaluation.
NP provides university-level, science-based Continuing Education (CE) for professionals seeking to develop the skills to incorporate psychonutritional assessment within clinical practice.
By integrating the latest research in nutritional psychology, CNP ensures that its courses are rooted in scientifically validated principles, offering a comprehensive and credible foundation for practice. This commitment to science-based education empowers healthcare providers, mental health professionals, nutritionists, and educators to apply cutting-edge insights to their work, bridging the gap between nutrition and psychological well-being.
CNP maintains responsibility for this program and its content. If finances are a barrier to accessing our curriculum, see our NP 110 Scholarship Program.
CNP is approved to sponsor Continuing Education for:
The information in this course is not meant to, nor should it ever be used, to treat, mitigate, or cure psychiatric illness. This information should never be used as a substitute for sound medical advice. This course is educational in nature and is designed to introduce professionals, students, and interested individuals in developing their understanding of the connection between diet and all aspects of psychological functioning and mental health. Best practices for how to integrate this information professionally, ethically, and within the standards of practice will be covered in upcoming courses. While this information can be incorporated into one’s practice within an educational framework, it cannot be used to provide dietary advice, any form of dietary intervention, or to treat any psychological or mental health issues.
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