University-Level Continuing Education for Professionals in Nutritional Psychology (NP)
Preferences, addictions, behaviors oh my! This course continues its exploration of the major mechanisms connecting nutrition with psychological, behavioral, and environmental processes that shape our thoughts, feelings, choices, and behaviors. —The Center for Nutritional Psychology
Have you ever wondered how stress impacts your dietary habits, food choices, and eating behaviors? What about the environment you live in — could it also influence your diet-mental health relationship? Stress and environment are just two of the many mechanisms explored in this course that shape the complex relationships involved in our DMHR.
This final course in the NP 100 Series Introductory Certificate in Nutritional Psychology and the second course in the NP 150 series continues the deep dive into the mechanisms linking nutrition with psychological, behavioral, and environmental processes. It examines how these factors collectively shape our thoughts, feelings, and behaviors, offering a holistic perspective on the diet-mental health continuum.
This course delves into the intricate interplay between stress, diet, immune responses, and cognitive function through the lens of psychoneuroimmunology. You’ll explore how stress impacts the nervous and immune systems via pathways such as the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis and the sympathetic nervous system (SNS) and explore new elements of the microbiota-gut-brain axis (MGBA) involved in this interplay. These processes reveal how stress-driven eating behaviors, dietary choices, and brain function influence overall mental health. Additionally, you’ll examine the psychological and behavioral mechanisms shaping dietary habits, including emotional eating, cognitive distortions, body image, the brain’s reward system, habit formation, and the effects of mindfulness on DMHR.
The course also highlights the social and environmental factors influencing the DMHR. Topics such as socioeconomic status, cultural norms, social support, food insecurity, and urbanization are explored, shedding light on how external and internal influences shape eating behaviors and overall well-being. By the end of the course, you’ll gain a comprehensive, evidence-based understanding of how these diverse mechanisms interconnect, equipping you to understand better the profound interplay between what we eat and how we feel.
This course establishes the mechanisms of nutritional psychology and provides educational information based on scientific evidence. However, it does not provide assessment, diagnosis, or intervention skills. Instead, it aims to equip Learners with the knowledge to understand and engage with this emerging field. See the NP 150 Part II Course Flyer.
This course is fully online, self-paced, and text-based, with figures/diagrams, powerpoint presentations, and short animated videos. This course has a syllabus, three modules and quizzes, one final exam, and a course evaluation. The pace with which you complete this course will depend on your personal reading, comprehension, and learning style.
Once enrolled, Learners have full online access to this course for 4 months (120 days). This course is fully self-contained, and no additional materials are needed for its completion. This course and evaluation must be completed to receive course credit and an NP 110 Certificate of completion. No partial credit is given. This course is not downloadable. However, for each module, Learners may download a Module Download Kit containing all of the Terms & Definitions, Figures, Lightbulb moments (short evidence-based factoids), and APA-formatted References.
CNP is committed to identifying and resolving potential conflicts of interest in planning, promoting, delivering, and evaluating its continuing education curriculum and programs. As an APA-approved continuing education sponsor, and consistent with concepts outlined in the APA Ethical Principles of Psychologists and Code of Conduct, no individual involved in the planning, promotion, delivery, or evaluation of CNP continuing education has any personal, professional, legal, financial, or other interests that could reasonably be expected to impair his, her, or their objectivity, competence, or effectiveness.
CNP is approved to sponsor Continuing Education (CE) for professionals through the following organizations:
CNP maintains responsibility for this program and its content. CNP, the organization offering this course, is committed to ethical standards, resolving conflicts of interest in its programs, and ensuring unbiased, evidence-based education. Registering for NP 110 indicates that you have read and agreed to CNP’s Course Policy.
NP 110 provides 20.25 CE for Psychologists, RDs, DTRs, LMFTs, LCSWs, LPCCs, and LEPs, and 18.25 CE for National Certified Counselors (NCCs). The National Board of Certified Counselors requirements for NCCs exclude time spent on syllabi, quizzes, and the course final. Please contact the NBCC should you have questions.
NP 150 Part I is a prerequisite for this course. Those wishing to obtain the NP 100 Introductory Certificate in Nutritional Psychology should take courses in the following order: NP 110, NP 120 Part I and II, NP 150 Part I, and NP 150 Part II.
This course presents evidence, knowledge, and conceptual learning (psychonutritional education) on how diet influences all aspects of the DMHR within nutritional psychology. The NP 100 Series Certificate provides knowledge of the theoretical basis for the field of study connecting psychology and nutrition, along with the language characterizing the field and the conceptual framework required for its eventual application into psychological and mental healthcare. This course is not designed to provide diagnosis, nutritional, or therapeutic intervention outside of one’s existing professional scope of practice.
This course does not provide the following:
This course provides the following:
A: Yes, this course is taught fully online through the CNP educational platform and can be completed at your own pace. Note: once enrolled in this course, you have access to it for four months (and must complete it within this timeframe).
A: Yes, NP 150 Part II has open enrollment, and you can begin any time. Note: NP 150 Part I is a strongly suggested prerequisite for this course.
A: NP 150 Part II is estimated to take around 20 hours to complete, depending on your learning style and previous experience in nutrition and psychology and whether you've taken NP 110. If this information is new to you, or you are a deep learner, it may take more time to complete.
Citing the whole course (NP 150 Part II): Instructor(s). (Year accessed). Title of course [Type of course]. Name of Platform. URL Example: Behairy, S. F. (2024). NP 150 Part II: Mechanisms in the Diet-Mental Health Relationship (DMHR) [Online course]. The Center for Nutritional Psychology. https://www.nutritional-psychology.org/np-150/ Citing a specific module: Instructor(s). (Year). Title of module or chapter. In Title of course [Type of course]. Name of Platform. URL Example: Behairy, S. F. (2024). Biological mechanism in DMHR. In NP 150 Part II: Mechanisms in the Diet-Mental Health Relationship (DMHR) [Online course]. The Center for Nutritional Psychology. https://www.nutritional-psychology.org/np-150/ In-text citation: (Behairy, 2024)
A: Yes, a brief description of nutritional psychology is published in: Elsner, F., Matthiessen, L. E., Średnicka-Tober, D., Marx, W., O'Neil, A., Welch, A. A., Hayhoe, R. P., Higgs, S., van Vliet, M., Morphew-Lu, E., Kazimierczak, R., Góralska-Walczak, R., Kopczyńska, K., Steenbuch Krabbe Bruun, T., Rosane, B. P., Gjedsted Bügel, S., & Strassner, C. (2022). Identifying future study designs for mental health and social wellbeing associated with diets of a cohort living in eco-regions: Findings from the INSUM expert workshop. International journal of environmental research and public health, 20(1), 669. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph20010669
"This course will definitely help me in my study and practice. I have an interest for the subject and understood the key role and importance of our dietary patterns and mental health. I now know specifics to integrate in my life and practice, to help clients, patients, students, family and friends. Such as the 6 elements, research, relations from individual to extra individual factors. It validates my values and desires to learn and support others with this information, helps me help people to have conscious and awareness of their dietary intake and how much it affects their lives."
In Module 5, we explore Psychoneuroimmunology (PNI) by examining how stress affects the nervous and immune systems and how dietary patterns interact with these processes. The module begins with an analysis of stress through the Hypothalamic-Pituitary-Adrenal (HPA) axis, the Sympathetic Nervous System (SNS), and the Microbiota-Gut-Brain Axis (MGBA), revealing how these systems modulate immune and brain functions. It also covers the bidirectional relationship between stress and immune responses. The second part delves into how diet, particularly under stress, influences mental health, focusing on early-life stress, stress-driven eating patterns, and their impact on well-being.
Module 6 delves into the psychological and behavioral mechanisms shaping our relationship with food, building on previous modules’ foundations in the Diet-Mental Health Relationship (DMHR). It explores how emotions, cognitive distortions, body image, and self-esteem influence dietary habits, with a focus on emotional eating and mindful eating as tools for improving mental well-being. The module also examines behavioral mechanisms, such as habit formation, the brain’s reward system, and food preferences, including the psychological dynamics of food addiction and food noise. By understanding these interconnected factors, this module deepens our insight into how diet impacts mental and emotional health.
Module 7 expands the understanding of the Diet-Mental Health Relationship (DMHR) by exploring social and environmental mechanisms that influence dietary choices and mental health. It begins with socioeconomic factors, examining how economic disparities affect access to nutritious food and psychological well-being. The module also explores cultural influences, including traditional diets, societal norms, and dietary acculturation. Social support systems, childhood experiences, and community environments are analyzed for their impact on DMHR, while the food environment, including food insecurity, food marketing, and sensory influences, is discussed. Finally, urbanization and its effects on lifestyle and mental health are examined, providing a broader view of external factors shaping the DMHR framework.
Explore how the stress response, through the Sympathetic Nervous System (SNS), Hypothalamic-Pituitary-Adrenal (HPA) axis, and Microbiota-Gut-Brain Axis (MGBA), intertwines with immune function. Understand how diet and stress are bidirectionally connected and impact mental health outcomes.
Estimated time to complete:
5 hours
Module Quiz
22 questions/30 min
Module Overview
Terms & Definitions
Introduction to Psychoneuroimmunological Mechanisms and DMHR
Unit 1: Psychoneuroimmunology of Stress
Unit 2: Diet, Stress, and Mental Health
Module Conclusion
Delve into the psychological and behavioral factors shaping dietary habits, from emotional eating and body image to habit loops and food addiction. Discover how these mechanisms interact to influence mental well-being through the reward system and habitual behaviors.
Estimated time to complete:
7 hours
Module Quiz
43 questions/30 min
Module Overview
Terms & Definitions
Introduction to Psychological & Behavioral Mechanisms and DMHR
Unit 1: Psychological Mechanisms
Unit 2: Behavioral Mechanisms
Unit 3: Hormonal Regulation & Energy Balance Mechanism
Module Conclusion
Examine the role of socioeconomic, cultural, and environmental factors in shaping the DMHR. Uncover the impact of social support, food environments, and urbanization on dietary choices and psychological outcomes.
Estimated time to complete:
11.25 hours
Module Quiz
21 questions/30 min
Module Overview
Terms & Definitions
Introduction to Social & Environmental Mechanisms and DMHR [Video]
Unit 1: Socioeconomic Factors and DMHR
Unit 2: Cultural Influences and DMHR
Unit 3: Social Support, Relationships, and DMHR
Unit 4: Food Environment and DMHR
Unit 5: Urbanization, Lifestyle, and DMHR
Module Conclusion
This course provides 20.25 CE/CPEU for Psychologists, Registered Dietitians (RDs) and Dietetic Technician, Registered (DTRs), Licensed Marriage and Family Therapists (LMFTs), Licensed Clinical Social Workers (LCSWs), Licensed Professional Clinical Counselors (LPCCs), Licensed Educational Psychologists (LEPs), and 18.25 CE for National Certified Counselors (NCCs). Learners must complete the course in its entirety and the course evaluation to receive credit for this course.
CNP is approved to sponsor CE for psychologists, mental health professionals, counselors, dietitians, nutritionists, and other professionals whose licensing bodies accept CE from APA, CDR, CAMFT, and NCC.
If finances are a barrier to accessing our curriculum, see our NP 110 Scholarship Program: 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.