The connection between what you eat and how you feel is one of the most under-recognised pieces of the mental health picture. Nutritional counselling at Newmarket Therapy Centre, offered by Brendan Callaghan, integrates psychotherapy with evidence-based nutritional guidance — helping you understand how dietary patterns are shaping your mood, energy, focus, and resilience.
The Food–Mood Connection
The strong connection between dietary behaviour and mental health is an all-too-often overlooked piece of the puzzle that is human wellness. On the molecular level, our macronutrient (carbs, fats, proteins) and micronutrient (vitamins and minerals) consumption play a substantial role in how we think and feel. This is primarily due to the impact these compounds have on our systems of energetic and hormonal functioning, cognitive functioning, and the regulation of inflammation in the body.
Nutritional counselling at Newmarket Therapy Centre is not a diet plan, an elimination protocol, or a one-size-fits-all prescription. It is a collaborative, psychotherapeutic exploration of how your nutritional habits, your psychological experiences, and your physical experiences are all influencing each other — and what manageable adjustments might support your overall wellbeing.
Brendan Callaghan, MCP, RP(Q), holds a Master's degree in Counselling Psychology, an Honours B.A. in Psychology, and a Nutritionist Diploma. He brings both clinical depth and nutritional training to this integrated work — offered as part of his broader psychotherapy practice at Newmarket Therapy Centre.
When Nutritional Counselling May Help
Nutritional counselling can be a meaningful adjunct to psychotherapy for a wide range of presentations — particularly where the body and mind are clearly affecting each other. Common reasons people seek this work include:
Nutritional counselling is not a replacement for medical care or for treatment of a clinical eating disorder. For severe disordered eating, we will work in collaboration with medical and dietetic specialists — please ask when you contact us.
Areas We Commonly Explore
Nutrition & Cognitive Functioning
Macronutrients and micronutrients that support thinking speed, memory, focus, and decision-making — including carotenoids, flavonols, omega-3, and B vitamins.
Inflammation & Mood
How inflammatory and anti-inflammatory dietary patterns affect depression risk, neural functioning, and physical symptoms — including the role of omega-3, curcuminoids, and trace minerals.
Gut–Brain Axis
The relationship between the gut microbiome, the vagus nerve, and mental health — including serotonin and GABA signalling, and the role of fermented foods and probiotics.
IBS & Stress
The bidirectional relationship between IBS, anxiety, and depression — and how psychotherapeutic and nutritional adjustments can interrupt the cycle.
Energy, Sleep & Mood
How caloric balance, blood sugar regulation, and macronutrient timing affect daily energy, sleep quality, and emotional stability.
Food, Identity & Behaviour
The psychological and emotional dimensions of eating — habits formed in family of origin, food as comfort or control, and building a sustainable relationship with food.
Nutritional counselling at Newmarket Therapy Centre is not about strict elimination diets or rigid prescriptions. It is about understanding how your body and mind are influencing each other — and finding manageable, individual adjustments that actually support how you want to feel.
Newmarket Therapy CentreHow the Integrated Work Unfolds
Brendan's integrated approach weaves psychotherapeutic understanding with nutritional exploration — tailored to your specific experiences, needs, and interests. The combination tends to produce more durable change than either alone.
Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT)
CBT addresses the thoughts, beliefs, and behavioural patterns that shape your relationship with food, your body, and your overall functioning. Practical, structured tools alongside deeper exploration.
Learn more →Emotion-Focused Therapy (EFT)
For the emotional patterns underneath nutritional habits — eating as comfort, restriction as control, body image as identity. EFT helps surface and process the feelings that drive the behaviours.
Learn more →Nutritional Education & Exploration
Evidence-based exploration of how specific nutrients and dietary patterns may be affecting your mood, energy, cognition, and physical symptoms — translated into individually appropriate, sustainable adjustments.
Somatic Awareness
Building awareness of how your body actually feels in response to food, stress, and rest — and using that information to inform manageable adjustments. The body's feedback is often more useful than rigid rules.
Learn more →What to Expect
Nutritional counselling at Newmarket Therapy Centre is always tailored to the person. There are no prescribed protocols, no mandatory tracking, no rigid rules.
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A free intake call with Susan
Our Client Care Manager Susan will listen to what you're looking for and confirm whether Brendan's nutritional counselling work is a good fit for what you are bringing.
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Mapping the territory
In early sessions, Brendan takes time to understand your dietary patterns, your psychological and physical experiences, and what you are hoping to explore. This is collaborative — not a clinical assessment.
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Exploring connections
Together you begin to notice how your nutritional habits, psychological experiences, and physical experiences are influencing each other. Awareness comes first; adjustments come later.
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Sustainable, individual adjustments
Where appropriate, manageable adjustments are introduced — always grounded in your individual life, capacity, and preferences. The goal is durable change, not white-knuckle compliance.
Frequently Asked Questions
Ready to Take the Next Step?
Our intake team will help you understand whether nutritional counselling with Brendan is the right fit for what you are bringing. No commitment required — just a conversation.