Meet Jean Sullivan | Dietitian in Private practice

We had the good fortune of connecting with Jean Sullivan and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Jean, we’d love to hear more about how you thought about starting your own business?                                                                                                    I’m Second generation Irish Italian American and my grandparents immigrated from Ireland and Italy in early 1900’s. They fought hard to find jobs to give us a better life. Strong work ethic definitely stems from that ancestry.              Starting my own private practice was out of pure passion for client support and my own recovery experience in the 1980’s when support was scarce. There has always been a need for compassionate providers that will take time to listen, meet clients where they are and begin to create an authentic framework of support, that infuses hope and empowerment for self care and a thriving life! I come from a long line of industrious entrepreneurs and builders. Both sets of my grandparents immigrated from Ireland and Italy in the early 1900’s to find a better life to start their families. They took jobs where they could in carpentry, shoveling coal for the City of New York, maintained buildings on the Columbia University campus just in the hopes of educational opportunities for my own father. Nothing came easy for them. Provision came from hard work, perseverence and community connection.
I thrive when thinking outside the box to find solutions and exceptional support for patients and clients. I will admit, part of my drive to find new ways to provide meaningful support was born out of many hours sitting in Medical staff meetings. When everything had to “meet protocol” rather than changing protocol to embrace hope, justice, and healing I began to create business plans in my mind to endure the stagnant spaces, until I could launch out on my own.
I knew with every cell of my being that care for those struggling with mental health could and should be different.
I wanted to be a part of that!

What should our readers know about your business?
I have been a Registered Dietitian, Licensed in the great state of Texas for more than 30 years, specialized in Eating disorder the past 20+ years, in private practice 18 years. Every stage of my career has been a meaningful step to where I am today. The first 10 years of my profession I worked in hospitals, caring for adult and pediatric patients in acute care, oncology, transplant, cardiac, rehab and general medical. I also managed nutrition departments in hospitals. Then one day I was in an elevator at work in the hospital and a woman I had never met said to me, “you need to be treating eating disorders”!! I was taken back to say the least, but really… not surprised. My own recovery from acute anorexia at age 17 had me removed from the Baylor university campus freshman year and left me weak, with little to no memory, hearing loss, cardiac damage and a 4 month hospital stay that barely stabilized me. A year later I returned to the Baylor campus to complete my studies, but it was 7 long years of finding my way, searching for balance on my own. There were no eating disorder specialists or treatment centers back then. I have worked at all levels of eating disorder and psychiatric care programs, place a very high value on collaborating with fellow dietitians, therapists, MDs, families and so many in the DFW community. Meaningful connections with clients and colleagues are my daily fuel to keep going.
My passion for quality client care and thinking outside the box, have built my private practice around meeting clients where they are, creating new experiences to change neuropathways and behavior patterns. Helping clients get “unstuck” from patterns in their life that are not helping them is seriously FUN and cultivates so much hope & healing for all of us!
Client sessions range from nutrition education, assessment for level of care and referral, family consultations, meal planning, untangling food rules, negative body image from years of dieting to find food freedom & peace. Our motto is “Go & Grow”. Once we cover the basics talking in sessions we get moving!
Go & Grow podcast is my new venture to share stories of resilience and hope. I am also a holistic Cannabis practitioner to educate Texans about the legal and safe benefits of quality Hemp products in functional medicine.
We provide meal support, restaurant outings, grocery tours, support groups, art therapy, horticulture and connections in nature. Highlighting the power of intuition in nature opens channels for humans to unplug and reconnect with their own intuition to heal and thrive.
My clients keep me true to my principles of trusting our intuitive powers, looking for new interests, passion, and purpose at any stage in life. Along with my thriving, fun practice I am co-creating an intensive outpatient program with my collegue Wendy Pierce, LPC in Frisco Texas. My weekends are filled with family and everything farmsteading, beekeeping, kayaking, and healing time with my honey bees, Lab mix pup and Paint horse!

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
We would camp out in our sporty RV lakeside, hike and watch the sunset from our kayaks over lake lewisville, wake up and head out for brunch at Union bear brewery in Plano for the best outdoor dining in the area. I am still loyal to those inconic hangouts of big D like strolling through northpark mall, checking out endless books at the big half priced books on loop 12 in Dallas, walk around white rock lake, connect with creatives at the boho market when at Dallas Farmer’s market, take in art at Nasher and Trammell Crow asian Art Museum,snack at food trucks at Klyde Warren and eat at Pecan lodge in Deep Ellum for some yummy “hot mess”! Any friend of mine knows I love hitting the hot spots in Dallas but love most going back to our 12 acre farm 90 minutes north of Fort worth. This leg of the trip would include the crosstimbers wine trail, yoga at the Ponderosa in Forestburg, and shopping in Muenster, St Jo, and Nocona.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
Hello! I would love to give a shout out to my colleagues and clients that daily persevere through the challenges of life in these epically weird and unpredictable days. Supporting healing & recovery requires an unmatched level of commitment to self care & community connection to keep going!
I am amazed daily at how my clients show courage and strength to keep pushing against old beliefs and patterns to get unstuck, find freedom, and thrive!
Colleagues that have lifted me up with understanding, infusing humor, and compassion include Francie Kilborne, Kalee Goodman, Amanda Tally, Aimee, Howarth, Sara Willerson, Courtney King, Kelsey Haka, Wendy Pierce, Angela Harris, and so many more!
Big huge shout out to my bad ass husband and daughter that keep me in balance from my workaholic tendencies and gently nudge me to let go and have fun at home & in nature together. My gratitude is infinite for our incredible earth and universe that daily recharge me and keep me true to my path.

Website: https://www.vitalfoodtherapy.com/

Instagram: @vitalfoodtherapy

Linkedin: Jean Sullivan RDN LD