Symposium Session: The Role of Nutrition in Substance Use Disorder: Recovery Building a Foundation for Healing
Substance Use Disorder (SUD) and Alcohol Use Disorder (AUD) are closely linked with malnutrition and poor dietary patterns that can negatively impact both physical and mental health during detoxification and early recovery. Addressing these complex needs requires coordinated, interprofessional care that integrates nutrition support with behavioral health interventions.
This session will explore thehow nutrition and psychosocial factors intersect through the recovery process. Participants will examine the role of nutrition interventions, food access, and dietary patterns in supporting cognitive function, mood stability, and physical recovery during treatment. Attendees will learn evidence-based strategies for implementing nutrition psychoeducation into behavioral health care plans. This session will also emphasis collaborative care planning, coordinated communication, and patient-centered strategies in various levels of care settings that will improve recovery outcomes and overall well-being.
This is not a webinar or course for purchase - this is a module for credit claiming for our 2026 Spring Symposium attendees and cannot be purchased or taken by non-attendees. These sessions are exclusive to our Symposium; however, the topics may be revisited in the future in the form of a webinar or self-study course.
Learning Objectives
After completing this continuing education activity, health care professionals will be better able to:
- Describe the relationship between substance use, common nutrient deficiencies, and malnutrition in early recovery.
- Identify common dietary patterns and nutrition-related challenges among individuals entering Substance Use Disorder (SUD) treatment.
- Explain the psychological and physiological impact of poor nutrition during early recovery, including nutrient repletion needs and sugar cravings.
- Apply strategies for delivering effective sobriety nutrition therapy and psychoeducation in residential and partial hospitalization programs (PHP).
- Examine the role of interdisciplinary collaboration between Registered Dietitians and Licensed Social Workers in supporting holistic, patient-centered care in SUD treatment settings.
Additional Information
Jaclyn Klauder, RDN, LD, graduated from Clemson University (Go Tigers!) with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Food Science and Human Nutrition. She then completed her dietetic internship at the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) and accepted a full-time position there, working as a clinical registered dietitian in general medicine and psychiatry. She quickly developed a passion for mental health nutrition and sees true value in concepts such as HAES (Healthy at Every Size) and Intuitive Eating. This passion led her to her current role in South Florida at Caron Treatment Centers, an alcohol and substance abuse treatment facility.
For the past three years, she has provided sobriety nutrition therapy education and counseling to patients with substance use disorder and co-occurring conditions. Jaclyn is currently pursuing a specialty certification in eating disorders that will allow her to provide more in-depth care to patients struggling with various disordered eating behaviors. When she is not at work, she enjoys shark tooth hunting at her local beach, cooking new and creative meals at home, and spending time with her husband and their English bulldog, Scruggs!
Stephanie Arnold, MS, RDN, LDN, completed all her education to become a dietitian at the University of Indiana in Pennsylvania, including her undergraduate and graduate degrees in science as well as her dietetic internship. She began her professional career as a clinical dietitian in 2008 at Caron Treatment Centers, an inpatient drug and alcohol rehabilitation facility, in Wernersville, PA, about 70 miles northwest of Philadelphia.
Stephanie still works at Caron Treatment Centers and now holds the title of Clinical Nutrition Manager, managing nutrition services for Caron’s programs in Pennsylvania and in Florida. She has presented many times to a variety of populations locally, regionally, and nationally on the topic of sobriety nutrition therapy. She was nominated and won the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics Behavioral Health Nutrition Dietetic Practice Group’s award of Excellence in Practice for Addictions in 2023. She obtained her certification in Intuitive Eating in 2024. Stephanie is very passionate about nutrition in recovery and loves to share her knowledge with clients and others. In her spare time, she enjoys spending time with family, friends, animals, and the road – running! She would like to thank her family, friends, and coworkers for their support in shaping who she is today.
Disclosures:
The faculty and the planners of this educational activity have no relevant financial relationships with ineligible companies to disclose.
An “ineligible company” includes any entity whose primary business is producing, marketing, selling, re-selling, or distributing healthcare products used by or on patients.

In support of improving patient care, Great Valley Publishing Company is jointly accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME), the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE), and the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC), to provide continuing education for the healthcare team.
This activity will also award credit for dietetics (CDR CPEU).
Dietitians:
This activity will also award 1.5 CDR CPEU credits for dietetics. Completion of this RD/DTR profession specific or IPCE activity awards CPEUs (One IPCE credit = One CPEU). If the activity is dietetics-related but not targeted to RDs or DTRs, CPEUs may be claimed which are commensurate with participation in contact hours (One 60-minute hour = 1 CPEU).
RDs and DTRs are to select activity type 102 in their Activity Log. Sphere and Competency selection is at the learner's discretion.
Social Workers:
As a Jointly Accredited Organization, Great Valley Publishing Company is approved to offer social work continuing education by the Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB) Approved Continuing Education (ACE) program. Organizations, not individual courses, are approved under this program. Regulatory boards are the final authority on courses accepted for continuing education credit. Social workers completing this course will receive 1.5 general type of continuing education credits.
Interprofessional:
This activity was planned by and for the healthcare team, and learners will receive 1.5 IPCE credits for learning and change.
Available Credit
- 1.50 Interprofessional Continuing Education (IPCE)This activity was planned by and for the healthcare team, and learners will receive Interprofessional Continuing Education (IPCE) credits for learning and change.

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