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Welcome to River Oak Health

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Our approach to improving your relationship with food, mind and body

The ROH Story

The River Oak Health (ROH) story began in 1995, when its founder, Shane Jeffrey established his first dietetic private practice on the Gold Coast and in Brisbane with a focus on providing nutritional services to people living with an eating disorder. For the next 25 years, the practice remained relatively small and focused on providing services in a part time capacity, expanding to Toowoomba and the Sunshine Coast.

ROH has always made efforts to support and uphold the values of collaboration, compassion, authenticity, hope and equality. While the circumstances that bring us together are unfortunate, we see our clients being our greatest teachers and educators, and for this we are ever so grateful.

The work of ROH extends far beyond the consultation room, extending to training health professionals and community presentations. We offer internships, support students and take on volunteers to assist us in our mission, but to also nurture the next wave of people hoping to work in this space. Our goal is to make a difference in the lives of the people we work with, their loved ones and health professionals

The name ROH came to our Director, Shane, while driving down the M1 from the Sunshine Coast to Brisbane. Seeking a name that encapsulated the provision of life, change and the ability to flourish, the name of River Oak Health was conceived.

River – representing water, is a known necessity for life, at times tranquil and times a ranging torrent. In our logo, River is represented by the colour blue. Oak – being a tree, represents growth, oxygen and life occurring in its natural and unbiased form. Beginning its life as a largely unremarkable acorn, the oak tree develops into a structure of beauty, resilience, and life. Oak is represented by the colour green in our logo.

River Oak represents new beginnings, new growth, and new life, all forged as people come together to work passionately on the common objective of improving peoples' relationships with food, mind and body.

About Us

We are a home away from home. Our hub is based in Kelvin Grove with satellite locations in Toowooomba and online.

Food and eating seems simple enough but the complexities of our society and eating disorders can make a seemingly simple task feel like mission impossible. Our team has over 20 years of experience in this field helping people from all walks of life to take the first step in improving your relationship with food and your body, or food and eating skills, to live a more wholesome life free from overwhelming food thoughts.

We are a place to nurture your relationship with food, mind and body, and we look forward to welcoming you to our community.

At River Oak, our space feels authentic and homely.

We’ve created a space we love to be in, in collaborations with occupational therapists, through a health at every size® lens and with a trauma informed approach.

You’ll be greeted by the warm friendly faces of our admin team in an open, light and very leafy space. With plenty of tea to choose from, a community puzzle to finish and books to read, we hope you’ll feel right at home.

Each room has a beautiful comfy couch, waiting just for you, with plenty of space to share and collaborate and sensory tool kits to explore with your clinician. As you move through the clinic you’ll see lots of artwork created by clients of River Oak Health and other members of our community.

We’ve created a space we’re proud of, and one that we hope you’ll be proud of coming to.

About The Team

At River Oak Health our philosophy and approach to care is informed by five key principles. Together, this creates a holistic and comprehensive framework for your care, facilitated by our experts with our clients at the centre.

At River Oak Health, we value the advancement of knowledge through research, and keep pace with the latest research on feeding and eating disorders around the world. We review the research findings and explore ways of integrating them into our treatment approach following consultation with our staff and clients alike.
Our experience of working with thousands of clients strongly influences our treatment approach. While the base of our knowledge stems from professional education and training, much of what we have learned about delivering treatment has come from the many people we have worked with over the past 25 years.
We consider working with our clients an absolute pleasure and truly value each unique story. Taking the time to listen to, and understand, these stories provides us with rich and dynamic insights into the lives and experiences of our clients providing an avenue of understanding that cannot be captured in a textbook or training event.
While we acknowledge that research and guidelines suggest that specific treatment approaches should be offered in the first instance for some presentations, our experience is these treatments are not a ‘one fix for all’. We discuss a range of treatment options, and work collaboratively with you to tailor an individual treatment plan for your unique circumstances.
We know that therapy and change can be challenging at times. For this reason, we encourage you to identify the people around you that can assist you in the process of working towards improved health, wellbeing, and performance. We refer to these people as your support team, and encourage their participation in treatment with you.

Our Philosophy

Our Values

Combining our years of experience, lived and diverse, across multiple disciplines, our vision is to be the leading eating disorder service in Australia, for education and client care.

River Oak Health is dedicated to delivering a holistic and collaborative approach to help clients nurture their relationships with food, mind and body - and reduce the impact of eating and feeding disorders in Australia by supporting, educating and advocating, for, with, and on behalf of those living with or supporting those living with eating disorders.

Collaboration with other health professionals, you and your community.
Collaboration within our team, our colleagues, clients and families and the broader community, we collaborate to help prevent and manage eating disorders and advocate for change to ensure clients are protected and supported throughout their treatment.
Compassion a space and a service free of judgment where we free to be our authentic selves, driven by curiosity and kindness to understand you and your world to improve health outcomes. Compassion drives everything we do for ourselves, our team, clients and community.

We aim to move and work with kindness, mindfulness and understanding in a human centered approach to remove judgment and encourage curiosity. We respect and value life experience and are people first, and believe everyone should have access to proper care.
Authenticity to show up as our true grounded selves, so that you can find yours.

ROH is grounded and authentic in our purpose for helping those struggling with food, eating and weight concerns. We show up as we are, vulnerable and full of fun. We prioritise inclusivity with a creative outlook, and truly believe that one size does not fit all, however you look at it.
Hope for you and for a better world, a beacon of light to hold.

ROH aims to be a beacon of hope, helping clients to find and hold onto it. Together we hope to see a world where all food and all bodies are accepted and appreciated for their diversity. With our passion and experience we hold onto hope when you can’t, to help provide a safe space to sit until you’re ready to take the torch.
Equality in access to services while embracing human diversity.
At River Oak Health, we believe in equality and strive to provide top-quality care for individuals of all genders, sexual orientations, races, ethnicities, and socio-economic backgrounds. We understand that eating disorders can affect anyone and are committed to creating a welcoming and inclusive environment for all our clients. We believe that everyone has the right to receive the support and treatment they need to recover and lead a healthy, fulfilling life.
In supporting equality in access to services, we offer a number of pro-bono and reduced fee options and support a range of delivery options from telehealth to in person appointment. Our goal is to make our service accessible to all independent of financial circumstances or geographical location.