Professional Qualifications

Dr. Elaine Barretto

A multidisciplinary education

My work sits at the intersection of science, communication, education, design and technology. That combination wasn't planned from the beginning—it developed through years of following questions across disciplines.

Some qualifications are central to the work I do today. Others give me the subject-matter understanding to work comfortably with experts across healthcare, science and technology.

I believe good interdisciplinary work starts with understanding more than one discipline.

01 — Science & Engineering

PhD in Engineering & Physics
Technical University of Denmark

My engineer career spanned nearly 20 years, from numerical calculations in scientific and government settings to biomedical applications in the industry.

My engineering and research background trained me to understand complex systems, interrogate evidence and become comfortable working with highly technical subject matter.

My interaction with customers in the medical field sparked my interest in healthcare.

02 — Healthcare & Behavior Change

MSc, Psychological Medicine & Mental Health
London Metropolitan University

Board-Certified Lifestyle Medicine Professional
International Board of Lifestyle Medicine

National Board Certified Health & Wellness Coach
NBHWC

Non-Profit Organization Founder
Singaporean Society of Lifestyle Medicine

Personal health challenges combined with my scientific curiosity started my journey into a new career. Over time, my focus shifted from supporting patients in their behavior change journey to working alongside health professionals and trying to address the gaps in modern medicine.

Medical Education is now one of the principal domains in which I work. My training across psychological medicine, lifestyle medicine and behavior change helps me understand the professionals, patients and health contexts behind the educational experiences I design.

03 — Communication & Education

Health Communication
University of Chicago

E-Learning Instructional Design
Association for Talent Development

Technical Writing
UC Berkeley

Working in the healthcare space made me realize that education is a lever to addressing many of the current worldwide pressing challenges. My focus therefore moved to a different question: how do we help other people understand complex things?

My training in communication, learning design and digital education now provides the methodology behind much of my work.

04 — Digital Health & Innovation

Precision Digital Therapeutics Masterclass
CDHI, ETH, NTU (Singapore)

AI Product Manager Nanodegree
Udacity

AI-Powered Instructional Design Professional
Learnworlds

MBA in Marketing and Business Strategy
Brazil

As a trained technologist, innovation is in my bones. I’m particularly interested in what happens when education becomes part of something larger: digital health, behavior-change programs, self-management experiences and evidence-based digital interventions.

My training in digital health and technology helps me think beyond the conventional online course and consider how emerging technologies—including AI—can support learning, interaction and behavior change.

05 — Project Delivery

Project Management Professional (PMP)
Project Management Institute

Lean Six Sigma Green Belt Healthcare Professional
Six Sigma Global Institute

Agile meets Design Thinking
University of Virginia

Ideas eventually have to become real things. My work also draws on years of hands-on experience with visual design, web technology, multimedia, learning platforms and project delivery.

During my journey of becoming a health coach and lifestyle medicine professional, I found it crucial to understand the connection between psychology, gut health, neuroscience, chronic pain, yoga, mind-body medicine, and nutrition. With that goal in mind, I attended several courses and pursued a range of certifications in different fields.

This breadth of expertise helped me not only serve more deeply my clients, but also understand how different styles of teaching, e-learning, and training were more effective for different learners and fields. They were part of what led me to create Healthcare Craft.

06 — Integrative Health

    • Emotional and Binge Eating Licensed Practitioner, by Eating Freely

    • 500-hour Registered Yoga Teacher (RYT-500), by Yoga Alliance

    • Lifestyle Medicine Coach, by the American College of Lifestyle Medicine (through Wellcoaches School of Coaching)

    • Certified Culinary Health Coach - CHEF (Clinicians Culinary Health Education Fundamentals), by Harvard Medical School and Institute of Lifestyle Medicine

    • Medical Fitness Yoga Specialist, by MedFit Classroom

    • Certified Yoga & Team Well-Being Coach, by YogaMedCo

    • Lifestyle Medicine: Improving the Future of Healthcare, Professional Certificate by Doane University

    • Writing for Healthcare Advertising, University of Chicago

    • Continuing Education for Healthcare Professionals, University of Chicago

    • Writing for Patient Education, University of Chicago

    • Introduction to Nutritional Psychiatry: Nutri-Psyche, by Deakin University

    • FODMAP and IBS training for Dietitians, by Monash University

    • Nerva IBS Clinicians' Course, by Mindset Health

    • ARFID: An Introduction to diagnosis and management, by University of Winchester

    • Nutritional Psychiatry for Healthcare Practitioners, by Dr. Drew Ramsey

    • Identification and Management of Disordered Eating in Gastrointestinal Disorders, by Monash University

    • Integrative Approaches to Pelvic Pain in Women, by Andrew Weil Center for Integrative Medicine, University of Arizona

    • Female Health Yoga Teacher Training, by Yoga Medicine

    • 300-hr Yoga Therapy Teacher Training Course, by Sampoorna Yoga

    • 200-hr Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga Teacher Training, by Sampoorna Yoga

    • Essential Pain Management, by ANZCA - Australian and New Zealand College of Anaesthetists

    • Plant-based nutrition; a sustainable diet for optimal health, by University of Winchester

    • Lifestyle Medicine and Emotional Health, by Evidence in Motion

    • Explain Pain, by NOI - Neuro Orthopaedic Institute, Australia

    • Assessment and education for patients with neural circuit disorders, by Dr. Howard Schubiner (Unlearn your Pain)

    • Functional Nutrition for Chronic Pain, by Integrative Pain Science Institute

    • Mindfulness-Based Chronic Pain Management™ Practical Training, by University of Toronto

    • Gut Health Course - The Plant-Fed Gut, by Dr. Will Bulsiewicz

    • Head to Head with Heartburn, by Dr. Will Bulsiewicz

    • Diagnosing Food Intolerance, by Dr. Will Bulsiewicz

    • Overcoming FODMAP Intolerance, by Dr. Will Bulsiewicz

    • Overcoming Histamine Intolerance, by Dr. Will Bulsiewicz

    • The Power of Awareness: Mindfulness Training, by Tara Brach and Jack Kornfield, by Sounds True

    • Cognitive Fitness by Harvard Medical School

    • Plant-Based Sports Nutrition, by Human Kinetics Continuing Education

    • Culinary Nutrition by Plantlab (formerly Matthew Kenney Cuisine)

    • Foundations of Positive Psychology Specialization by University of Pennsylvania

    • Mindfulness Fundamentals by Mindful Schools

    • Mindful Educator Essentials by Mindful Schools

    • Unlocking EQ by Six Seconds

    • Nervous System & Restorative Yoga Training, by Yoga Medicine

    • Eating Disorders: How Yoga Teachers Can Help, by Eat Breathe Thrive

    • Mindsight Approach to Well-Being: A Comprehensive Course in Interpersonal Neurobiology, by Dr. Dan Siegel - Mindsight Institute

    • How to Work with a Client’s Emotional Triggers, by National Institute for the Clinical Application of Behavioral Medicine

07 - Conferences & Workshops

Interacting with other professionals, both in-person and virtually, is crucial to understand the best practices and challenges of every field.

    • Singapore International Menopause Congress 2026, March 2026

    • Integrated Platform for Research in Advancing Metabolic Health Outcomes of Women and Children (IPRAMHO) International Meeting 2026, KKH Singapore, Feb 2026.

    • Graphika, Conference on Creativity, 1-2 March 2025, Manila.

    • Precision Digital Therapeutics (PDTx) Master Class, 12-17 January 2025, Centre for Digital Health Interventions & Singapore-ETH Centre & NTU, Singapore

    • Lifestyle Medicine Summit, Oct 18-24, 2024.

    • Lifestyle and Mental Health - RCPsych and BSLM Joint Event, 22 May 2024

    • GI Motility & Brain-Gut Disorders: Evidence vs Consensus, 25th Annual Course in Neurogastroenterology & Motility, Harvard Medical School, 19 October 2024.

    • Meditation and Psychotherapy: Self-Transcendence and Non-duality, Harvard Medical School, Apr 12 – May 10, 2024

    • Lifestyle Medicine: Tools for Promoting Healthy Change, Harvard Medical School, 9-11 June 2023

    • Lifestyle Medicine For Mental Health Symposium, Australasian Society of Lifestyle Medicine, 18 March 2023

    • Disordered Eating in GI Disease. Webinars by Monash FODMAP, March/April 2023

    • Mindfulness-Based Interventions: Implementation with Gastrointestinal Symptoms and Disorders. ROME Foundation GastroPsych, 18 Feb 2023

    • Singapore Allied Health Conference, 13 to 15 October 2022

    • Trauma, Inflammation, and Recovery: Insights from Neurobiology, March 18th 2022, with Donna Jackson Nakazawa, Confer Webinar

    • Mental Health Reimagined Summit, March 4th and 5th 2022, by Australasian Society of Lifestyle Medicine

    • IV Congresso Brasileiro de Medicina do Estilo de Vida, Sep 30th to Oct 3rd, 2021, by Brazilian College of Lifestyle Medicine

    • International Conference on Nutrition in Medicine, July 15th to 17th, 2021, by George Washington University and the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine

    • The Relational Montage of Eating Disorders – with Professor Jean Petrucelli, Confer Webinar, 26 June 2021

    • Asia-Pacific Mindfulness Conference 2021, 14-29 August 2021

    • Solving Chronic Pain Summit: A New Pathway to Relief, 22-24 Jan 2021, by Open Center