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authenticity

occupational therapy

what would we work on in OT?

There are so many skills we need to pursue our dreams (and to get through our day). The right tools, strategies, and supports can help you overcome obstacles and accomplish your goals with more confidence and ease. Here are some of the topics and skills that we can cover in session:

    • managing time and organization

    • improving attention, focus, and concentration

    • planning, prioritizing, and realistic goal-setting

    • anticipating and preparing for obstacles and opportunities

    • using learning, memory, and metacognitive strategies

    • problem-solving and decision-making

    • cultivating energy and motivation

    • harnessing mind-wandering, deep thinking, and creativity

    • developing self-awareness

    • managing impulses

    • juggling priorities, like school, work, health, home, fun, and loved ones

    • discovering your sensory profile

    • adapting your space to your sensory needs

    • adjusting your environment to support your function and comfort

    • creating a sensory diet

    • preventing and recovering from sensory overload

    • communicating about your senses and sensitivities with confidence

    • finding activities, routines, and arrangements that work for your nervous system

    • working with stress, anxiety, and other challenging emotions

    • letting go of symptom masking and letting your authentic self be seen

    • ending the fight to be perfect in order to be acceptable

    • preventing and recovering from binges

    • dealing with mistakes and set-backs with kindness and integrity

    • creating lifestyle balance

    • connecting with identity, purpose, roles, and values

    • developing mindfulness and self-compassion

    • asking for help and using social supports

    • school assignments, projects, tests, and classes

    • work tasks, projects, and relationships

    • cleaning, laundry, and other home activities

    • grocery shopping, meal prep, and eating routines

    • physical activity and exercise

    • sleep, rest, and relaxation

    • socializing and community engagement

    • dating and sexual activity

    • grooming and hygiene

    • money management

    • leisure, play, and flow

    • spiritual and religious participation

    • building healthy habits

    • breaking harmful habits

    • understanding your condition and its treatment

    • forming medication routines

    • managing weight, blood pressure, and diabetes

    • preventing and recovering from pain, headaches, fatigue, and flares

    • implementing ergonomic, body mechanic, and mobility strategies

    • receiving caregiver education and training

    • quitting tobacco use

 

how would we work on those things?

initial evaluation

During the evaluation, we’ll talk about how you spend your time now, how you might like to spend it differently, and what affects your ability to make those changes. We’ll take a holistic approach that considers your personal resources and challenges as well as those presented by your physical and social environments. By the end, we will have a shared vision of what success looks like for you and where to get started.

can you diagnose or prescribe medications?

No, OTs cannot. Both diagnosis and prescribing medication are outside of the scope of occupational therapy. Instead we focus on how to address daily function and symptoms through non-pharmaceutical interventions. However, we work closely with local providers who can provide diagnostic services and medication management and would be happy to share their information with you.

sessions

Sessions are always about addressing your priorities with compassion and can be scheduled at a frequency that fits your life. The specific content of treatment sessions is highly individualized to meet your personal needs, but the format often consists of four main elements:

  • checking-in (what’s working? what’s not?)

  • education and training on topics and skills that are key for you

  • problem-solving to incorporate strategies into real-world situations

  • realistic goal-setting that takes the complexity of your daily life into account.

Our time together will be spent helping you learn about your cognitive style, sensory processing needs, and functional patterns. We will find ways to maximize your strengths and adjust your activities and environments to reduce the impact of challenges.

 

by the way, what is occupational therapy?

As occupational therapists, we specialize in understanding how we occupy our time and the impact this has on our health, function, and well-being (and vice-versa). Our lifestyle - the types and flow of activities we engage in - can affect us physically, emotionally, and cognitively. We can help you identify your key strengths and challenges, then guide you in building skills, acquiring supports, and making adjustments in order to overcome barriers and pursue what matters to you.

In this video, Dr. Samantha Valasek, OTD, OTR/L talks with Dr. Gwen Palafox, clinical psychologist, on her video podcast Empowered to answer the questions “What is occupational therapy?” and “How can OT help neurodivergent adults?”

 

you want to make changes that matter - you don’t have to do it alone