Integrative Medicine and Yoga Retreat

It has been quite a full September!

I continue to advocate for the use of complementary and integrative health in occupational therapy and mainstream health care. I submitted a petition with over 100 signatures asking the Accreditation Council of Occupational Therapy Education (ACOTE) to create an education standard on how these approaches can be taught in the over 300 OT colleges and universities across the United States. This article that I wrote accompanied the petition. We may not know for a year or two if this will be adopted, but if it does it will solidify these approaches as part of mainstream health care in occupational therapy practice.

I recently spent a weekend with two wonderful OTs who are also advanced trained in yoga and other holistic health approaches this month for our “First Annual Holistic OT & Yoga Summit Retreat.” Betsy Shandalov, OTR/L flew in from California, and Mandy Lubas, OTR/L from Massachusetts to spend a weekend with me in the Twin Cities, MN. We discussed the ways we can support each other and work collectively as a whole as we continue to advocate for the use of complementary and integrative health in OT. We look forward to inviting more therapists to join us next year.

In an effort to demonstrate why it is unique to receive yoga from an occupational therapist, I wrote this article that was published on VeryWell.com. A big thank you to Sarah Lyon, OTR/L for having a new baby (congrats!) and asking me to guest write!

I will have my first Fieldwork II student (intern) beginning this week from St. Catherine University’s Masters in Occupational Therapy program. I am so excited to share all that I can with her! Check back for updates on how we’re doing. She may even do some guest writing here or on HolisticOT.org.

May you enjoy our transition from summer to fall… and the beauty all around us as you move closer to your dreams! Please let me know if I can assist you in any way.