I listened to the podcast about nature-based therapy and learned very interesting approaches to perform occupational therapy for children. Amy Seymore practices nature-based therapy, which is essentially just bring occupational therapy outdoors. She does nature based therapy so because it enables the children to choose how they want to use their environment and gives them the opportunity to interact with more elements. I really enjoyed how she gave reasoning as to why certain things in nature produce more benefits for the client. The hydrostatic pressure of the water produces more feedback and yields a productive therapy session.
Something that I immediately had a concern about was the parent or guardians willingness to allow their children to have nature-based therapy just because the safety risks are higher outdoors. Amy addressed this and makes the situation relatable to the parents to lessen their worry about the risks. The intriguing thing about being outdoors is that the client is really able to take more of a lead with the therapy session. If the pick up a stick, they're able to determine what it is to them whether it be a sword, a microphone, or just a stick. My personal favorite benefit of using the nature-based therapy is that they learn and come into contact with situations that they normally wouldn't in the clinic. For example, seeing cars drive on the road is something that the clinic doesn't give you. Being outdoors allows the topic of visual perception to come up and have the conversation about how close or far away a car is. I believe that this conversation is not only important for the therapist to be able to judge the client's visual perception but also because it is a conversation of safety that I'm sure the parent or guardian will much appreciate.
Prior to listening to Glass Half Full, I hadn't heard of nature-based therapy. I think I would really enjoy this form of therapy and I also think that it would be great for clients other than pediatrics. For example, an elderly client who might be struggling with vision could benefit from the car interaction. I most definitely want to try to incorporate some of this therapy into my practice when I become an occupational therapist.
Something that I immediately had a concern about was the parent or guardians willingness to allow their children to have nature-based therapy just because the safety risks are higher outdoors. Amy addressed this and makes the situation relatable to the parents to lessen their worry about the risks. The intriguing thing about being outdoors is that the client is really able to take more of a lead with the therapy session. If the pick up a stick, they're able to determine what it is to them whether it be a sword, a microphone, or just a stick. My personal favorite benefit of using the nature-based therapy is that they learn and come into contact with situations that they normally wouldn't in the clinic. For example, seeing cars drive on the road is something that the clinic doesn't give you. Being outdoors allows the topic of visual perception to come up and have the conversation about how close or far away a car is. I believe that this conversation is not only important for the therapist to be able to judge the client's visual perception but also because it is a conversation of safety that I'm sure the parent or guardian will much appreciate.
Prior to listening to Glass Half Full, I hadn't heard of nature-based therapy. I think I would really enjoy this form of therapy and I also think that it would be great for clients other than pediatrics. For example, an elderly client who might be struggling with vision could benefit from the car interaction. I most definitely want to try to incorporate some of this therapy into my practice when I become an occupational therapist.
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