Let me introduce myself, my name is Lisa. I am a Registered Occupational Therapist in Ontario and Extended Access Member in Saskatchewan. This means I can practice occupational therapy in-person in Ontario, and virtually in both Ontario and Saskatchewan. I started my career in occupational therapy in 2008 when I graduated as an occupational therapy/physiotherapy assistant (OTA/PTA) from Humber College.

 

Since then, I've graduated from McMaster University with my Masters of Occupational Therapy. Altogether, I have been working in occupational-therapy related settings for nearly 20 years. I have focused my time as an OT on rural home care, auto insurance (MVA), and chronic pain settings.

 

I completed my first 10 years of OT practice in a rural community home care service. I became an ADP Authorizer to assess and prescribe wheelchairs and other mobility devices. I learned a lot about seating, and how we support clients who use wheelchairs who also have pain.

 

I then transitioned to an Interdisciplinary Chronic Pain Clinic, where I worked with an interdisciplinary team of professionals to address medical, physical, psychological and lifestyle recovery. Through this experience, I have developed a strong clinical focus in chronic pain management, including additional training in pain science and approaches such as Pain Neuroscience Education (PNE), graded motor imagery, and strategies to address nervous system sensitivity and protective muscle tension.

 

Currently, I am working with clients who have chronic pain to change their pain patterns, reduce nervous system dysregulation, and move forward with life despite pain. I work with clients whose pain comes from a variety of origins; whether from an injury, age-related joint problems or a more global problem like rheumatoid arthritis or fibromyalgia.