This week, I'm sharing some of our favorite creative snack ideas from my nature-based therapy practice, like color changing tea, apple pizzas, and pasta packets!

In this episode the dynamic duo Rachel Harrington, COTA/L, CPRCS and Jessica Hill, COTA/L, CPRCS join me to talk all things sensory and primitive reflex integration. Rachel and Jessica are Harkla's in-house Certified OT Assistants and Certified Primitive Reflex Clinical Specialists. Harkla is a company that provides products, courses & community for sensory, autism & ADHD families. They offer loads of helpful tips and strategies on their podcast All Things Sensory and in their courses and workbooks for therapists available through Harkla.

When life gets crazy, it is HARD to keep going as a business owner...even when you have an amazing nature-baed business. This episode is an honest share from the heart about my own lack of motivation lately and lessons I've been learning in the midst of the messiness of life and business.

This systematic review and meta-analysis found nature-based interventions have positive associations with behavioral and emotional outcomes for autistic children. The full article and supplemental materials are provided in the show notes of this episode.

Marianna Ayers Sordille, OTD, OTR/L, owner of Whole Child Pediatric OT in Clayton, CA, joined me for a live coaching call to get some help with her nature-based business. We discussed niching DOWN, communicating value to your potential clients, considerations when packaging your services, how to get paid for all your time spent working, ways to save time when offering packaged services for clients, and assessing children for therapy services.

A short-but-sweet episode for y'all today. I'm sharing a story about how sometimes the plans we adults have for the therapy session don't end up being the most therapeutic parts. Children have their own ideas about how to use materials in nature...and that's part of the beauty of nature-based therapy. One child created a super-fun activity during our group therapy session and I'm sharing it with you here...because it is SO easy and all you need is a rubber band to do it!

Jenny Gill is an OT-turned-copywriter focused on website copy and brand strategy. She's worked with lots of nature-based businesses. She came on the podcast today to talk about all things websites! Your nature-based business website can be a way for potential customers to get to know, like, and trust your business and believe in your expertise. But that doesn't matter if no one can find your website online! Jenny's here to help you learn how your nature-based business website can show up on the first page of google in your area. You'll learn simple strategies that you can do TODAY to optimize your website and connect with your ideal clients locally.

In this episode, I review the basics of Attention Restoration Theory (ART), which was developed by Rachel & Stephen Kaplan in the late 1980s. It is a widely cited theory today among nature-based therapists. You'll learn how ART explains the concept of nature as an environment that restores attention, the 4 components of a restorative environment, according to ART, and how ART can help you choose an optimal therapy site for your sessions with children, especially those who have ADHD.

In this episode, I share results from a recent systematic review examining the effect of exposure to nature on children's psychological well-being. You'll learn what the literature says about this topic (it's good news but also NOT as great as we might wish for...more research always needed). Plus, I pull out a few practical takeaways for your work as a nature-based therapist.

Kate Glennon MS, CCC-SLP, Certified Nature Educator came on the show this week for a live coaching call. She has a GREAT problem of lots of growth in the early days of her nature-based speech therapy practice! On this live coaching call, we discussed a lot of things, including ways to get focused time to work on your business while raising a young family in a small house, how to boost your productivity by pairing something positive with the negative business stuff that we all have to do, thinking about who to hire & when, and so much more!

In this Ask-Me-Anything episode, you'll hear my answers to TGO Podcast listeners' questions about:

• Using swings and sensory equipment in nature-based therapy sessions

• Renting land from local businesses or private land owners - how to figure out what is fair to pay for rental of the land.

• Doing school observations as a nature-based therapist

• How we can show parents that nature-based therapy is effective and makes a difference

• Parent involvement in nature-based individual therapy sessions with a child

On episode 51 of the TGO Podcast, social worker Tammy Thielman, BSW MSW RSW EMDR-CT EFW-MHP, joins me to talk about her nature-based therapy practice, Town & Country Counselling in Salmon Arm, BC, Canada.

In this episode, Devin Hatch, OTR/L, CSRS, joins me for a live business coaching call. Devin is the co-owner of 509 Therapy Hub in Spokane, Washington.

Devin and I discuss ways to make your website CLEAR for your potential customers so they know the value you can offer to them in your services, strategies for gathering more clients to form nature-based therapy groups, tips for generating ideas for a lead magnet to grow your email list, and so much more!

This episode could save you thousands of dollars. Listen in to hear 10 mistakes that stop your nature-based business from making meaningful income and my stories about making them.

As a pediatric therapist, there are 2 different ways you can provide nature-based services to children. One is enrichment, the other is therapy. Each of these has certain purposes, principles, processes, and precautions to consider. In this episode, I break down the differences between these two types of nature-based services so that you can decide which one is right for you to offer in your practice. I also share some of the reasons for the decisions I made in my own practice, in case it can be of help to you in yours.

In this episode, I share the answers to frequently asked questions about starting a nature-based pediatric practice.

You’ll learn how I started Outdoor Kids OT (OKOT), how the ConTiGO (Connection & Transformation in the Great Outdoors) Approach was developed, the start-up logistics of a nature-based pediatric practice the structure of our nature-based OT groups at OKOT, and the systems needed for nature-based therapy.

This is the 2023 Year-in-Review episode where I take you behind-the-scenes of my nature-based pediatric practice, Outdoor Kids OT. In this episode, you’ll get a feel for what it takes to hit 370k+ in revenue in your nature-based therapy practice.

You must have a plan to grow a successful nature-based business. (I've learned this more and more as my practice has grown!) In this episode, I'm sharing my yearly business planning guide to help you plan for your best year yet in your nature-based practice.

In this listener feature episode, you'll hear from 4 different TGO Podcast listeners (and yours truly) about our favorite activities to do with children outdoors in winter. ⛄️

I also share some updates from my own businesses...and what you can expect from me in the coming year in 2024.