My dissertation research article is finally published! This episode is part 1 of the "audio book" version of the article. You'll hear the abstract, introduction, methods, and the first part of the results, plus a little of my commentary along the way. In the first part of the results, I describe the actors and each actor's main role in the pediatric nature-based occupational therapy process. The actors in the nature-based pediatric OT process are:

Nature as the Continual Context and Blameless Co-Therapist

Child as the Motivated Adventurer

Practitioner as the Attuned Analyzer and Modulator

Caregivers as the Contributing Beneficiaries

Next week on the podcast I'll share the 6 phases of the nature-based OT process and in subsequent episodes I will share the discussion (I'm not sure right now if the discussion section will be one episode or several since there is a LOT to discuss from this research).

You can get your FREE copy of the article here: https://www.therapyinthegreatoutdoors.com/model

Here's the APA 7 citation:

Figueroa, L. P., Poskey, G. A., Rose, K. K., & Pickens, N. D. (2024). Mechanisms of change in nature-based pediatric occupational therapy: The ecology of change in outdoor therapy model. Occupational Therapy in Health Care, 1-22. https://doi.org/10.1080/07380577.2024.2372739

It feels like everyone is talking about imposter syndrome these days. And I’ve seen it rear its ugly head in my own career as a nature-based therapist.

If you’re not familiar with imposter syndrome, it is that feeling of “I don’t know what I’m doing” that pops up inside your mind, even when there is AMPLE evidence to the contrary. (That EVIDENCE part is key. Feeling like an imposter when you are a novice at anything is normal! We need to maybe coin a new term “novice syndrome” to acknowledge that being a novice is different than being an imposter.)

In this episode, I share from the heart about feeling like an imposter as a nature-based therapist. You’ll hear a few real-life examples from my own life, and some takeaways to help you if you struggle with imposter syndrome in the realm of nature-based therapy.

One of the key messages in this episode is that you can be a nature-based therapist, just as you are. You don’t have to garden. Or love animals. Or brave icy cold weather. Or be a naturalist. Or climb mountains. You can do nature-based therapy in your own way and you’re still a legit nature-based therapist.

xoxo

Laura

P.S. My article sharing my dissertation research is finally going to be published. I will share free copies when it’s available.

P.P.S. The Nature-Based Business Retreat is happening Nov. 7-10, 2024 in Santa Cruz, CA. Register here: https://www.therapyinthegreatoutdoors.com/retreat

This week I'm sharing some of my favorite summer activities for outdoor therapy sessions with kids. Check out the links below and you can do them, too!

1. Make giant bubble wands for giant bubbles.
2. Make toy boats using recyclables. I recommend corks, rubber bands, large paper clips, sturdy toothpicks, popsicle sticks, duct tape, and small plastic containers. Bring stickers or sharpie markers to allow the children to decorate their creations. (Can pair with the book Toy Boat, too.)
3. Make a mud kitchen using kitchen supplies from thrift stores. Play the Great Nature Baking Show game.
4. Balloon ball volleyball game
5. Make ice cream in the ice cream ball

What are your favorite activities for therapy sessions in the summer? Weigh in in the Therapy in the Great Outdoors Community here. (P.S. If you're down under, here's the listener-feature episode where we shared favorite WINTER activities.)