Michael Dezmin, MA, OTR/L: OT in Nature and Adaptive Sports

In this post, we will be learning about an occupational therapy practitioner in nature and adaptive sports. Michael Dezmin, MA, OTR/L is an Occupational Therapist in Boston, Massachusetts, and the founder of Your True Self LLC. Mike grew up serving communities via lifeguarding, camp counseling, swim instructing, and other jobs with a child development focus. He graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Health and Exercise Science, a Minor in Psychology, and a master’s in occupational therapy. After years of specialization in pediatric Occupational Therapy, Mike seized the opportunity to start a small business focused on empowering children in the aquatic environment.  After experiences with many business models and various leadership techniques, he dreamt of creating a system/organization where one’s personal gifts could flourish. The foundations of the organization were based on developing healthy, loving relationships designed to deeply understand families and help individuals achieve their highest potential. Swimming and Aquatic Occupational Therapy were the initial services offered, but the organization now provides a multitude of options for clients (sports, home OT, winter activities, school OT, and more). Mike designed Your True Self as an organization to foster personal growth for all who work there through healthy relationships, healthy organizational culture (fun, play, adventure), and open-mindedness. Each employee is valued for their unique abilities and embraced for the gifts that they contribute to this world. It is his belief that it is with the strong and supportive relationships within the organization that employees go out into the community to foster healthy relationships with their clients and families. 

Q & A with Mike:

Please tell us a little about yourself and a few favorite occupations. 
Hi! I'm Mike. 31. I Live in Boston Massachusetts (actually Newton, like 5 minutes from Boston). My favorite occupations are pretty much anything outdoors and social. Love to hike, ski, snowboard, surf, kayak, paddleboard, dig super deep holes at beaches, dam up small streams, EAT, and be with family and friends! My job literally incorporates all of these favorite occupations haha

What motivated you to contribute to this podcast series? 

To connect with more people. The work that we (all OTs) do is really special. I hope the podcast continues to reveal my gifts and allow others to discover, understand, and share their gifts. The earth is one big family, so it's exciting and fun to connect with all the sisters/brothers/mothers/fathers here! This podcast expands beyond my little local Boston area community to the global community. That's super freaking awesome!

Please describe the Uncommon OT work that you do and the setting in which you work, the population you serve, and the needs that you address. 

Your True Self is a company founded on OT through relationships. It starts with our relationship with ourselves- digging deeper into self-knowledge, self-love, self-appreciation, etc. I have been extremely fortunate to have found teachers and support systems that continue to deepen my own self-awareness and hope to share that environment with others (therapists, clients, family members, the local community, and our global community). Our company works mostly with the pediatric population, though we also have a number of adult clients now as well! We mostly work at client'’ homes, in the community, or in nature settings. We have traditional OT approaches (sensory integration, ADL practice, feeding/eating, etc.), contracts in school settings, and the less traditional aquatic and outdoors work. We have Aquatic Occupational Therapy, Outdoors OT, and many other adaptive activities. Swimming, Snorkeling, kayaking, paddle boarding, skiing, hiking, ice skating, archery, rock climbing, rollerblading, skateboarding, skate parks, biking, trail biking, strength training, meal prepping, slacklining, peer groups, soccer, basketball, baseball, softball, tennis, and probably more that I am not thinking of! Within all of this, we are working on our inner selves and fostering a space for clients to work on their inner worlds. Self-regulation and emotional processing occur through all the work. Finding Tools (like acceptance, adaptiveness, forgiveness, curiosity, self-efficacy, confidence, communication (within our bodies and with others), release, love, peace, truth) are a part of each session. We don't disregard the negativities/ challenges/ harsh realities of life- those are embraced by the tools mentioned above as well. Mental, Physical, Relationship and Spiritual wellness are at the forefront of each experience.

What inspired you or drew you to this type of OT work? 

Probably initially from family culture and my own experiences. I was super fortunate to grow up with supportive parents and two brothers who all embraced nature. I was a camp counselor, and lifeguard, and involved with the community from an early age! The universe just continued to pull me towards nature, love, and people. It was underappreciative supervisors and work environments that sought to mold you into their needs that pushed me into creation. I encountered stressful and underappreciative experiences that wanted me to create a space where I truly honored and valued my gifts. I sought to create that environment for others in the company as well!

How did you get there? Can you describe your path? *

Oh, man. It’s kind of like how a stream can eventually form a river which can eventually form a canyon, haha. The more you are on a path the deeper it tends to get. It started with camp counseling, lifeguarding, swim instruction, and other person-to-person roles in my community. When I went to college, I studied Psychology and Health and Exercise, and again I was placed in positions that really focused on community (residential advisor (RA), sensory integration clinic outpatient internship, adaptive swim lessons, etc.) After formal education concluded in 2015, I decided to accept a position at OTA The Koomar Center, a sensory integration clinic just outside of Boston. I had some incredible learning and support through their mentorship program and vast resources. I also worked for 6 months as an aquatic therapist for a therapy company in the same area. I super valued my time at the sensory clinic and felt valued. I also gained a ton of clinical knowledge through the aquatic therapy position, though I did not feel appreciated there and learned a lot about how I wouldn’t run the admin/ business side of things, haha. Your True Self was again, kind of sent through the universe. I had neighbors that I lent some snow tubes and sleds to during a winter storm to use with their kids. It turned out that their kiddo also received OT at where I worked. 2 years later they moved a town over and contacted me when their child was no longer getting OT where I worked. They had an indoor pool at their new home and asked if I was willing to work with their kiddos in the pool- AND they said I could use the pool with other kiddos if I wanted. A couple of emails to parent-teacher associations, a couple of flyers at parks, and suddenly I had myself a little business brewing. The universe was very welcoming to this new path, and I was super appreciative. The pandemic also pushed me outdoors and gave me time to hire and support new therapists on the team. It has been a blessing and has not stopped growing. I feel extremely fortunate.

Please describe a typical day or OT session in your uncommon setting? What OT skills do you utilize? 

Oh my god- a day and even a session can be so unbelievably diverse. For instance, one of our therapists, Andrea, is incredibly gifted with the youngest clients (a passion for E.I., emerging skill set for feeding, and more). So, her day may include some home-based therapy with a 2 or 3-year-old client, then outdoor gross motor activity with a 9-year-old client, before working on feeding/ eating skills with that 9-year-old, before then providing an aquatic therapy session to one of the adult clients with CP. Some days may be entirely at a lake, entirely at the ski mountain, at a pool, social/gross motor groups at local conservation land for bouldering, work in the local school systems, or more! I just had a really deep conversation with Shane, one of our other amazing OTs and team members while we did some surfing training down in Costa Rica over the summer. We really dove into our emphasis of TUOS (Therapeutic Use of Self) and how our greatest tools occur within the relationship (emotional processing, self-efficacy, etc.). When you have the right energy as a therapist and your client feels that pure faith and belief in their potential, miracles occur (through the pure energy you channel as a therapist and the space that is created for that client). Shane and I really felt that our primary focus for the company is to build healthy, supportive, and nurturing environments for all of our team members, which also then provides that same space for our clients (non-judgment, faith, curiosity, collaboration, etc.) We basically spend a lot of time on healing, nurturing, and strengthening our own inner space (central nervous system, emotional processing skills, etc.) while integrating gross motor, fine motor, strength, ocular motor, posture, rhythm, and countless other skills that allow us to engage seamlessly with the external environment. We focus a lot on that base “hardware” (CNS, emotional processing, communication, etc.) that allows us and our clients to access “software” (gross motor skills, cognition, fine motor skills, high-level communication, etc.). We try to connect on a deep level with the families to maximize carryover outside of sessions! Pain management, gastrointestinal challenges, and regulation in children with Autism have also been a huge learning area for myself and many of our therapists this year. The universe has placed this area of need into our worlds this year!

Can you talk about some recent highs (successes) and lows (challenges) of your current role? 

Oh boy, there are lots of successes and challenges/ learning opportunities. Each day’s success is relative to that day’s potential. If a kiddo had crap sleep, the success of that day will look much different than if they just had the most miraculous previous 24 hours. Becoming more aware of the big picture and context helps alleviate your own self-pressure, removes your ego, and allows you to approach each client with appropriate goals for that day. When we intend, tuning in, and set up our bodies and space to receive/become aware of the miracles – the successes are sustainable. Shane and Andrea have been working with a boy who has Autism and a very limited diet- through their work he is now eating tons of different foods- much of which is on a pizza! At a recent team meeting, we joked about creating an illustrated storybook called “Anything Is Possible on a Pizza” or “Think of the Pizza-bilities” because this boy went from eating almost only crackers to pizza and now pizza with veggies, different types or proteins, sauces, and so much more. We talked about putting him flying through the night sky on a huge pizza like he was on a magic carpet. We were all cracking up…. or at least I was! Challenges also, obviously, occur. The aquatic area is a huge area to encounter personal and client challenges. Every day we decide which challenge we are looking to meet today and summon the courage to accomplish- whether it is getting one’s face wet, swimming for a couple of feet, or jumping into the pool- going beyond fear is part of the job. We may encounter a trigger from childhood- like personally a parent experiencing anger recently triggered some childhood emotions for myself. It provides an opportunity for acknowledgment, healing, and change. Also, we have had clients ghost us or not pay- that kinda sucks LOL.

How do you continue to learn in order to stay on top of things within your role? 

I have had a mentor that I was consulting with (Irene Ingram) down in South Carolina. I met her at Camp Avanti in Minnesota in 2017 which is a sensory camp designed for SPD kiddos. I follow a lot of the work she has done and visited several times before the pandemic. I also am constantly learning from our therapists or our lead mentor, Jaymie, who supports all the therapists. My clients are teaching me a lot as well! I am also learning from nature – that is my biggest guide and I have yet to encounter falsehood from nature. It’s all truth.

Can you share a little bit about salary and compensation in this setting? How do OT or the services you provide get funded? 

So currently we are all private pay. I have looked into many of the insurance options and for some that may be a good path to take, but for us, it is too constricting, and we don’t really have the infrastructure to support that way. Being out of network, we provide detailed receipts for services so clients can submit them to their insurance company for reimbursement. We offer Occupational Therapy and Adaptive Activities. Starting hourly pay for any of our OT’s is $70/hr. Everyone is per diem and creates their own schedules. We also provide free continuing education through our mentorship and financial support for other formal continuing education as well. I also recently began implementing a wellness stipend for our therapists to use on anything that will bring them ease and wellness (acupuncture, massage, energy healing, chiropractor, sensory deprivation floats, etc.). I am in the process of creating a system for end-of-year bonuses based on productivity, commitment, and other criteria that quantify going above and beyond for clients, the company, and the community!

Any career advice for our followers and listeners on how to get started on this path? 

In terms of being an entrepreneur, focus on your strengths and gifts. Sometimes people have something that comes really easy to them, and they discredit that gift because it comes so naturally. They may not realize that communities and the universe really treasure that gift and something that comes so easily can actually be everyday’s work. Western society tends to glorify stress and it doesn’t need to be that way. In addition, just get one client. You don’t need a website, an LLC, accounting systems, etc. Getting the first client allows you to realize that you CAN do it. You can figure out all of the logistics later. In terms of getting into the outdoors or aquatic setting- if that is your passion, any outdoor activity can be therapeutic and functional. There are a lot of outdoor resources on Instagram or elsewhere. Or shoot me a message! haha

What’s a common myth or misconception about your job/role you’d like to call out or demystify? 

Either that it is as easy as it looks or that it is as hard as it looks. Running a business is incredibly demanding and maintaining a high state of connection with therapists, instructors, clients, parents, etc. requires great discipline and a deep connection to spirit. At the same time, to make a genuine connection with someone can be very easy and we have way more in common in people than society sometimes portrays. We are just creating one friendship at a time. All of my work is basically just relationships (relationships with ourselves, our bodies, the environment, people, etc.). Every day we are just practicing respect, communication, understanding, and working towards much of the goals for all people (comfort, safety, knowledge, power, love, peace, etc.)

How do we find you, follow you, be in touch with you, and promote your unique work? 

Instagram: @YourTrueSelfOT

Website: https://www.yourtrueselfot.com/

Email: Michael.Dezmin@YourTrueSelfOT.com

If anyone in the Boston area is interested in working with us, we are very slowly hiring (OTs, PTs, SLPs, Swim instructors, OT Students, Admin people)! You can reach out through Info.YourTrueSelfOT@gmail.com  

Please list any resources you would like me to include with your Show Notes (courses, articles, assessments, tools, etc.) 

https://www.yourtrueselfot.com/michaeldezmin-bio

As always, I welcome any feedback & ideas! If you are interested in being a guest on future episodes, please do not hesitate to contact Patricia Motus at transitionsot@gmail.com or DM via Instagram @transitionsot

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