Lisa Kern, MS, OTR/L, CBIS, RYT: OT in Reiki & Holistic Healing
In this post, we will be learning about an occupational therapist who specializes in Reiki & Holistic Healing. Lisa Kern, MS, OTR/L, CBIS, RYT is a Holistic Therapist, Wellness Coach, and Reiki practitioner. Lisa has a master’s degree in occupational therapy and a bachelor’s in science from American International College. After working for 10+ years as an occupational therapist specializing in neurological rehab, she chose to follow her passion and true purpose: working as a holistic health and wellness coach empowering others to live their happiest and healthiest life. She is now focused on building a brand to empower others to optimize healing from the inside out - addressing body, mind, and soul. As a multi-passionate entrepreneur, Lisa also holds certifications as a brain injury specialist, yoga instructor, reiki practitioner, and is co-founder of Work Your M.O.T.O.R., an online home exercise program for stroke survivors. Lisa lives in Western Massachusetts with her husband and two children, Will and Gavin. In her free time, she loves to read, write, spend time with family and go for hikes.
Q & A with Lisa:
Please tell us a little about yourself and a few favorite occupations.
I have been an occupational therapist for 12 years (prior to that I was a COTA for 3 years), and I absolutely love our profession. I am the owner of Healthy, Holistic, Happy where I integrate more holistic modalities, energy healing and life coaching to help women find more balance and peace in their lives. I definitely identify as being multi-passionate and an entrepreneur at heart, so I also have roles of yoga instructor, brain injury specialist, and published author. My most important roles are wife and mother. I'm blessed with 2 amazing children, ages 11 and 9. From a personal perspective, I love learning and am a true student of life. I am a travel enthusiast, love to read, workout, experience and teach yoga, and do anything outdoors! :)
What motivated you to contribute to this podcast series?
I personally benefited so much from learning from mentors and listening to other uncommon roles, so I wanted to share the same. I also want others to know how to integrate alternative therapies if they feel called to. I feel like our field is so vast and I love encouraging students and practitioners to explore these non-traditional roles because our skills are so transferable and beneficial.
Please describe the UncommonOT work that you do and the setting in which you work, the population you serve, and the needs that you address.
I kind of have 2 uncommon roles so I can speak to them both! My more traditional OT role is in an outpatient interdisciplinary setting. It's called TEAM rehab and we have a physician, PT's, OT's and a chiropractor. In this role I am a brain injury specialist and I work primarily with individuals who are recovering from concussions. These folks primarily are struggling with headaches, sensory processing difficulties, and need a lot of help with their IADL's due to memory and concentration deficits. In my OT role outside of the medical model, I work as a reiki practitioner and holistic coach. Because we all know that OT's are the original life coaches! I use energy work in a therapeutic way to help people get to the root cause of why they may be feeling unwell or stuck.
What inspired you or drew you to this type of OT work?
The path was long and winding! I guess that when I was working in the medical model I never quite felt at home, and I felt really limited by insurance companies, protocols, and timelines. Through years of inpatient experience, I saw 2 really consistent themes in recovery. 1) The clients that thought they would get better would (a positive mindset) and 2) physical pain can manifest from emotional wounds. I was really fascinated by this but didn't really know how to go deeper. Around the same time, I was kind of going through my own challenges personally and physically. I started doing a lot of yoga, began meditating, found reiki, and had this feeling of "why isn't this common knowledge, it's hugely beneficial". When I experienced my own results, I felt obligated to share more.
How did you get there? Can you describe your path?
After about 10 years of practice, (5 years in inpatient acute care and 5 years in outpatient neuro rehab) I was looking for a job change. I was fortunate enough to get a contract job as an adjunct professor at Bay Path University, and my role was in an emerging practice area - bringing holistic OT to community-based settings. It was then that I was introduced to Emmy Vadnais' work, the original holistic OT, who had been doing lots of research in modalities like reiki, meditation, intuitive development, emotional freedom technique, etc. Long story short, I was fascinated by the mind/body connection and immediately began implementing them in my outpatient setting. The results and connection I had with my clients were immediate and profound. I had these senses of "this is what I'm meant to do" so I have been leaning into entrepreneurial work ever since!
Please describe a typical day or OT session in your uncommon setting? What OT skills do you utilize?
A typical day in the concussion clinic is seeing 12-15 people a day, one on one, for 30 - 60 minutes depending on their needs. Interventions range from nervous system regulation, vision therapy, cognitive interventions, pain relief modalities, and lots of education both on concussion management and also ways to improve memory/attention/concentration skills. The most important skill here is probably empathetic listening because everyone really just needs to be heard and understood. Also, environmental modifications as clients typically need the lights dimmed, quiet spaces, and lots of encouragement. In my holistic practice, my days can definitely vary, but they are very zen and I love it. I'm typically doing one-hour reiki sessions, making coaching calls or doing social media posts. I'm a space holder. My goal for every session is that my clients feel seen, heard, and supported.
Can you talk about some recent highs (successes) and lows (challenges) of your current role?
Highs: After almost 3 years of being a solo practitioner, I was able to hire 2 more OT's (one of which was my previous student). Another high was I joined the NBCOT volunteer board last year on the Exam Development Committee, so that was a great experience of meeting OT's from all over the US. Reiki: Energy work connects me deeply with other people in a way that I never truly got in a 30-minute session with clients in the hospital session. Challenges: In the outpatient setting it's definitely dealing with insurance companies and justifying therapy visits. In my holistic practice, I would say growing a business. I didn't get much business education in OT school, maybe a class or 2 and as much as I love learning, it's a lot to learn on your own. About 2 years ago I was working as a private practitioner and it's incredibly hard to do your own marketing, billing, scheduling, etc. Unfortunately, that didn't work out, but I learned a ton from that experience.
How do you continue to learn in order to stay on top of things within your role?
As a brain injury specialist, it's required to have a certain number of CEUs each year in the practice area, so I utilize Medbridge for lots of online courses and evidenced based practice. I'm also part of a couple of online communities that are wonderful for sharing information and resources. Additionally, I'm part of the holistic OT community and Emmy Vadnais, who I mentioned earlier puts out so many great resources.
Can you share a little bit about salary and compensation in this setting? How do OT or the services you provide get funded?
I have had roles that are salary, but currently, I get paid an hourly a flat rate. The average salary in MA for practitioners ranges from $85,000 to $95,000 a year for a full-time employee. Our clinic is reimbursed by major insurances, Medicare, and Medicaid. As an independent practitioner, I am currently private pay. With my past experience trying to work with insurance companies and get reimbursed, I think I will continue that way for now.
Any career advice for our followers and listeners on how to get started on this path?
Yes! Follow your intuition and what you truly want to do. Even if the path is not clear, keep following your interests! As long as I can remember I would say that I wanted to work in more preventative care vs. rehabilitative care. I had no clue how I would do that, but I kept following the little breadcrumbs of joy that sparked my interest and ended up here.
What’s a common myth or misconception about your job/role you’d like to call out or demystify?
OT's don't just work on hands or get people jobs. LOL I'm not sure if it's so much as a misconception or just a lack of knowledge, but I feel like a lot of people aren't sure what reiki is. Reiki is a Japanese energy healing technique that works by channeling life force energy. It helps people become energetically balanced - physically, emotionally, mentally, and spiritually.
How do we find you , follow you, be in touch with you, and promote your unique work?
Website Lisa Kern (healthyholistichappy.com)
Instagram @reiki.body.mind
Please list any resources you would like me to include with your Show Notes (courses, articles, assessments, tools, etc.)
Books (through my website; I sign and send directly)
Store 1 — Lisa Kern (healthyholistichappy.com)
or Amazon
Fear Less: Transforming Fear Into Courage within Relationships, Career, Society, and Self
Work Your MOTOR Work Your M.O.T.O.R. - YouTube
Emmy Vadnais - Holistic OT Community Holistic Occupational Therapy Community (holisticot.org)
Team Rehab Home | Chiropractor in Springfield, MA | Team Rehab and Wellness Center (teamrehabcenter.com)
As always, I welcome any feedback & ideas from all of you or 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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