Mary Osbourne, OTR/L, PAC: OT in Dementia Care
In this post, we will be learning about an occupational therapist who works in dementia care. Mary Osbourne, OTR/L, PAC has been an Occupational Therapist and certified positive care approach consultant for 10 years. She founded her consulting company, Your Dementia Therapist which is focused on helping family members and caregivers better care for their loved one who is living with dementia. She teaches family members and caregivers effective approaches, how to address difficult behaviors, and provides personalized activity recommendations.
Q & A with Mary:
Please tell us a little about yourself and a few favorite occupations.
My name is Mary and I'm an Occupational Therapist as well as a lifestyle blogger here in Austin, TX. A few of my favorite occupations are having 2 completely different areas of work, including my lifestyle blog where I share mostly fashion & travel, and the new launch of my OT consulting company that focuses on dementia caregiver/family consulting to better serve families who have a loved one living with dementia.
What motivated you to contribute to this podcast series?
I love your series and seeing what other OTs are doing - truly inspiring to see people stepping out of their comfort zones and our traditional role as OTs to serve the world in a creative way
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.
Occupational Therapist consultant who provides tele-health and in-person consulting to families/caregivers who are taking care of their loved one who is living with dementia. I teach family members and caregivers effective approaches, how to address difficult behaviors, and provide personalized activity recommendations.
What inspired you or drew you to this type of OT work?
I've always been passionate about working with those living with dementia early on in my career, and I've always enjoyed teaching others (families, staff members) how they can use positive approaches and focus on the person living with dementia’s current ability in order to better care for the person with dementia
How did you get there? Can you describe your path?
I’ve worked in a variety of different settings, and the settings that I have always loved working in the most were memory care and long-term care. One of the first places I worked as an Occupational Therapist was in a skilled nursing facility in North Carolina. I worked with an Occupational Therapist who taught me all about dementia care, the importance of quality of life, and implementing the type of therapy that would really make a difference to those living with dementia. I saw the importance of what I could do, and the change I could bring about when I focused on the person living with dementia’s current abilities! After working with this therapist early in my career, it really changed the way I approached my job as an OT over these past years and how I cared for those living with dementia. Over these past 10 years, I've trained staff members and provided family members with the tools and strategies needed in order to better care for their loved ones who were living with dementia. This ultimately led me to create my own Occupational Therapist consulting company called Your Dementia Therapist. My company is focused on helping family members and caregivers better care for their loved one who is living with dementia. I teach family members and caregivers effective approaches, how to address difficult behaviors, and provide personalized activity recommendations.
Please describe a typical day or OT session at your uncommon setting? What OT skills do you utilize?
Well as you know being an entrepreneur means wearing several different hats! I spend days consulting with family members virtually or in person. When I'm not directly consulting with family members, I spend time networking with different healthcare professionals around town and teaching caregiver support groups. One of my favorite things to do is to create content! I love creating content for courses & for programs that I'm launching in addition to my consulting, also collaborating with a neurologist here in town on a YouTube channel, and also to launch a 40-page resource guide book & website to provide caregivers with various resources in the central Texas area to better serve their loved ones living with dementia.
Can you talk about some recent highs (successes) and lows (challenges) of your current role?
It's such a cool thing to own your own company and help people in a different way. However, it does have its ups and downs! I would say I'm spending more time appreciating the small wins (when I sign on a client or collaborate with different healthcare providers who have a similar vision). The lows would be creating brand awareness. A lot of people when they hear OT, they are used to the OT working directly with their loved ones. My company is focused on caregiver education & training, which is a little different than what people are used to! That being said, I would definitely say creating the brand awareness and educating people that this type of service exists has been the most difficult part of this journey.
How do you continue to learn in order to stay on top of things within your role?
Continuing ed courses, research
Can you share a little bit about salary and compensation in this setting? How do OT or the services you provide get funded?
I run a cash-based OT service, I'm not in network with Medicare or other insurances, so it's strictly cash pay. I charge $159 for a consulting session and $410 for a package visit where I offer two 30-minute consulting calls, in home visit, and write-up.
Any career advice for our followers and listeners on how to get started on this path?
Yes, just START! That's the first step. Write down the things you want to do, what you can do to get there, and go from there. Also, for me, it's a complete mindset thing. If you BELIEVE in your mission and do whatever it takes to get you from point A to B, even if it takes a while to get there. So, my advice would be to just start. Imagine where you will be 5 years from now if you just started today. Sometimes I look back on my lifestyle blog, and I'm like wow, I'm working with brands I would have never imagined, it’s really cool to see what happens when you put your heart & passion into what you do!
What’s a common myth or misconception about your job/role you’d like to call out or demystify?
That we have to work our 9-5. I've always been one to want more and do more, which I guess that's what led me to where I am today
How do we find you , follow you, be in touch with you, and promote your unique work?
Your Dementia Therapist mary@yourdementiatherapist.com
IG: @yourdementiatherapist
Facebook: @yourdementiatherapist
TikTok: @yourdementiatherapist
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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