Sarah Good, OT Reg.(Ont.): OT in Teaching Mindfulness

Occupational TherapyCareer CoachingMentorshipEducation

Nov 20

In this post, we will learn from we will learn from Sarah Good, OT Reg. (Ont.) (she/her/hers). Sarah is a Registered Occupational Therapist and Mindfulness Teacher in Ottawa, Ontario with more than 20 years experience working in hospitals, schools, and community settings. Since 2007, she has worked with clients in their homes and communities. Both in her personal and professional life, she uses nature and mindfulness meditation to bring calm and joy to each day and has been practicing mindfulness meditation regularly since she became an OT. Sarah strives to offer ways for OTs from around the world to connect and learn about mindfulness together!

Q & A with Sarah:

Please tell us a little about yourself and some of your favorite occupations.

I’m a mother, wife, and occupational therapist who lives in Ottawa Canada. I love occupations around the water such as swimming in lakes and paddling. In the winter, I cross-country ski. In all seasons, I love being in nature. I practice mindfulness meditation to help me stay centered and grounded in my life.

What motivated you to contribute to this podcast series?

I want to bring more awareness to other OTs about the power tool of using mindfulness to stay well ourselves as professionals and to empower other OTs to use it with their clients.

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 weave mindfulness into much of my client work with people living with persistent pain or mental health issues. My Uncommon OT work has been offering a course and a membership community to other OTs who are interested in mindfulness.

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

I started practicing mindfulness myself more than 20 years ago when I started working as an OT. This helped me manage my own emotions with my first job in palliative care. Since then I’ve deepened my own practice of mindfulness and feel I can share it more with my clients and other OTs.

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

Happy to describe this in more detail in the podcast! I started practicing myself as a new graduate in 2002. My practice decreased after I left palliative care and had kids. In about 2010, I started practicing more often again and was impressed by all the new research in the area. I started sharing my learning with clients. About 10 years ago I trained as a mindfulness teacher at the Ottawa Mindfulness Clinic.

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

I start most sessions with a short mindfulness practice. Most of my therapy sessions use ACT(acceptance and commitment therapy) which is a mindfulness-based approach. I also book time in my work days to practice myself.

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

Successes: - helps me manage challenges to have a solid practice - 100s of OTs have participated in paid programs and learned new ways to bring mindfulness into their own work and life Lows: - often people think they know what mindfulness is and dismiss it quickly or don’t see the fit with OT

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

I have my own mindfulness teacher and practice group.

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

My OT services are funded through private pay, Veterans Affairs, or return-to-work programs. My programs for OTs are funded by the OTs or their employers.

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

Start your own mindfulness practice before trying to figure out how to bring it to your clients

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

That OTs don’t have a role in teaching mindfulness or that we can just recommend an app to our clients.

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

My website for professional development: https://sarahgoodot.ca/p/ot-pd

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

Deepen Your Practice which is a unique course for OTs wanting to learn about mindfulness and put it into practice. I have regular masterclasses and a membership program. They can all be found on my website.

My site for resources: https://sarahgoodot.ca/p/free-resources

Mindful OT FB group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/mindfulots

Business FB page: https://www.facebook.com/sarahgoodOT

LinkedIn profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sarah-good-76a59aa3/

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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