Gina Taylor, MS, OTR/L, HPCS: OT in Hippotherapy
In this post, we will learn from Gina Taylor, MS, OTR/L, HPCS. Gina is a dedicated occupational therapist who specializes in Hippotherapy. She has extensive experience in clinical practice, education, and leadership. Holding a Master of Science in Occupational Therapy from Philadelphia University, Gina is a licensed occupational therapist in New Jersey, bringing a rich skill set to her roles. Her commitment to continuous learning is evident in her teaching experience as an Adjunct Instructor at Raritan Valley Community College and her role as Coordinating Faculty for the American Hippotherapy Association, where she contributes to curriculum development and ensures learner outcomes. With clinical expertise in pediatric and psychosocial interventions, Gina holds certifications in Sensory Integration, DIR/Floortime intervention, and is a Hippotherapy Clinical Specialist. As the owner of Epona Therapy Services, LLC, Gina operates a private practice, delivering direct occupational therapy services and providing career coaching. Her leadership roles have included Director of Operations at Mane Stream, showcase effective staff management, and oversight of therapy services. Gina's impact extends to addressing mental health in diverse populations, exemplifying her holistic approach and commitment to the transformative potential of occupational therapy.
Q & A with Gina:
Please tell us a little about yourself and some of your favorite occupations.
I am a wife, mom of three, lifelong equestrian and nature lover. We love doing outdoor things as a family and love to take our little ones hiking and camping.
What motivated you to contribute to this podcast series?
I know a few of my OTA students every semester are interested in working in a non-traditional setting. Yet so few OT providers go into a nature based setting working with aquatics or animals. I want more OT providers to know that it's possible (and lots of fun).
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.
Our private practice provides OT in three settings, the farm, forest and in the water.We have our own therapy goats and we contract with two stables where I incorporate hippotherapy. Ryan sees clients in the forest and at the pool. Many of our clients are seen in multiple settings, which means they get benefits from OT in a variety of ways. We get to see them function in a variety of contexts as well. We see children and young adults. Their needs vary greatly from physical disabilities to mental health challenges and everything in between.
What inspired you or drew you to this type of OT work?
I was a horse person before I was an OT. My undergraduate degree is in Equine Studies, so I came to OT from the horse world. I always incorporated nature and believe in the healing power of nature. So, it's been a lifelong career path for me.
How did you get there? Can you describe your path?
Sure, I started helping with the Special Olympic athletes when I was in 4-H as a kid. This was inspiring and I enjoyed helping. In undergrad, I trained a horse for the world Special Olympics and started the process for my therapeutic/adaptive riding instructor certification. This lead me to learn more about the medical side of partnering with horses and I found some AMAZING mentors. These women encouraged me and brought me into the American Hippotherapy Association. I apprenticed with the AHA faculty and became faculty myself after several years. This has allowed me to teach OT, PT and SLP professionals all around the world about hippotherapy. I also working in some more "usual" settings like Early Intervention and pediatric outpatient, which helped me to be a more well rounded clinician. I grew into an academic teaching role at an OTA program. When I became a mom it was the motivation to go full time into private practice, so that I could also be home with my kids.
Please describe a typical day or OT session in your uncommon setting. What OT skills do you utilize?
I don't think there is EVER a typical day. When you mix kids, animals and the outdoors there are so many variables. I have sessions planned based on our written OT goals. We incorporate time on the horse focusing on movement and sensory input and then work on functional activities in an activity room or outdoors. In our nature based setting, we also usually start with movement (like hiking to the stream or outdoor classroom) and we work on the OT goals along the way or at the outdoor classroom. One of the biggest skills I am using is flexibility, clinical reasoning to create therapeutic opportunities in the setting and observation skills to make micro-adjustments to the session plan.
Can you talk about some recent highs (successes) and lows (challenges) of your current role?
Yes, sometimes being a therapy provider is like a roller coaster. There are days when all the clients have amazing sessions and you leave feeling great. Then a few weeks later- nothing goes right. The horse is lame, the client has a meltdown and someones' credit card gets declined. One recent session that was amazing was with a young boy that had been working hard to develop self regulation skills he had been doing well in recognizing when he was becoming overstimulated and was able to tell his parents that he needed a break when they were out on a community trip
How do you continue to learn in order to stay on top of things within your role?
This is so important- I have mentors and coaching, continuing education, networking with others and conferences. I am one of four OTs that are on faculty for the American Hippotherapy Association, so we do a lot of research and work on the curriculum, so this also keeps me at the forefront of that area of practice.
Can you share a little bit about salary and compensation in this setting? How do OT or the services you provide get funded?
Yeah- this is a big one! It's so important to get paid for the work we do. And so many OTs and OTAs ask about how to price their services. I think there are three key factors- first what are your expenses? 2- what is your expertise or experience 3- what is usual in your area? We use these factors to set prices for 1:1 services, groups and enrichment programs. Most of our services are private pay or funded through granting agencies. We have chosen to work directly with families and not for insurance companies to keep our overhead low and our goals focused on the families and not just what is medically necessary as deemed by insurance.
Any career advice for our followers and listeners on how to get started on this path?
Sure- check it out in person first before investing in training or mentoring. I mentor a lot of OTs who want to work in this setting, but first I think you need to spend some time shadowing someone who is seeing clients in the setting that you are interested in - the pool, stable or forest. This helps you know if it's really something you want to do- not just that you saw it on IG or went one beautiful spring day and it was magical.
What’s a common myth or misconception about your job/role you’d like to call out or demystify?
There are a lot of issues around terminology when working as an OT with horses- we are not a hippotherapist, we don't DO equine therapy (that's therapy for horses), we are not teaching riding.
How do we find you, follow you, be in touch with you and, promote your unique work?
Online my business is Epona Academy- that's where I connect with OTs and OTAs who are interested in working in non-traditional nature settings. I do a business course and a year-long clinical mentoring program.
Please list any resources you would like me to include with your Show Notes (courses, articles, assessments, tools, etc.)
For listeners who have an OT.com account this course is a good starting place:
https://www.occupationaltherapy.com/ot-ceus/course/introduction-to-hippotherapy-for-occupational-4036 For the American Hippotherapy Association: https://www.americanhippotherapyassociation.org/ My free online community at Epona Academy: https://eponaacademy.xperiencify.io/ Animals & Aquatics in OT podcast: https://animalsandaquatics.buzzsprout.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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