About Beth

IF YOU ARE RECOVERING FROM A SERIOUS INJURY, THERE IS HELP!

You may be weeks, months or years into your recovery. And if you’re like most of my clients, the consequences of your injuries have impacted every part of your life. You may have little clarity over where your recovery and your life are going.

In fact, my clients often say that life has become all about their injury.

When they come to me, many clients are overwhelmed by what they are facing in their recovery road ahead. They feel overtaken by the physical, emotional and cognitive consequences of living in a body that isn’t functioning the way it once did. Some are living from treatment to treatment and life is about “getting through” the day.

Like some of my clients, you may feel confused by the differing opinions you’ve been given regarding what you “should” do and what you “can” expect in your recovery. Some of my clients even express feeling frustrated and under the microscope of well-intentioned “advice” from their family and friends – the armchair experts in their life.

Many of my clients are asking if they’ll be able to return to work, return to their studies, return to the social and recreational activities they love. And if so, then “WHEN?” becomes the next question. Perhaps you too just don’t know if or how you will return to life as you knew it.

Like so many of the people I work with, you may also experience some degree of “identity crisis” as you move through recovery after injury. Your sense of self may feel flattened by the consequences of your injuries. You may have “lost” your voice and don’t know how to advocate for yourself with your team of doctors, treatment providers, employer, family and friends. And in struggling to find your voice, it can be even more difficult to anchor to a strong identity of who you are as you move through the recovery journey.

If any or all of the above resonates for you, you are not alone.
Your path through recovery can be different!

I’ve seen all of this and more in my 25+ years working with clients recovering from serious injury. In all those years, too frequently I witnessed people getting stuck and overwhelmed, often lacking a clear and focused path through recovery. And I became increasingly aware that the systems in which I worked as an occupational therapist and in which my clients were recovering, weren’t necessarily the most efficient or effective at supporting them to move through recovery.

If I wanted to change how my clients moved through recovery, then I had to shift my beliefs. And so I got curious about common patterns I was seeing in my clients’ recovery experience and what I was experiencing as a clinician.

And four key thoughts that kept surfacing over and over for me:

“Recovery doesn’t have to be this complicated.”

“Clients don’t have to lose their voice and identity.”

“The client needs to believe and embody that they are the driver of their
recovery.”

“The client absolutely needs support and guidance for these to happen.”

How shifting my beliefs about recovery laid the foundation for my current practice as an Occupational Therapist and Health Coach.

Long story short…I left behind the world in which I was practicing Occupational Therapy, but I did not leave behind Occupational Therapy. I strengthened my skill set by becoming a certified Health Coach. And I combine my OT experience, knowledge and wisdom with the principles and grace of health coaching to help you navigate your injury recovery journey..

In my current practice, I weave my 25 years as a clinician, advocate, expert and witness to my clients’ recovery journeys with insights from my own life experiences and journeys through injury, concussion and a serious illness in my 20’s.

And I support and guide you to navigate your injury recovery process.

My beliefs about you and your recovery…

I fully believe that recovery after serious injury can be simplified. I believe that you are the driver of your recovery journey, and I will help you get clarity so that your recovery efforts are focused only on what is progressing your day-to-day function and your ability to do what is most meaningful to you.

The most important voice is yours! And I believe that you can strengthen your voice and rebuild, reclaim and renew your identity in the context of injury and weave that identity into every corner of a rich life. And I will help you do just that!

I believe that recovery is not an endpoint or destination, it’s a journey. I walk alongside my clients through the recovery journey whether they are newly injured, it’s been months or even years.

You are not meant to do this alone!

You are not meant to journey through your recovery without guidance. You need someone supporting you at key points in this journey. And that support needs to provide a roadmap that clarifies where you are at, where you want to get to and just how to get there.

I help you to simplify your recovery so that you have a clear and focused recovery plan to help you navigate the journey, no matter what stage of recovery you are at or how long it’s been since your injury.

As a fierce advocate for my clients, I will guide you to develop your voice and support you as you flex your self-advocacy so that you become the driver of your own recovery. No outcome is more important to me than witnessing you take ownership of your goals as you move through your recovery journey and your life.

A bit about my education and work background:

I have a B.Sc. in Kinesiology from the University of Waterloo, a B.Sc. in Occupational Therapy from the University of British Columbia and I am an ADAPT-Certified Functional Health Coach from the Kresser Institute. I am a registered Occupational Therapist and a registered Health Coach.

I have over 25 years’ experience in the rehabilitation field working with hundreds of clients who have sustained serious and traumatic injuries including internal injuries, orthopedic injuries, soft tissue injuries, nerve injuries, brain injuries, concussion, depression, anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder. I have worked with these clients from just a few days after injury to years after injury. I have been a witness to the journeys, struggles and growth of so many with whom I had the privilege to work, and from whom I have grown as a clinician and person.