Episode Details

In this episode, we will learn about an occupational therapist who utilizes equine movement & animal-assisted therapy in her OT practice. Nicole Raftis, Registered Occupational Therapist, Manager for the Pathways Ponies Occupational Therapy program, ( graduated from Queen’s University’s School of Rehabilitation Science’s Occupational Therapy Program and is a Registered OT in Guelph, Ontario, Canada. For the first 3 years of practice Nicole traveled and worked as an OT in 7 locations throughout the U.S.A and provided volunteer OT services in Guyana, Nepal, Thailand and India, taking in knowledge about the wide variety of roles OT’s play in various settings as well as culturally sensitive and environmentally appropriate ways to support clients. Upon her return to Canada, Nicole has spent the majority of her 27 years of practice in pediatrics, initially working at Vancouver’s Sunny Hill Health Center for Childern, on their Brain injury program, Autism Assessment Team and their Substance exposure team. Family brought Nicole to Ottawa where she provided school care services for a few years before taking her dream job at the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario, on the child and adolescent mental health units, gaining experience with psychotherapy and mental health practice. It was during her time in Ottawa that she got to experience the magic of pet therapy for the first time, helping to facilitate the sessions for kids experiencing significant emotional, sensory and behavior dysregulation.

Aging parents inspired another move to Guelph, ON where Nicole has been working in private practice for the last 12 years. She continues to support children and teens to reach their full potential at home and school. The pandemic presented a unique opportunity for Nicole to become involved with a physical therapist who uses Equine movement and pet therapy to assist clients to reach their goals. Nicole was invited to develop an Occupational Therapy program at the barn and she has been thrilled to be a part of this initiative, integrating her mental health, sensory, motor and pet therapy experience to create a very holistic therapy program in a beautiful outdoor setting. Nicole has recently completed her American Hippotherapy Association Level 1 course and feels this latest adventure is a testament to the excitement and versatility that has been available over a 27-year career in Occupational Therapy.

Nicole also mentors a number of younger OTs and supervises students from McMaster University. Her desire to share information and resources has led her to partner with other OTs in Guelph to create TREEO Occupational Therapy, an online library of courses and resources meant to support parents, teachers and OT’s looking for pediatric resources. Their online platform launched in 2021 with their first course titled “Pandemic Parenting: Meaningful Tools for Health & Hope”. Their courses can be found at https://treeo-ot.thinkific.com

My sincere apologies to my Canadian friends for my poor pronunciation of your provinces!

Show Key Points:

·      Nicole gives us a glimpse of her background and interests

·      She describes her Uncommon OT work and whom she serves

·      She describes what inspired her to do this work and her path to entrepreneurship

·      She explains her holistic service and how it can benefit children

·      She provides OT practitioners an example of a typical session

·      She pr