Using Gardens in a Holistic Approach to Occupational Therapy with Deedee Levine

Episode notes

While working as a school-based OT, Deedee Levine MS, OTR/L, YT-200, CD has found gardening and gardens to be a unique and integral part of her Occupational Therapy treatments. In addition to that, it’s helping children understand their overall health from a whole new perspective. Using Occupational Therapy as a pillar of her holistic healing approach, she has branched out into multiple other facets of health care. We discuss:

• How she blends environmental science with occupational therapy
• Impact of outside gardens on youth in schools
• Cooking is the most important OT treatment session
• Skills utilized during cooking activity
• How taking care of a plant can influence children
• Food justice and implications of availability of fresh foods in low income areas
• Empowering families to be able to grow and make their own foods to be healthy
• Microscopic versus whole view lens
• Disconnection between where our food comes from these days
• Grants and funding opportunities for therapists
• Engaging the entire school and not just students receiving therapy
• Occupational therapy can also be seen as opportunity therapy
• Incorporating yoga and Ayurvedic doula into occupational therapy
• Relatedness of sensory processing and Ayurveda
• Promoting health and wellness at the beginning, rather than only addressing it once something goes wrong
• An explanation of her private practice, Deedee Levine Therapeutics

Find out more on her site: https://www.deedeelevinetherapeutics.com/

Or follow her on:

Instagram: @deedeelevinetherapeutics

Facebook: DeedeeLevineTherapeutics