Therapy in the Great Outdoors: The Business & Practice of Nature-Based Pediatric Therapy

Building a nature-based occupational therapy business comes with a whole lot of considerations. How many children do you want to see? Do you want to do group or individual therapy? Will you take insurance or operate cash-based?

Today, I'm chatting with fellow nature-based OT, Kim Wilson, about how she answered those questions for herself, and how that led her to keep her business small to align with her vision and lifestyle. She shares how her business evolved, why it's her mission to empower families to be equipped with tools and knowledge, and how she's made a cash-based business work in multiple locations.

As you'll learn in today's episode, the most important thing is to be intentional with your decisions and make them from a place of honoring your interests, your passion, your current season of life, and your personal business goals. You get to chart your own path, and there are so many ways to make a nature-based therapy practice work for you.

We'll discuss:

• How Kim got into the field of nature-based OT and how she juggles her business as a mom of six children
• The evolution of her business, Nature's Path OT, why she has kept it intentionally small, and how word of mouth has worked for her in acquiring clients
• Why you should define your area of interest and passion before assessing other parts of how to grow your business
• The importance of learning to communicate confidently about your business, seeing the value in your work, and building relationships that can lead to clients
• The differences between cash-based and insurance models, and the value of activities that would not be reimbursed by insurance
• Why you shouldn't let yourself believe the lie that your business has to look a certain way to be successful
• Kim's thoughts on what services set apart a nature-based OT business that make it worth paying cash for
• How Kim individualizes her home programs boxes to the needs of the child, and what a relief it is for families to have the weight of creating activities off their shoulders

Resources from this episode:

Kim's website

Kim's Instagram

If you're ready to take the next step in this adventure, join our free Therapy in the Great Outdoors Community at therapyinthegreatoutdoors.com. The TGO community is a private space just for nature-based pediatric practitioners. We have loads of resources there to support you as you start or grow a nature-based practice or program.

Are you a pediatric therapist interested in taking your work with children out into nature? Visit www.ConTiGOapproach.com to join the waitlist for the next ConTiGO Approach Online Course.

As humans, we are inextricably linked to the earth. And in a world and society with so much emphasis on technology, it's more important than ever to stay regularly connected with nature.

In this episode, I'm talking about why I think that nature-based therapy practices have longevity and sustainability. Not only can it renew your passion for the work that you do, but we aren't healthy when we're detached from the earth (and vice versa).

Whether you're starting a new practice or thinking of ways to reinvigorate an existing one, the benefits of nature-based therapy are many, and they will continue to benefit children and adults alike for decades to come.

We'll discuss:

• Why experienced therapists are entering nature-based practices and how it can renew your passion for your work
• How forest schools and nature play are becoming more widely acceptable
• How more competition means a greater need for unique, high-quality services
• The need for more connection to nature in light of continued advancements in technology (especially geared towards kids)
• The nonduality of humans and the earth

Resources from this episode:

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If you're ready to take the next step in this adventure, join our free Therapy in the Great Outdoors Community at therapyinthegreatoutdoors.com. The TGO community is a private space just for nature based pediatric practitioners. We have loads of resources there to support you as you start or grow a nature based practice or program.

If you're serious about taking your nature-based practice to the next level, come join the Business Bedrocks Group Coaching Program in The Business Hive. You'll get clarity & confidence to grow a profitable and personally fulfilling business that runs on auto-pilot as much as possible.

Are you a pediatric therapist interested in taking your work with children out into nature? The ConTiGO Approach Online Course will open for registration soon: visit www.ConTiGOapproach.com to join the waitlist.

Kids love getting messy. They love playing outside. And when you provide them with opportunities for safe risk-taking and exploration, the learning outcomes and success that follow will prove invaluable to their development. This is true for all children, and today's research takeaway episode gives further proof of the benefits for autistic children.

In this small scale study, four autistic children attend forest school, and then the children, along with their parents and teachers, provide feedback on the experience. And there are some very exciting qualitative outcomes.

This research brings up an interesting idea: how we can implement videos as a strategy in treatment sessions. It also supports the practices we are implementing as nature-based therapists: getting messy, risk-taking, learning about nature, and making friends in a safe space.

We'll discuss:

• Why this study specifically centers the voices of the autistic children who participated
• How the researchers used videos to show the full range of experience for each child
• Why they got multiple sets of data responses (verbal, non-verbal, visual) and how they analyzed
• The common themes that both parents and educators agreed on as outcomes they witnessed
• The common themes in the children's responses
• How all the children depicted positive emotions when drawing their experience
• Takeaways from this study for nature-based therapy

Resources from this episode:

I found a free, publicly available link to the article!

If you're ready to take the next step in this adventure, join our free Therapy in the Great Outdoors Community at therapyinthegreatoutdoors.com. The TGO community is a private space just for nature based pediatric practitioners. We have loads of resources there to support you as you start or grow a nature based practice or program.

If you're serious about taking your nature-based practice to the next level, come join the Business Bedrocks Group Coaching Program in The Business Hive. You'll get clarity & confidence to grow a profitable and personally fulfilling business that runs on auto-pilot as much as possible.

Are you a pediatric therapist interested in taking your work with children out into nature? The ConTiGO Approach Online Course will open for registration soon: visit www.ConTiGOapproach.com to join the waitlist.

Running a nature-based therapy practice is about more than the therapy itself. From knowing what's needed to get started to how to market your business to making sure you're taking time for yourself, there's a lot that goes into running a business.

In this episode, I answer your listener questions about the behind-the-scenes aspect of business. I share what work/life balance looks like both in early and later stages of a business, why I love what I do, and the importance of not letting yourself get burnt out. I also talk about strategies and decisions around whether or not to open an LLC and marketing strategies that I recommend if you're just starting out in your business.

We'll discuss:

• How a recent OT retreat solidified for me the impact of nature-based therapy and the importance of community to the growth and transformation of nature-based practices
• An update on my current work life
• How to navigate work/life balance in the first few years as a business owner and how that balance is different for everyone
• The prevalence of burnout and knowing when you need physical and mental rest
• The importance of having support in your business so you can focus on the work you love
• What helps me stay sane in running multiple businesses
• Whether and when to consider sole proprietor, LLC, or S-corp for your business
• Important decisions to make before opening an LLC or S-corp
• The most helpful marketing strategy for me when I first started my business and what I recommend now
• How email marketing can help you gain a wide potential client base
• Why in-person marketing and word of mouth is so successful

Resources from this episode:

Grounded to Grow Retreat

Nicole Gordon - Outside OT

Angela Rosenberg - Treeline Enrichment

Marika Austin - Bearfoot Occupational Therapy

Kate Davis - Adaptations Unlimited

Mind Your OT Business - Episode 34

Therapy in the Great Outdoors - Episode 5

If you're ready to take the next step in this adventure, join our free Therapy in the Great Outdoors Community at therapyinthegreatoutdoors.com. The TGO community is a private space just for nature based pediatric practitioners. We have loads of resources there to support you as you start or grow a nature based practice or program.

If you're serious about taking your nature-based practice to the next level, come join the Business Bedrocks Group Coaching Program in The Business Hive. You'll get clarity & confidence to grow a profitable and personally fulfilling business that runs on auto-pilot as much as possible.

Are you a pediatric therapist interested in taking your work with children out into nature? The ConTiGO Approach Online Course will open for registration soon: visit www.ConTiGOapproach.com to join the waitlist.

If you have questions that come up as you're listening to the podcast, feel free to reply to my Instagram stories when I put out a listener Q&A callout, or DM me @lauraparkfig or @outdoorkidsot. I'll feature your questions in a future Listener Q & A episode.

Earthing is the practice of connecting your body to the surface of the earth. Walking outside barefoot. Sitting in the grass without a blanket. It is a concept that has tangible benefits for both children and adults. What's even better is that there is an indoor alternative known as grounding in which you can use grounding devices to connect with the earth.

The best part is that there's scientific evidence that supports the practice.

In today's episode, you'll learn about earthing and grounding as well as a few research studies that share compelling evidence in favor of this practice. You'll also hear the benefits of using earthing and grounding in your nature-based therapy practice.

The beauty of these practices is that they are low-cost, easy-to-implement strategies. You can incorporate earthing into your outdoor sessions. You can suggest grounding mats to your families for an opportunity to improve health inside and in situations you cannot observe, like the home setting.

Direct contact with the earth has innumerable benefits, and I can't wait to see how you will incorporate these methods into your practice.

We'll discuss:

• What earthing is
• Grounding devices that you can use inside
• The many benefits of physically touching the earth with your body
• A study on how grounding improves vagal tone in NICU babies
• A study on the benefits of regular grounding in a teenager with severe disabilities
• A study on how grounding can improve inflammation and autoimmune diseases
• Results from a randomized, controlled trial in how grounding can improve quality of life in adult massage therapists
• How both earthing and grounding can be easily implemented into your nature-based therapy practice
• Why more research is needed on this important topic

Resources from this episode:

Book:

Earthing: The Most Important Health Discovery Ever? By Ober, Sinatra, & Zucker

Articles:

How Does Grounding Affect Children with Severe/Profound Disabilities? (Delp, 2021)

Electrical Grounding Improves Vagal Tone in Preterm Infants (Passi et al., 2017)

The effects of grounding (earthing) on inflammation, the immune response, wound healing, and prevention and treatment of chronic inflammatory and autoimmune diseases (Oschman et al., 2015)

The Effects of Grounding (Earthing) on Bodyworkers' Pain and Overall Quality of Life: A Randomized Controlled Trial (Chevalier et al., 2017)

Two bonus articles I didn't cover on the podcast:

Electric Nutrition: The Surprising Health and Healing Benefits of Biological Grounding (Earthing) (Sinatra et al., 2017)

Earthing: Health Implications of Reconnecting the Human Body to the Earth's Surface Electrons (Chevalier et al, 2012)

Previous episodes:

Gut microbiome episode

If you're ready to take the next step in this adventure, join our free Therapy in the Great Outdoors Community at therapyinthegreatoutdoors.com. The TGO community is a private space just for nature-based pediatric practitioners. We have loads of resources there to support you as you start or grow a nature-based practice or program.

If you're a pediatric therapist interested in taking your work with children out into nature, the ConTiGO Approach Online Course will open for registration soon: visit www.ConTiGOapproach.com to join the waitlist.

Are you a traditional pediatrician therapist considering taking your practice outdoors? There are so many benefits to starting a nature-based practice, many of which you've probably never thought of. Today, I'm breaking them down using some of my recent research findings.

In this episode, I share ten reasons you should take your pediatric therapy practice outdoors. I explain what makes nature-based therapy so effective for patients and appealing to parent. You'll also hear the benefits of nature-based practices from a business owner's perspective.

We'll discuss:

• How my current research is going and a few sneak peeks into what I'm uncovering
• How nature-based pediatric therapy can reignite your love for your work
• Why nature-based therapy is often more affordable and accessible than regular therapy
• Why parents and patients value nature-based therapy so highly
• Research that supports the effectiveness of nature-based pediatric therapy
• Why children need to engage in risky play in a neutral environment
• The unlimited potential of nature-based therapy, both for patients and practitioners

Resources from this episode:

Sparked by Jonathan Fields

If you're ready to take the next step in this adventure, join our free Therapy in the Great Outdoors Community at therapyinthegreatoutdoors.com. The TGO community is a private space just for nature based pediatric practitioners. We have loads of resources there to support you as you start or grow a nature based practice or program.

If you're serious about taking your nature-based practice to the next level, come join the Business Bedrocks Group Coaching Program in The Business Hive. You'll get clarity & confidence to grow a profitable and personally fulfilling business that runs on auto-pilot as much as possible.

Are you a pediatric therapist interested in taking your work with children out into nature? The ConTiGO Approach Online Course will open for registration soon: visit www.ConTiGOapproach.com to join the waitlist.

As a nature-based therapist, you've probably already seen the effects of nature programming in your patients: improved motor skills, lower stress levels, and even greater self-confidence. But what about the invisible benefits? Can nature-based therapy improve a child's internal, physical health?

In this episode, we're diving into a groundbreaking study on the impact of nature exposure on a child's gut microbiota. You'll learn how the gut microbiome affects a child's physical, cognitive, and behavioral health. You'll also hear how it can significantly improve a child's stress levels. Plus, you'll get to hear how these findings affect your practice and patients.

We'll discuss:

• How your gut microbiome affects a child's physical, behavioral, and cognitive health
• The relationship between your gut microbiome and serotonin levels
• How this study impacted the subjects' connection to nature and stress levels
• Whether or not weekly programming is enough to impact children's outcomes
• Why you should treat children holistically and consider internal and physical health when addressing behavioral health
• How to access resources to help you in your own nature-based practice or business

Resources from this episode:

Read the study mentioned in today's episode

The Connection to Nature Index for Preschool Children

If you're ready to take the next step in this adventure, join our free Therapy in the Great Outdoors Community at therapyinthegreatoutdoors.com. The TGO community is a private space just for nature based pediatric practitioners. We have loads of resources there to support you as you start or grow a nature based practice or program.

If you're serious about taking your nature-based practice to the next level, come join the Business Bedrocks Group Coaching Program in The Business Hive. You'll get clarity & confidence to grow a profitable and personally fulfilling business that runs on auto-pilot as much as possible.

Are you a pediatric therapist interested in taking your work with children out into nature? The ConTiGO Approach Online Course will open for registration soon: visit www.ConTiGOapproach.com to join the waitlist.

Your business has a lot of moving parts, and it's easy to let things spin out of control. But with the right systems in place, you can free up your time as the business owner to do MORE of what you love in the business, all while the business grows to impact more people and bring in more revenue.

In this episode, you'll learn the four systems every nature-based business needs: mindset, operations, marketing, and finances. These are the bedrock foundations of every single successful nature-based business...or ANY business, really!

We'll discuss:

• Why you have to consider the logistical side of running a nature-based business or program
• How to create a system for checking in and working on your mindset
• Why you need a plan in place for times when you're personally not feeling well
• How to develop a thorough, well-documented system of operations
• How to develop your marketing plan and map out your customer journey
• The different kinds of marketing you can utilize for your business
• Why you should prioritize ease of use in your website design and functionality
• How to shift your mindset around finances and profit
• Why your business needs a budget and an organized financial system
• How to access tons of resources for building and growing your business

Resources from this episode:MYOT Podcast Episode 43: Accept Challenges & Commit to Action with Carlyn Neek

TGO Podcast Episode 5: Email Marketing for your Nature-Based Practice

"Marketing Table Activity" post in the TGO CommunityProfit First by Mike Michalowicz

My accountant, Sandi York (She's @fitmoneycoach on IG)

If you're ready to take the next step in this adventure, join our free Therapy in the Great Outdoors Community at therapyinthegreatoutdoors.com. We have loads of resources there to support you as you start or grow a nature-based practice or program.

Are you a pediatric therapist interested in taking your work with children out into nature? The ConTiGO Approach Online Course will open for registration soon: visit www.ConTiGOapproach.com to join the waitlist.

Running a nature-based therapy practice is more complicated than just taking your patients outdoors. There's a lot that has to happen behind-the-scenes – from payroll to insurance to business strategy – and you're bound to have questions along the way. I'm answering some of those questions today!

In this episode, I answer a few listener questions about starting and growing a nature-based therapy practice. I explain how you can work towards your goals, even when you're not in a place to scale your business. I explain the purpose of liability insurance and why you need it. Plus, I share my experience finding outdoor spaces where I could legally conduct my practice.

We'll discuss:

• What to do if you don't feel like you're ready to grow your business yet
• How to reverse-engineer your way to your business goals
• How hiring employees can actually help you work less
• The importance of parent buy-in when growing your practice
• How to talk to families about insurance issues and best practices
• What liability insurance does for therapists
• How to find outdoors spaces to use in your practice
• How to protect and respect the outdoor spaces that you use

Resources from this episode:

Life Course Nature Exposure and Mental Health Outcomes A Systematic Review and Future Directions

If you're ready to take the next step in this adventure, join our free Therapy in the Great Outdoors Community at therapyinthegreatoutdoors.com. The TGO community is a private space just for nature based pediatric practitioners. We have loads of resources there to support you as you start or grow a nature based practice or program.

Are you a pediatric therapist interested in taking your work with children out into nature? The ConTiGO Approach Online Course will open for registration soon: visit www.ConTiGOapproach.com to join the waitlist.

While we as therapists do lean on our intuition, it's important that our work be rooted in research. In my 10-Minute Takeaway series, I break down recent research in the world of nature-based therapy to help you serve your patients to the best of your abilities.

In this episode, I share recent findings from a study on how nature exposure in childhood impacts mental health in adulthood. I explain how the study was conducted, what the researchers tested for, and the results. Then, I talk about how you can apply these findings to your own work as a nature-based therapist.

We'll discuss:

• How to join the paid TGO community and what kinds of resources you can find there
• This week's article on how early nature exposure can impact adult mental health
• How to measure availability, duration, and quality of nature exposure
• How early nature exposure improves mental health later in life
• Which mental health disorders and behavior problems can be reduced through exposure to nature
• How nature exposure especially impacts people from disadvantaged backgrounds
• How we can apply these findings to our own practices

Resources from this episode:

Life Course Nature Exposure and Mental Health Outcomes A Systematic Review and Future Directions

If you're ready to take the next step in this adventure, join our free Therapy in the Great Outdoors Community at therapyinthegreatoutdoors.com. The TGO community is a private space just for nature based pediatric practitioners. We have loads of resources there to support you as you start or grow a nature based practice or program.

Are you a pediatric therapist interested in taking your work with children out into nature? The ConTiGO Approach Online Course will open for registration soon: visit www.ConTiGOapproach.com to join the waitlist.