Venture with me into the heart of conscious rebellion with a very special guest, Lindsey Vestal . Long before training as an OT, Lindsey saw an opportunity for Occupational Therapy to be at the heart of pelvic health, and she has been paving the path for other OTs to become trained and established in this area of practice ever since. Even if pelvic health isn’t your passion, you are going to get a lot out of this episode as we talk through Lindsey’s story of standing up to claim OT's place as, n...
Nov 03, 2023•45 min•Season 1Ep. 14
There are a number of people in my life with whom a simple, superficial conversation is not possible. This guest is one of those people and I think you'll enjoy the layers and gentle rhythm of our discussion on the unique development potential in the crises that highly creative, deep feeling, big thinking individuals encounter. In my work I often support occupational therapists through their own crisis points toward knowing themselves more deeply and thriving personally and professionally as lev...
Oct 17, 2023•51 min•Ep. 13
On a number of occasions I have taken time away from the noise of routines and tasks to reflect on my business. How it feels, how it aligns with my values and life direction. I've been at this a long time so I've done it a few times. I essentially Marie Kondo my work. Which parts spark joy? Which ones do not? It's really a process of getting out of autopilot and taking a high level life review that has taken me down some pretty cool paths in search of doing the things that create ENERGY, JOY, SA...
Jul 15, 2023•13 min•Season 1Ep. 12
Are you an occupational therapy business owner, a nature OT, or an OT in midlife looking for more peace in your business? If so, you're in for a treat! In this episode of The Brave OT Podcast, we dive into the fascinating world of nature-based therapy and its transformative impact on well-being. Our guest, Bronwyn Paynter, a seasoned occupational therapist in Australia, shares her personal journey of discovering the healing power of nature. She opens up about her own challenges, including overco...
Jun 19, 2023•53 min
I loved sitting down with Michele Hampton, an inspiring mental health occupational therapist, who shares her journey in starting her own private practice and the lessons she learned along the way. With humour and heart, Michele shares her stories about calling into radio talk shows, how her husband wrote a banjo song for their pandemic puppy, and how she found the courage and support to launch her nature-based, adult mental health private practice. Being gritty Canadian gals, we couldn't help bu...
Jun 07, 2023•55 min
Get to know trailblazer Keir Harding, an occupational therapist and mental health advocate from the UK who specializes in working with people living with suicidal tendencies and who engage in self-harm as a way of coping. He passionately advocates for individuals while working toward making system-level changes in the way individuals diagnosed with borderline personality disorder are treated with the goal of reducing stigma and offering more respectful,safer, and more effective treatment in the ...
Apr 17, 2023•52 min•Ep. 9
Join Jill Garaffa and I in an expansive discussion about how occupational therapists and coaching. Jill shares her vision for a professional disruption where finding OTs in on staff becomes the norm in corporate settings. We are well equipped to work with individuals and organizations, transforming functional to optimal. Jill is a licensed occupational therapist in New Jersey, USA and an ICF-credentialed professional certified coach. Jill and I discuss different perspectives on qualifications, c...
Mar 28, 2023•52 min•Ep. 8
We all know the uncertainty that surrounds our profession, how we communicate it to others, how we define our scope and impact, how others see our value. Yet I think we deeply know our value and purpose as OTs. In my role supporting OTs in their personal and professional development, I know that this uncertainty sometimes undermines the confidence of OTs, particularly when stepping out of traditional roles and into private practice or emerging roles. What if we reframe that uncertainty as an opp...
Mar 15, 2023•1 hr 4 min•Season 1Ep. 7
Come jam with 2 mental health OTs, on 2 continents who coach other therapists and have similar names. Karlien and Carlyn at your service! We talk about finding our way in business, applying what we know to impact other therapists in how they find values alignment personally and professionally. Karlien Terblanche joined my ACTivate Vitality program last year and was gracious enough to come on the podcast to talk about the experience of being a mental health OT who coaches other therapists and how...
Mar 05, 2023•1 hr•Ep. 6
Imagine going about your work as an OT in a completely open, curious, exploratory kind of way, letting go of the bounds of externally imposed timelines, locations, goals, expectations and pace. For some this might sound like occupational utopia. For others it may sound terrifyingly unclear and frustratingly aimless. Either way, you're going to want to crack your mind open and join Kary and I on a conversational journey as she describes how she has come to work in an entirely different way that f...
Feb 20, 2023•45 min
Work-life balance, occupational balance, balancing roles, finding balance. These are all terms that roll around in conversations among business owners. Well, occupational therapists are probably the only ones talking about occupational balance. What is it? Where do we find it? OTs often come to me searching for this elusive thing we call balance and in the next breath they tell me they want to be more productive. I think the thought process there is, "If I get more done in less time, I can have ...
Feb 07, 2023•51 min
Well behaved women seldom make history. That is what Alice's shirt said when I met her in the UK in the fall of 2022. I knew we'd get along famously at that point. Alice Hortop has made conscious rebellion an art form. In this episode of The Brave OT Podcast, Alice shares how she sees human occupation as more belonging-centred than independence-focused and it makes a world of sense. She describes the process she took to deconstruct the common concept and explored it with curiosity and experience...
Dec 15, 2022•1 hr 5 min•Ep. 3
Ugh! Are you tired of hearing about how you should be doing more self-care, better self-care, and loving every minute of it? I bet you're even beating yourself up about not doing as much as you'd like. But you're busy. There's too much to do. There's nothing left for you at the end of the day after you've taken care of everybody else. Sound familiar? This is NOT another self-care guilt trip. This is taking self-care and dissecting it, turning it upsdide down and inside out and coming at it from ...
Dec 11, 2022•12 min•Ep. 2
In this episode my friend, Arno van Vuuren of The OT Minute, helps me introduce myself to you and why I started The Brave OT Podcast. We dig into my personal and professional mission and the values that underpin how I show up in everything I do whether I'm acting in my role as occupational therapist, business owner, personal development coach, mom, potter, traveller , or, now, podcaster. Make sure to subscribe and leave a review so you don't miss any new episodes. You can find more of Arno's wor...
Dec 10, 2022•1 hr 4 min•Ep. 1
I am Carlyn Neek. I’m the host of the Brave OT Podcast and I’m thrilled to have you join me as I dive in and explore what being a brave occupational therapy practitioner is all about. I have a lineup of important topics, and juicy conversations to share with you and hopefully inspire you to be just a little more brave in all you do. Let’s start with getting clear on what being brave is. Important note, Brave is not being fearless. It’s quite the opposite actually. Brené Brown says “The key to wh...
Nov 30, 2022•2 min
