ABOUT AUTHENTIC SELF OCCUPATIONAL THERAPY
Meet Mary
I am a registered Occupational Therapist (OT) with a particular interest in working with late-discovered autistic and/or ADHDer adults.
As an OT, I believe in the right of every person to engage in the doing of life, in their homes and communities, as this is how we learn, connect, become and express who we are.
I started Authentic Self Occupational Therapy in early 2023 to provide effective, strengths-based support for individuals that identify as neurodivergent (autistic and ADHD/VAST), neuro-questioning and "neurotypical", experiencing long-term and often hidden difficulties with feeling overwhelmed, self-identity, executive functioning and relationships, impacting their capacity to move forward in life as their unique self.
My approach is warm, affirming, non-judgemental and compassionate, with a sense of fun. My focus is on a person's internal experience of their life , not meeting social norms. I thrive on learning about and from my clients, as we work together to gently build participation in the life of your choosing.
I live in Melbourne, with my family including the newest addition, Rosie, the tiny pup. I value time with my people, being in nature and as a Melbournian, eating out of course!
About Authentic Self Occupational Therapy
Authentic Self OT centres positive self-identity, wellbeing and self-determination. Our aim is to provide a safe, non-judgemental space to respectfully support people to live a satisfying, authentic life- their way.
Excited by the focus on a person's internal experience and life-enhancing clinical changes experienced by program participants, I trained to become a licensed facilitator in the Davis Concepts for Life/Autism Approach programs.
The programs were designed by an autistic person, Ron Davis, who understood that people experience, think and learn differently, and honour neurodiversity as the natural, valued variation in human brains.. Drawing from his lived experience, he developed a method to help people unlock their potential to be and express who they are, and want to be. My Melbourne-based practice is centred around offering these programs to adults..
Concepts for Life & Autism Approach programs involve gentle teaching of the foundational, abstract concepts (such as Time, Change, Emotion, Cause, Effect, Sequence, Relationship) , that we need to think clearly with, to be able to thrive in our lives, but are not actually ever explicitly taught.
Utilising visual learning and hands-on experiential methodology, a representation of each abstract concept is modelled in clay, then explored with tailored activities. This allows a person to think with the concepts with clarity in everyday life..
Upon completion of the program, participants are equipped with a framework and tools to make meaningful change, toward living a satisfying and authentic life.