Highlighted Services: Occupational Therapy

Heidi is a board-certified Doctor of Occupational Therapy who specializes in helping children and teens achieve greater independence and confidence. Heidi believes in collaborating with both children and parents to identify strategies that improve functioning across daily tasks and emotional well-being.
Heidi earned her Bachelor’s in Kinesiology from San Diego State University and went on to complete her Doctorate in Occupational Therapy from the University of St. Augustine for Health Sciences.

Her experience includes completing Level I fieldwork at Del Mar School District, where she worked with children of diverse abilities, focusing on fine motor skills, handwriting, sensory processing and integration, emotional regulation, and social skills. She also completed Level II fieldwork at Urban Street Angels, a residential facility for adults with serious mental illnesses, where she taught healthy coping skills, crisis management, and mindfulness, emphasizing self-regulation.

Whether working with children or teens, Heidi specializes in:

• Self-Regulation: Helping clients manage emotional responses and physiological states by building awareness and developing effective coping strategies.
• Executive Functioning: Supporting clients with attention, impulse control, planning, organizing, problem-solving, and goal-setting.
• Interoceptive Training: Helping clients recognize and interpret internal body signals (e.g., hunger, fatigue, anxiety) to improve self-awareness and regulate emotional and physical responses effectively.
• Sensory Processing and Regulation: Utilizing strategies to help clients with sensory differences, including those who experience aversions (e.g., to clothing or textures).
• Fine and Gross Motor Skills: Enhancing motor coordination, strength, and endurance for greater functional independence.
• Handwriting and Fine Motor Skills: Specializing in interventions to improve motor planning, visual perceptual skills, and coordination for academic success.
• Reflex Integration: Supporting clients in integrating primitive reflexes to improve emotional regulation, body awareness, and impulse control, fostering greater stability and self-regulation.
• Social Skills: Helping clients improve communication, peer interaction, and problem-solving abilities to foster positive social relationships.

Heidi’s approach is grounded in the belief that the mind and body are deeply interconnected. She takes a somatic approach to therapy, using the body’s responses as a key component of regulation and overall well-being. By addressing both physical and mental health, Heidi helps her clients achieve their fullest potential across all areas of life.

What Families Are Saying:

Parents and caregivers have shared their heartfelt experiences working with Heidi. Here’s what they had to say:

“You were very knowledgeable and always very enthusiastic in your support.”
“Not only are you a great therapist with great technique, but you are also very compassionate and child-oriented!”
“You clearly have a gift with children that was apparent from the moment we met you.”