Ep. 51: Redefining Brave When Everything Changes With Trish Williams
The BRAVE OT Podcast | Real Conversations with Occupational Therapy Trailblazers
Release Date: 11/01/2025
The BRAVE OT Podcast | Real Conversations with Occupational Therapy Trailblazers
In this solo episode, I'm getting deeply personal about turning 50 and everything that milestone is teaching me about values-based occupational therapy practice, sustainable work, and letting go of the structures we've inherited without examining them. If you're an OT who's ever felt like the practice you built for a previous version of yourself is now running you, or if you're navigating your own season of role transition, professional identity, and the ache to do things differently, this episode was made for you. I share the concept of the crone archetype, my experience teaching...
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The OT Who Showed Up at TED: Bill Wong on Visibility, Neurodivergence & Making Bold Career Moves What does it look like when an occupational therapist refuses to stay inside the OT bubble? In this episode of The BRAVE OT Podcast, I sit down with Bill Wong, the first OT student or practitioner to deliver multiple TEDx talks, publish those talks on TED's platform, and attend many TED conferenendces. Bill is a home health OT, a neurodivergent individual, a TEDx event organizer, and one of the most intentional networkers in our profession. Our conversation weaves through career resilience,...
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Acceptance and Commitment Therapy in OT Practice through Jen's Personal and Professional Experience What happens when an occupational therapist who supports others with mental health challenges experiences their own mental health crisis? In this episode, Jen Anderson-Frost shares their journey through perinatal OCD and how Acceptance and Commitment Therapy transformed both their recovery and their practice. If you're an occupational therapist curious about ACT, working with clients experiencing intrusive thoughts, or supporting parents with perinatal mental health challenges, this conversation...
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ACT for Occupational Therapists: Using Acceptance and Commitment Therapy in Any OT Setting Have you ever worked with clients who seem stuck? The ones who don't follow through on goals they set themselves, the ones often labeled with judgy terms like "non-compliant" or "unmotivated"? As occupational therapists, we're often called in when all else has failed. But when psychosocial barriers keep people from engaging in meaningful occupations, we need tools that work with the internal experiences creating those obstacles. Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) offers occupational therapists a...
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Deinstitutionalizing OT: Field Research, Folk Wisdom & Creating Your Own Path with Dr. Josie Jarvis What does it mean to deinstitutionalize yourself as an occupational therapist? In this wide-ranging conversation, Dr. Josie Jarvis and I explore everything from the historical roots of healthcare systems to why OTs need to reclaim field research and folk wisdom. If you've ever felt stuck in traditional practice settings or wondered how to apply occupational science to your own life, this episode offers both validation and a path forward. We discuss burnout recovery for occupational...
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Ever feel like you're drowning in documentation while the work you actually trained for gets squeezed into the margins? Or maybe you're curious about AI tools but worried about privacy, security, and whether using them is even ethical? You're not alone and this conversation might be exactly what you need to hear. In this episode, I sit down with Raj Paul, Director of Engineering at Jane, where he leads the teams building clinical features designed to reduce administrative burden. Raj brings a unique perspective he's not an OT, but his wife is, so he deeply understands our world. He's also...
info_outlineThe BRAVE OT Podcast | Real Conversations with Occupational Therapy Trailblazers
Ever wonder what happened to some of our OT entrepreneur trail blazers who went quiet? If you've been around OT social media or podcasts, you probably know Trish Williams from her brand, OTs Get Paid. In this raw, honest conversation, Trish opens up about why you haven't heard from her in more than a year and it's not the story you might expect. This episode is about what happens when your capacity fundamentally shifts. When perimenopause rewires your brain. When family crisis demands everything you have. When the version of yourself you've been living and sharing doesn't fit anymore. And when...
info_outlineThe BRAVE OT Podcast | Real Conversations with Occupational Therapy Trailblazers
Ep. 50: Sustainable Practice - Purpose + Profit with Jason Stein In this milestone 50th episode of The BRAVE OT Podcast, I sit down with Jason Stein—acupuncturist, executive coach, and the cowboy-hat-wearing wellness practitioner who's mastered the art of building a sustainable occupational therapy practice that honors both purpose and profit. If you're an overwhelmed practice owner wondering how to create more vitality in your work and life, this conversation offers wisdom you can actually use. Jason shares his journey from hospital-based integrative medicine to building a wellness center...
info_outlineThe BRAVE OT Podcast | Real Conversations with Occupational Therapy Trailblazers
This week on The BRAVE OT Podcast: So many neurodivergent OTs like us have spent our careers trying to squeeze ourselves into systems that weren't designed for how our brains work, for our sensory needs, or for how our values need to align deeply with our work. It is a brave move to one day say "I'm going to create something that actually works for me." Join me as I talk with Breanna James, an OT from Alaska who's been part of my ACTivate Vitality program and community for almost a year. Breanna specializes in supporting neurodivergent adults, and what I love about this conversation is...
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Waiting until you feel ready to make your next move? Convinced you need more training before you can call yourself an expert? Think entrepreneurs are just naturally fearless? Join me as I talk with traditional Chinese medicine doctor, Dr. Lorne Brown, about the mindset shifts we need to make to move through fear and think like an entrepreneur. Lorne shares how he built a thriving practice by flipping conventional wisdom on its head, committing first to a meaningful challenge, then finding courage, building capability, and finally gaining confidence. You'll hear his adaptation of Dan Sullivan's...
info_outlineEver wonder what happened to some of our OT entrepreneur trail blazers who went quiet?
If you've been around OT social media or podcasts, you probably know Trish Williams from her brand, OTs Get Paid. In this raw, honest conversation, Trish opens up about why you haven't heard from her in more than a year and it's not the story you might expect.
This episode is about what happens when your capacity fundamentally shifts. When perimenopause rewires your brain. When family crisis demands everything you have. When the version of yourself you've been living and sharing doesn't fit anymore. And when slowing down becomes the bravest thing you've ever done.
In this conversation, we explore:
- The collision of perimenopause and family crisis that changed everything
- Why Trish went back to being a mobile OT after thinking she'd "graduated" from that
- How cognitive changes in perimenopause can feel like late-onset ADHD
- The shame that comes with not being able to keep up anymore (and the rotting cooler story)
- What it really means to slow down when your whole identity was about achieving
- Redefining "brave", from launching businesses to getting reports done on time
- The shift from hope to faith when life gets really hard
- Building boundaries, finding what lights you up, and detaching with love
- Why volunteering at Pride and Folk Fest became her community lifeline
- The daily practices that keep her grounded (and why "scary thing" became "brave thing")
This episode is for you if:
- You're noticing your capacity has shifted and you don't know what to do about it
- You're in perimenopause or menopause and feeling completely disoriented
- You're navigating a major life crisis while trying to keep your business/career going
- You're tired of maintaining an image that doesn't fit who you are anymore
- You need permission to slow down without giving up
- You're a single parent or primary caregiver feeling stretched beyond your limits, even while parenting adult children
- You want to hear what building a life that actually works for you looks like
Connect with Trish: Email: trish@trishwilliamsconsulting.ca and listen to the OTs Get Paid Podcast.
Join the conversation in The BRAVE OT Facebook group - come share what "brave" looks like for you in your current season.
Questions OTs are searching:
- What are perimenopause symptoms affecting my work?
- How do I manage my OT practice with changing capacity?
- Is it normal to feel burnt out as an occupational therapist?
- Can I go back to clinical work after business coaching?
- How do I pivot my OT career in midlife?
- What does mobile OT work look like?
- How do therapists handle family crisis while working?
- Is perimenopause affecting my ADHD symptoms?
- How do I slow down my OT practice without quitting?
- What are signs of therapist burnout?
- How do I rebuild my OT career after time away?