Pain doesn't just hurt — it reorganizes your entire life. The morning routine that used to take 20 minutes now takes an hour. You've stopped cooking, stopped exercising, stopped doing the things that made you feel like yourself. You're managing around the pain instead of living through it.
As a registered occupational therapist, I don't treat the pain itself — I treat the impact. Together, we rebuild your ability to do the daily tasks that matter to you, manage your energy, protect your joints, adapt your environment, and address the sleep disruption that makes everything worse. The goal isn't to pretend the pain isn't there. It's to stop it from running your life.
Who is this for?
If Pain is Changing How You Live
Living with chronic pain
You've had pain for months or years. You've seen doctors, tried medications, maybe done physio. But nobody has helped you figure out how to actually manage daily life with a body that doesn't cooperate.
Diagnosed with arthritis
Osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, or another joint condition is making daily tasks harder — opening jars, climbing stairs, getting dressed, keeping up with the house. You need strategies that protect your joints while keeping you active.
Fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue
Your energy is unpredictable. Good days and bad days with no clear pattern. You push through and crash, or you avoid everything and feel worse. You need a pacing strategy that actually works.
Recovering from surgery or injury
The surgery went well but you're struggling to get back to normal. Daily tasks feel harder than they should. You need help rebuilding routines, adapting your home, and regaining confidence in your body.
Falls and balance concerns
You've fallen — or you're afraid of falling. The fear is shrinking your world. You need home modifications, safe movement strategies, and the confidence to stay active.
Aging and losing independence
Daily tasks are getting harder — bathing, dressing, managing the house, getting in and out of the car. You want to stay independent but your body isn't making it easy. An OT can help you find a way.
Common Conditions
What We Work With
Every condition affects daily life differently. The approach adapts to your specific diagnosis, your body, and your goals.
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Osteoarthritis
Joint protection, adaptive tools, home modifications, pain management during daily tasks.
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Rheumatoid Arthritis
Flare management, energy conservation, joint protection, splinting guidance, activity adaptation.
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Fibromyalgia
Activity pacing, energy management, sleep optimization, graded return to activity.
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Chronic Pain Syndrome
Daily routine restructuring, activity pacing, flare planning, reducing fear-avoidance patterns.
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Post-Surgical Recovery
Hip/knee replacement, shoulder surgery, spinal surgery — rebuilding daily function and home safety.
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Falls & Mobility
Home safety assessment, balance strategies, adaptive equipment, fall prevention planning.
What We Do
Practical strategies for daily life with pain
Activity pacing
The push-crash cycle is the enemy. We build a pacing strategy that matches your energy to your priorities — doing enough to stay functional without triggering a flare that costs you the next two days. This is the single most impactful intervention for most chronic pain and fatigue clients.
Energy Conservation
When your energy is limited, you can't afford to waste it. We audit your daily routines and find the energy leaks — tasks that cost more than they should because of how you're doing them, not what you're doing. Then we fix the how.
Joint Protection
For arthritis clients: techniques and tools that reduce stress on your joints during daily tasks. How you open jars, carry groceries, get in and out of chairs, use your hands at work — small changes in body mechanics that make a significant difference over time.
Home Modification
Your home should work for you, not against you. Bathroom grab bars, kitchen reorganization (heavy items at counter height, not overhead), lighting improvements, furniture arrangement for safe mobility, stair management solutions. I see your actual home on camera and recommend specific, practical changes. As an approved Alberta Aids to Daily Living (AADL) authorizer, I can also assess your eligibility for government-funded equipment — meaning the province may cover up to 75% of the cost of the modifications and equipment you need.
Adaptive Equipment
The right tool at the right time can be the difference between doing something yourself and needing help. Long-handled reachers, jar openers, dressing aids, bath seats, ergonomic kitchen tools — matched to your specific needs, not a generic catalogue recommendation. Through my AADL authorizer status, I can assess what you need and authorize government funding in one visit — no separate referral, no extra appointments, no waiting.
Daily Routine Rebuilding
Pain often collapses routines — you stop doing things because they hurt, and gradually your world shrinks. We rebuild your routines in a sustainable way, grading activities up gradually and building in the rest and recovery your body needs.
Flare Planning
Bad days are going to happen. Having a plan for them — what to do, what to skip, how to manage, when to ask for help — takes the panic out of flares and gets you back to baseline faster.
This isn't exercise prescription — that's your physiotherapist's job. This is everything else: how you get through your day, manage your home, and do the things that matter to you without paying for it afterward.
Equipment Funding
The equipment you need — with government help to pay for it
What is AADL?
Alberta Aids to Daily Living (AADL) is a government program that helps pay for medical equipment and supplies you need to stay independent at home. This includes things like bath seats, grab bars, walkers, wheelchairs, compression stockings, and other daily living aids.
The program covers up to 75% of the cost of approved equipment, with a maximum out-of-pocket of $500 per year for your family. If you're on a low income, you may pay nothing at all.
How it works with StevensOT
As an approved AADL authorizer, I can do the whole process in one step: assess your needs, determine what equipment will help, and authorize the government funding — all during our regular session. No separate referral to another clinic. No extra appointments. No waiting.
Once I've authorized the funding, you choose from a list of approved vendors (medical supply stores and pharmacies), pick up your equipment, and pay only your cost-share portion. It's that simple.
Eligibility: Alberta residents with a long-term disability (6+ months), chronic illness, or terminal illness. You must have a valid Alberta Health Care card. Some equipment also requires a physician's prescription.
The Sleep-Pain Connection
Poor sleep makes pain worse. Pain makes sleep worse. We break the cycle.
If you live with chronic pain, there's a very good chance you also have a sleep problem. Pain disrupts sleep. Sleep disruption lowers your pain threshold. You wake up more sensitive to pain, which disrupts the next night's sleep. It's a vicious cycle — and most pain management programs ignore it entirely.
As a certified CBT-I therapist, I address sleep directly as part of your pain management plan. Not with sleep hygiene tips you've already tried — with the gold-standard, evidence-based treatment for chronic insomnia. Many clients report that improving their sleep is the single most impactful thing we do together.
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What CBT-I addresses
Stimulus control — rebuilding the association between your bed and sleep, not pain and frustration.
Sleep restriction — consolidating fragmented sleep into solid, restorative blocks.
Cognitive restructuring — addressing the anxiety and catastrophizing that keep your brain wired at night.
Pain-specific adaptations — positioning, timing of medications, managing nighttime pain without sacrificing sleep.
OT is not physiotherapy
Physiotherapy strengthens your body and restores movement. Occupational therapy makes sure you can actually use that body to live your life. We're complementary, not competing.
A physiotherapist works on your hip range of motion after a replacement. I work on how you get in and out of the shower, set up your kitchen so you're not reaching overhead, and rebuild your confidence to leave the house.
Many clients see both — and the combination is more effective than either alone.
What only an OT does
Activity analysis — breaking down exactly why a task hurts and finding a way to do it that doesn't.
Environment modification — changing your actual home, not just your exercises.
Adaptive equipment matching — the right tool for your specific hand, your specific task, your specific kitchen.
Routine redesign — restructuring your whole day around energy and pain patterns, not just adding exercises to it.
Sleep treatment — CBT-I delivered alongside the physical function work.
What to expect
How It Works
No referral needed. No waitlist. We move at your pace.
1
Assessment
1–2 sessions
We map your pain patterns, your daily routines, your home environment, your goals, and what's getting in the way. Sleep screening is part of every assessment — because if sleep is a factor, we need to address it from the start. Because sessions happen in your home over video, I see your actual living environment and the real tasks you're struggling with.
2
Active intervention
4–8 sessions
We build your pacing strategy, modify your environment, introduce adaptive equipment where it helps, restructure your routines, and address sleep if needed. Everything is practiced in your real tasks — not discussed in theory. If CBT-I is part of the plan, it runs concurrently over 4–6 weeks.
3
Wrap-up and follow through
Discharge or periodic check-ins
Once your strategies are working and your routines are solid, we wrap up. You keep everything we built — the pacing plan, the home modifications, the adaptive tools, the sleep improvements. If your condition changes or new challenges come up, you can always come back for a tune-up.
Sessions are weekly or biweekly, 45 minutes each. We prioritize the tasks that matter most to you first. Most clients feel a tangible shift within the first 3–4 sessions — not because the pain is gone, but because daily life is more manageable.
How is this different from physiotherapy?
Physiotherapy focuses on restoring movement, strength, and physical capacity. OT focuses on function — how you use your body to do the daily tasks that make up your life. A physiotherapist works on your knee extension after surgery. I work on how you get in and out of the bathtub, set up your kitchen so it doesn't hurt to cook, and rebuild a daily routine that doesn't leave you crashed on the couch by 2pm. Many clients benefit from both.
Can you help with pain that doctors can't explain?
Yes. You don't need a specific diagnosis for OT. If pain is affecting your daily function, that's enough. Many clients come in after months or years of tests and appointments without clear answers. I don't need to know the cause to help you manage the impact — and managing the functional impact often reduces the pain itself by breaking the fear-avoidance and push-crash cycles.
I've already tried everything. Why would this be different?
Most pain programs focus on the pain itself — medications, injections, exercises, mindfulness. OT focuses on your life. We don't ask you to meditate about the pain. We figure out why making dinner wrecks your evening, and fix the way you do it so it doesn't. The changes are concrete, immediate, and specific to your daily reality. That's what most programs miss.
Will you tell me to stop doing things?
The opposite. My goal is to keep you doing the things that matter to you — just differently. Stopping activities leads to deconditioning, isolation, and a shrinking life. We find ways to adapt, pace, and modify so you can stay active and engaged. Sometimes that means doing things a new way. It rarely means stopping.
Do I need a referral?
No referral is needed. You can book directly. If you want your physician, surgeon, or physiotherapist involved, I'm happy to coordinate care and share progress reports with your consent.
Is this covered by insurance?
Sessions are billed as registered occupational therapy and may be covered by extended health benefits, Workers' Compensation Board (WCB), motor vehicle accident insurance, Veterans Affairs Canada, or workplace insurance. A free consultation can help you sort out your coverage options.
What about equipment costs? Do I have to pay for everything myself?
Not necessarily. As an approved AADL (Alberta Aids to Daily Living) authorizer, I can assess whether you qualify for government-funded equipment. If you do, the province covers up to 75% of the cost of approved items like bath seats, grab bars, walkers, and other daily living aids — and your out-of-pocket is capped at $500 per year. I handle the assessment and the funding authorization as part of your regular OT sessions, so there's no extra appointment or referral needed.