Hi, I’m Carla (she/her). I am an integrative health occupational therapist and founder of Empowering the Best, LLC, a whole-person therapy practice based in Petoskey, serving Northern Michigan in person and at home, with virtual OT for clients in Michigan and Colorado. I have over 15 years of experience supporting children, teens, adults, and families.

I see my role as a host. I offer calm and safety as you come home to yourself and grow comfortable in the present, both in your own body and in the world around you. That sense of safety is where progress starts.

What I Help With

Mind: executive function, attention and focus, communication, and functional vision

Body: dynamic capacity and pacing (including hypermobility, dysautonomia, and POTS), pelvic health, feeding and mealtimes, sensory processing, chronic pain, and neurological and orthopedic recovery

Emotions: nervous system regulation, felt safety, co-regulation, psychosocial support, and neurodiversity-affirming care for ADHD and autism

My Approach

Healing involves the whole person: mind, body, and the life you live each day. You can feel it in ordinary moments: sleeping through the night, eating without dread, moving without bracing, having energy left for the people you love. Integrative health occupational therapy works through those everyday occupations, because that is where healing happens. This way of practicing is recognized by the American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA), which describes it as bringing complementary health approaches into a client-centered, occupation-focused plan of care.

In practice, we build felt safety first, then self-regulation and co-regulation, and we find ways to release tension and steady what feels shaky. I draw on sensory strategies, interoception, pacing, restorative daily routines, time in nature, and creativity, alongside skilled, evidence-based OT for pain, pelvic health, feeding, neurological recovery, and development. My care is neurodiversity-affirming, trauma-informed, and team-based, for all ages, infants through adults.

Dynamic capacity is at the center of my work. What you can hold changes from day to day, and so does what you need. Each person and each season of life is different, and your supports should reflect that. I help you read your capacity as it is today, respect it, and grow it over time, without forcing yesterday’s pace onto today’s body.

At your evaluation, as AOTA recommends, I ask about the integrative practices already in your life, such as yoga, mindfulness, acupuncture, massage, faith practices, or time outdoors, so your plan of care builds on what is already helping.

If this sounds different from what you expect in healthcare, it is also where occupational therapy began. Our profession has been a blend of science and art from the start. It is in our founding documents, and it is reflected in the licensure and legal frameworks we practice under today. We began over 100 years ago, when reconstruction aides supported wounded soldiers returning from World War I, attending to body, mind, and life circumstances together. That blend is what drew me to this profession more than 20 years ago, as a young college student seeking a path.

I still practice that way. The science is the evidence, my scope, and my license. The art is in the listening, the pacing, and the creativity we bring to your care. When something sits outside my scope, I connect you with trusted providers in our collective and our Collaborative Network.

My Background & Foundations

I hold a Bachelor of Science in Psychology with a pre-occupational therapy emphasis from Grand Valley State University, where I was a member of Psi Chi, the international honor society in psychology, and presented undergraduate research at the Midwestern Psychological Association Conference. I went on to earn a Master of Science in Occupational Therapy, magna cum laude, also from Grand Valley, with specialty training across all ages.

I have worked at every level of this field: rehab tech, staff therapist, and rehab director early in my career, then treating therapist across ICU, acute care, ER evaluations, home and community-based services, auto no-fault, virtual school-based, and outpatient. For 14 years I served as a contract-based therapist, collaborating with case managers, physicians, surgeons, fellow therapists, teachers, and ABA providers, before building a solo private practice and founding Empowering the Best as a team collective.

My training includes feeding and mealtime support through Mealtime Miseries (Dr. Elizabeth Crawson and OT Carol Elliott) and Beckman Oral Motor training completed directly with Debra Beckman, trauma-informed expressive arts training alongside mental health and art therapists, and my current pelvic health work in the Functional Pelvis program with Lindsey Vestal. I built my feeding programs as true team care, including collaborating with Corewell Health (formerly Helen DeVos Children’s Hospital) in Grand Rapids, so families see real change faster than waiting on a year-long intensive waitlist. I also co-developed a functional vision program while mentoring a doctoral OT student, later shared freely with providers statewide.

Early in my career I felt isolated and discouraged, and I saw patterns that left me unsure how long I could stay in the field. Mentors who stayed a resource, and a private practice that let me remain ethical and growth-minded, kept me here. That shaped a promise: I try to be the support my own career once needed, and I stay intentional about my own pace and boundaries so I can have health while caring.

I have been a clinical educator for COTA and OTR graduate-level students for more than 10 years, authored a peer-reviewed publication, appeared as a guest on a professional podcast, and speak at professional conferences. I care about hosting spaces, through events, presentations, and networking, where providers and clients alike can feel safe, supported, and free to keep growing.

I’m a proud generalist, and I’ve pivoted and realigned more than once without losing my integrity, growing from staff therapist to founder while staying, first and foremost, a thoughtful OT. These values carry outside the clinic too, as owner and operator of Hemlock House, a short-term rental built as a space for regulation and reconnection.

As a Person Healing Too

I am a patient as well as a provider. I have had surgeries, lived with chronic pain, and learned dynamic capacity from the inside. I know what pain and loss can cost, the weight of carrying them, and the relief and joy when that weight lifts.

In my own life I have found deep healing through grief and trauma therapy, including IFS and EMDR, and through acupuncture, massage, sound healing, and time in nature. I have found it in relationships, family, animals, travel, my home, and water, especially Lake Michigan. I have found it in trying new things, looking at things another way, getting curious, staying persistent in seeking understanding, and finding spaces where I can grow safely, within myself and with others. These are supports I have received as a person healing, and they are part of why I value a wide circle of care.

I often say: if someone tells you they are the “only one who can help,” take a minute and consider whether that is a healthy space for healing. Life is complex, and so is healing. I am grateful there are many paths, and many helpers and healers, to support each season of challenge and growth as it emerges.

Community & Collaboration

Empowering the Best has grown into an interdisciplinary collective of therapists and community professionals aligned with whole-person care, because I want you to know you can have options.

I have been involved in Northern Michigan community partnerships for over a decade, including the Great Start Collaborative, the City of Petoskey Tax Increment Finance Authority Committee, and the Petoskey-Harbor Springs Community Foundation Grant Distribution Committee. I also cultivate our Collaborative Network, a directory of trusted community resources and providers, so families and providers can find support beyond what any one practice can offer.

I am grateful to be in partnership with Inspiring Inner Growth, founded by Meagan Krzywosinski, a Registered Yoga Teacher, Social + Emotional Intelligence Coach, and Inspirational Speaker. We share a studio space, and I take part in Meagan’s offerings there myself, because healing is whole person.

Why Empowering the Best?

Excellent care should feel accessible, supportive, and good for everyone in the room: clients, families, and providers. I believe people heal well when they are validated, given options, and given room for hope.

I’ve watched many dynamic, skilled, and thoughtful providers burn out and leave this profession, and I’ve come close myself. I deeply value supporting people as a therapist, and I want to host a space for other providers who want to keep doing that too, without losing their own health and care along the way.

Focused Expertise & Professional Involvement

Certifications & Advanced Training

Licensed Occupational Therapist, Michigan and Colorado

Certified Autism Spectrum Disorder Clinical Specialist (ASDCS)

Feeding Fundamentals: Certified SOFFI Professional (medically complex infants)

The Functional Pelvis with Lindsey Vestal: OT Pioneers completed; Level 1 Practitioner Certification in progress

PODD certification (functional communication)

Astronaut Training: Sound Activated Vestibular-Visual Protocol (adult and pediatric)

Saebo certification and Kinesiotaping Certification

Certified Fieldwork Educator

Selected Continuing Education

Pelvic and women’s health: pediatric pelvic health and advanced toilet training (Dr. Quiara Smith, Aloha Integrative Therapy; Medbridge); Women’s Health and Neurodiversity (ADHD) Summit; Maternal Health and Occupational Therapy

Feeding: Beckman Oral Motor Assessment and Intervention; Mealtime Miseries: Management of Complex Feeding Issues

Regulation and trauma-informed care: trauma-informed expressive arts training; Therapeutic Art Interventions for Challenging Children Who Act Out, Melt Down, or Shut Down; Sensory Strategies: Sanity Restoration for Family Life; Attachment and Mental Health of Infants and Toddlers

Play, family, and participation: Power of Play; Occupation-Centered Practice with Children and Families; Coaching as an Evidence-Based Practice

Neurological and orthopedic: Splinting Simplified and Upper Extremity Orthotics (Johns Hopkins)

Leadership & Community

Organizer, Northern Michigan Occupational Therapy Community of Practice (10 years)

Organizer, Helpers and Healers After Hours Networking Community (2026)

Published peer-reviewed research and presenter at state and regional conferences

Brain Injury Association of Michigan (member)

Women’s Resource Center of Northern Michigan (Executive Board)

Petoskey-Harbor Springs Community Foundation (Grant Distribution Committee)

Positive Energy Petoskey (co-founder)

Standards That Guide Our Practice at Empowering the Best

At Empowering the Best, each provider practices within their own profession’s standards, code of ethics, and state license. For occupational therapy, that includes AOTA’s 2023 position statement on Complementary Health Approaches and Integrative Health in Occupational Therapy, the Occupational Therapy Practice Framework (4th Edition), the AOTA Code of Ethics and Scope of Practice, and the occupational therapy practice laws of Michigan and Colorado. We use an approach only after training in it, we tie it to your daily life goals, and we refer or collaborate when a service belongs to another licensed profession.

Where I Practice

I see clients in person in Petoskey and across Northern Michigan, and virtually in Michigan and Colorado. I added my Colorado license after enough requests came forward, and I am open to hosting retreats and intensives there on location. Our family is drawn to the mountains, and this is a beautiful way to pair those visits with the work I love. I am open to adding more licenses, and the next I am considering is the Pacific Northwest, likely Oregon.

Payment & Reimbursement

Carla is currently able to accept in-network in Michigan:

BCBS (Traditional)

LTBB

Straight Medicaid

Molina Marketplace

ASR Health Benefits

HAP PPA

Tricare

Auto No-Fault

Workers’ Compensation

Private Pay

with more approvals in progress

Insurance Options Pending, Out of Network:

Carla is actively in the process of credentialing with major insurance plans, including:

Blue Care Network

Priority Health

United Healthcare

Aetna

Cigna

Medicare

VA Community Care Network

Select Medicare Advantage and managed Medicaid plans

Approvals occur on a rolling basis, so coverage with these plans may become available over time. If you’re not in-network yet, we can accept private pay to start supporting you now, so you don’t have to wait on credentialing to begin care.

Colorado services are private pay at this time, with superbills available.

Carla’s Philosophy

I partner with clients, families, educators, and providers to create practical strategies that fit real life, supporting regulation, skill-building, and independence through strengths-based, nervous system-informed care that grows with people well beyond the therapy session.

Having skilled, objective partners in your journey can make all the difference. I am evidence-based and ethical, and I value seeing you have the optimal options for support.

Last year was about alignment. This year is about welcoming. “Go where the light is shining” is a phrase another healer and provider shared at a recent Helpers and Healers After Hours networking event, and it has become my intention for the year. You never know where inspiration may land.

My hope is that each of us finds care we can feel working: integrated, supported, and skilled. And that we keep growing and sharing hope.

Availability: Managing a thoughtful wait-list in order to welcome new client care.

Meet Stephanie, OT

Empowering the Best is growing, and we are proud to welcome another incredible in-person occupational therapist to support our northern Michigan community.

Hi, I'm Stephanie (she/her). I hold a Doctorate of Occupational Therapy and a Master of Science in Occupational Therapy from Grand Valley State University, which makes me proud to say another Laker has landed at Empowering the Best.

Throughout my career as an occupational therapist, I have learned that no matter our age, our daily activities, the things we need and want to do, define who we are. That is why my practice is dedicated to helping individuals thrive at every single stage of life, from childhood through adulthood.

A large part of my heart and expertise belongs to pediatric therapy. I have spent years serving children and families across northern Michigan, including time on a school-based team. Whether we are exploring the outdoors in nature-based therapy, navigating ADHD and executive functioning, or utilizing neurodiversity-affirming autism support, my goal is to make therapy feel natural, joyful, and deeply connected.

Beyond my work with children, I have advanced clinical expertise in helping adults navigate complex physical recoveries. Life can throw unexpected challenges our way, and I am here to help you regain your independence and quality of life. In orthopedic and stroke rehabilitation, I have extensive manual training through orthopedic fellowships, instrument assisted soft tissue mobilization, and manual supports. As a SAEBO-certified provider, I use specialized, evidence-based techniques to help individuals rebuild strength, movement, and confidence after an injury or stroke. Navigating cancer treatment and recovery also takes a toll on the body and mind. In oncology care, I provide compassionate, holistic support to help manage fatigue, pain, and cognitive changes, ensuring you can continue participating in the moments that matter most.

My practice is whole-person, trauma-informed, and psychosocially grounded. I believe in dynamic support rooted in best practice, because life keeps you moving and care should move with it. I value nature-based, collaborative work, and I am passionate about teaching the next generation of occupational therapists.

Whether I am partnering with a parent to support their toddler, collaborating with teachers in a school, or working one-on-one with an adult reclaiming their independence, my approach is always the same: compassionate, specialized, and completely tailored to you.

Why Empowering the Best? Carla and I aligned the moment we met. I believe care should be collaborative, accessible, and built around real life, and I could not be more grateful to join a team that holds that standard for clients and providers alike.

Focused Expertise and Professional Involvement

• Whole-person, trauma-informed, psychosocially grounded OT care across the lifespan

• Pediatric therapy, including ADHD, executive functioning, and neurodiversity-affirming autism support

• School-based and nature-based collaborative practice

• Orthopedic and stroke rehabilitation, including orthopedic fellowship training, instrument assisted soft tissue mobilization, and SAEBO certification

• Oncology care through a holistic, whole-person approach

• Mentoring and teaching the next generation of occupational therapists

• Doctorate and Master of Science in Occupational Therapy, Grand Valley State University

• Registered with NBCOT, OT licensed in Michigan

Payment and Reimbursement

Stephanie can accept:

• LTBB

• Private pay

• Worker's Compensation

• Auto No-Fault

Pending coverage options:

• BCBS

If you have questions about your insurance, please reach out. We are happy to help guide you.

Stephanie's Philosophy

I believe occupational therapy works best when it is dynamic, meaningful, and built around the real rhythms of each person's life. I partner with clients, families, and providers to create care that is whole-person, evidence-based, and genuinely supportive. Life keeps us moving, and I am here to help every person I serve with the same level of integrity and whole-person values I would want for myself or my family.

Hi, I'm Jenny (she/her). I am an occupational therapist with 16 years in the profession. I am overjoyed to be a part of the Empowering the Best collective, because it’s a team so dedicated to helping people access whole-person, evidence-based care.

Joining Empowering the Best feels like a full-circle moment in my professional journey. Carla and I first met in 2008 as occupational therapy graduate students at Grand Valley State University. We even partnered to complete our Master's thesis together! We later drafted that work into a manuscript that was published in a peer-reviewed journal. Nearly two decades later, that same spirit of collaboration and striving for excellence is at the core of what I bring to this collective. 

My clinical experience spans outpatient, inpatient, acute care, and inpatient rehabilitation, serving clients from pediatrics through older adulthood. Areas of focus include physical recovery and pain management, neurological rehabilitation, hand therapy, lymphedema care, and return to work. 

My work blends clinical expertise, neurodiversity-affirming practice, and whole-person care across the lifespan. I believe healing happens when people feel seen, supported, and understood. Through trainings provided by Learn Play Thrive, I have invested in learning how to provide care that is trauma-informed, culturally sensitive, and honors autistic and neurodivergent ways of being.

I am also passionate about teaching balance, pacing, and regulation as a core therapeutic skills. After years of a hurried pace of working with clients, I embraced the idea of creating space for connection and processing matters as much as covering all the needed topics and exercies. In truth, clients need room to regulate, integrate, and generalize what they are learning into the rhythm of their actual lives. Therapists need sustainable practice patterns to deliver quality care without burning out. Whole-person care is not only what happens in the therapy room. It is how we honor the nervous system, the schedule, and the season of life each person is in. This is the standard Empowering the Best is built to hold for our clients and our team.

Beyond my clinical work, I  run Jenny Gill Copywriting, LLC, where I serve healthcare practices, OTs, PTs, SLPs, and rehab entrepreneurs as a copywriter and marketing strategist. This led me to volunteer as Website Coordinator for the Michigan Occupational Therapy Association and presentations for the OT Entrepreneur Summit. I also support at-risk elementary-age students as a mentor and program co-director through Kids Hope USA. 

Why Empowering the Best? With it’s unique philosophy and model, I could tell Carla was building something special for clients and therapists when she launched Empowering the Best. And I wanted to be a part of it! I believe excellent care should be accessible, supportive, and built to foster growth without creating stress or overwhelm for clients, families, or providers. That is the kind of care more people deserve access to, and I am eager to help people access it through Empower the Best. 

Focused Expertise & Professional Involvement

• Whole-person, lifespan-based OT care (pediatrics through older adulthood)

• Outpatient physical recovery and pain management (hand, elbow, shoulder, post-operative upper extremity)

• Neurological rehabilitation including CVA, brain injury, and inpatient rehab

• Acute care and swing bed evaluation and treatment

• Certified Lymphedema Therapist (upper and lower extremity)

• Customized orthotic fabrication

• Kinesio Taping Fundamentals

• CEAS 1: Ergonomics Assessment Certification

• Functional Cognition: Allen Cognitive Theory in Clinical Practice

• Work compensation case progression and return-to-work support

• Neurodiversity-affirming, strengths-based practice across the lifespan

• Learn Play Thrive: Strengths-Based Approach to Autism

• Learn Play Thrive: Strengths-Based Goal Writing

• Learn Play Thrive: Here to Play

• Teaching sustainable pacing for clients and therapists, in session and beyond

• Co-author, peer-reviewed journal publication (with Carla Crockett)

• Clinical educator for Level II OT students

• Three-time presenter at the OT Entrepreneur Summit

• Michigan Occupational Therapy Association, Website Coordinator Volunteer

• Kids Hope USA, Co-Director and Mentor

• Master of Science in Occupational Therapy, Grand Valley State University

• Registered with NBCOT, OT licensed in Michigan

Payment & Reimbursement

Jenny can accept:

• LTBB

• Private pay

• Worker's Compensation

• Auto No-Fault

Pending coverage options:

• BCBS

If you have questions about your insurance, please reach out. We are happy to help guide you.

Jenny's Philosophy

I believe good therapy is steady, thoughtful, and built on real partnership. I take time to understand each client's full story, then work alongside them, their families, and their providers to create care that is evidence-based, effective, and genuinely supportive. I value honesty, clear communication, and meeting people exactly where they are. My goal is not to rush a process but to walk through it with you, using the right tools at the right time so the progress we make together translates into everyday life.

Hi, I'm Keisha (she/her). I am a Licensed Master Social Worker and mental health clinician with over 10 years of experience supporting infants, children, teens, and families across home based, school based, and outpatient settings. I earned two degrees from the University of Michigan, ultimately my Master of Social Work with a concentration in Interpersonal Practice in Mental Health, which allows me to serve as a mental health clinician. That foundation combined with over a decade of real world clinical experience shapes everything I bring to my work with clients, families, and the Empowering the Best collective.

My clinical background is deeply rooted in infant mental health, early childhood, and school based behavioral health, with extensive experience supporting children and teens through family therapy, crisis intervention, and trauma informed care. Throughout my career I have worked alongside OT, PT, SLP, educators, medical providers, and community organizations, and I bring that collaborative spirit into every professional relationship I build.

Being part of the Empowering the Best collective is rewarding because it brings together the kind of team that clients and families so often have to piece together on their own. Being part of a collaborative where OT, SLP, PT, and mental health supports are connected means clients and families can access more coordinated, cohesive care.

My work blends trauma informed, relationship based, and strengths focused approaches to support emotional regulation, coping skills, attachment, and social functioning. I am especially passionate about supporting infants, children, and teens who have experienced grief, loss, and trauma. I welcome the opportunity to support adults as well and am open to exploring fit on a case by case basis.

I hold a Michigan Association for Infant Mental Health Endorsement as an Infant Family Specialist, with extensive experience conducting assessments, diagnosing mental health disorders, and developing individualized person centered treatment plans.

Why Empowering the Best? Clients and families deserve support that is connected, cohesive, and built around their real lives. Being part of a collective that makes that possible is something I am deeply committed to.

Focused Expertise & Professional Involvement

-Infant and early childhood mental health (birth through age 6)

-Michigan Association for Infant Mental Health Endorsement, Infant Family Specialist

-School based behavioral health (preschool through grade 12)

-Individual and family therapy for children, teens, and families

-Trauma informed and relationship based care

-Grief, loss, and bereavement support

-Emotional regulation and coping skills development

-Attachment and parent child relationship support

-Crisis assessment, intervention, and safety planning

-Comprehensive mental health assessment and diagnosis (DSM, ICD, DC:0-5)

-Functional and relationship based assessments (PECFAS, CAFAS, DECA, ASQ, Massie Campbell)

-Person centered treatment planning and individualized goal development

-Multidisciplinary team collaboration with OT, PT, SLP, educators, medical providers, and community systems

-Care coordination across multidisciplinary teams and community systems

-Home based, school based, and outpatient service delivery

-Community event organization and family engagement programming

-Grief peer support group facilitation, Ele's Place Ann Arbor

-University of Michigan research contributor, Women and Infants Mental Health Program and Research Recruitment Core

-Collaborative team based approach with families, educators, and providers

Payment & Reimbursement

Keisha is currently able to accept:

-LTBB

-Private Pay

-Workers Compensation

-Auto No-Fault

Pending Coverage Options:

-BCBS

If you have questions about your insurance, please reach out. We are happy to help guide you.

Keisha's Philosophy

I partner with clients, families, and providers to create a space where healing feels possible. My approach is grounded in relationship, curiosity, and a deep respect for the strengths and lived experiences each person brings. I believe growth happens when people feel truly seen, supported, and understood and I am committed to showing up with warmth, steadiness, and intention in every connection I make.

We are committed to collaboration that is healthy, respectful, curious, and effective. We value a network built on alignment, and we want people to heal, grow, and thrive in the healthiest environment for them in their current season. We also appreciate healthy connections with trusted partners outside our team.

In this season, we do not have speech-language pathologists (SLPs) or physical therapists (PTs) in our group who are credentialed and able to accept insurance.

We know finding care in a rural area can be tricky, so we are glad to help families, physicians, and other referral sources connect with trusted options in Petoskey and beyond.

We are deeply grateful for the wonderful therapists who have been part of our team, and for everything we invested in growing together. Some can now be found on our Collaborative Network Directory, and others are honoring their capacity for health, family, and other clinical roles.

Alignment can involve timing, opportunity, capacity, and the many changes life brings. We understand that, and we know it now more than ever. We remain growth-minded and look forward to welcoming healthy, aligned SLP and PT growth opportunities.

Empowering the Best is growing thoughtfully, and we invite growth-minded providers to explore joining our collaborative team.

An Invitation to SLPs and PTs

We invite speech-language pathologists and physical therapists licensed in Michigan or Colorado who are ready to grow to start a conversation about joining our insurance-accepting group of therapy providers.

For a candidate who is a healthy match, we cover the cost and steps of credentialing and billing through our expert partners, so you are prepared to support clients where they are, with the resources they have available.

Our private practice model also offers greater flexibility to manage your own schedule. We welcome connecting with providers who:

-Support clients of all ages, with experience in neurological and orthopedic care

- Provide trauma-informed, ethical, and compliant care

- Honor their own scope of practice, their professional code of ethics, and the scope of each therapist and provider on the team

- Value respectful collaboration that maximizes support for clients and families

- Coordinate plans of care effectively across disciplines

- Bring curiosity about how each of us adds value to the healing conversation

An Invitation to Caregivers

We also invite a dedicated, compassionate Respite and Caregiver Provider to join us in supporting children, adults, and families, giving caregivers time to rest and recharge.

Let's Start a Conversation We would welcome hearing from you.

Please text Carla at 231.487.2244 to start a conversation, and email your resume or CV to carla@empoweringthebest.org.