Welcome to the Team, Amber!

You may have noticed some changes to the Vida Health & Wellness website and booking pages. We are thrilled to welcome Amber Laing, an occupational therapist, to the Vida team and you can now book appointments to see her.

What is occupational therapy?

Occupational therapy is a profession within rehabilitation medicine, much like physiotherapy. Occupational therapists (OTs) are regulated health professionals with graduate-level university training. They focus on the things we do in life – our occupations – and help us to do those things. Examples of occupations (things that we occupy ourselves with) are:

• Work
• Hobbies
• Cooking/cleaning
• Parenting
• Breastfeeding
• Grocery shopping
• Driving
• And so much more!

For more information on occupational therapy, please check out the Society of Alberta Occupational Therapists.

Physical wellbeing

Occupational therapists can help you overcome physical barriers that prevent you from doing the things you want or need to do. In this way, they are very similar to physiotherapists. They may use a hands-on (manual therapy) approach, make recommendations on tools or adaptive equipment, or teach you how to do a task in a way that works for your body.

Mental wellbeing

A wonderful thing about occupational therapists is that they also consider the role of the brain in carrying out our everyday tasks. OTs can often be found in stroke rehabilitation units, helping people to plan and organize their thoughts so they can get back to independent living. Occupational therapists are goal oriented and great problem solvers.

They also address the role of thoughts and emotions in our lives, and can help to process trauma, manage anxiety, navigate grief, and more. They use some of the same tools as psychologists or counsellors, but from a rehab-based, function-centered approach.

About Amber

Amber has been an occupational therapist for 8 years and her practice focuses on chronic pain, mental health, and trauma.  Amber became passionate about women’s health through her own journey into motherhood.  She has a special interest in helping women work through current or past traumatic experiences to fully engage in motherhood and/or other important aspects of their identities. 

Amber practices through a trauma informed lens and has extensive training to help those who have experienced trauma: she is a Certified Clinical Trauma Professional and uses approaches such as

• Prolonged exposure therapy
• Acceptance and commitment therapy
• Behavioural activation
• Cognitive behavioural therapy
• Motivational interviewing
• Accelerated resolution therapy

She has also taken training in pelvic health and perinatal and postpartum mental health. She will soon be adding grief and traumatic bereavement counselling to her skills.

Amber’s vision for OT in women’s health is to work collaboratively with women to maximize engagement in meaningful roles and activities.  This includes helping people to move past traumatic birth experiences in preparation for future childbirth, improve women’s comfort and confidence in intimate relationships, adapting positions and techniques for functional activities such as breastfeeding and lifting and carrying babies, and helping parents find ways to balance work and parenting.

Outside of her occupational therapist role, Amber is a mom to a 2 and 5 year old.

Breastfeeding support

In addition to all of her wonderful work in mental health, Amber also provides breastfeeding support at Vida Health & Wellness. She can assess and help with:

• Mastitis
• Blocked ducts or plugged ducts
• Engorgement
• Breast and nipple pain
• Positioning and latch
• Infant suck mechanics – breast and bottle
• Torticollis and plagiocephaly

Learn more

To make an appointment with Amber, you can book online or phone 403-237-0211.