Who We Are
our story
THE STORY BEHIND IT’S A PRACTISE
Hi, it’s Michelle here!
I’m the founder of It’s A Practise, and an Occupational Therapist.
I’ve been coming up with all sorts of ways to share the philosophy behind the business name, and the play on words.
There’s so many ways to skin a cat!
First! There is a difference between ‘practise’ and ‘practice’. Well, in Australian and British English, anyway.
To ‘practise’ means to repeatedly perform an activity to become skilled in it. ‘Practice’ means to put into action a particular custom or method.
So, while we are practicing occupational therapists, pretty much everything we do in our practice is to help humans in their practise.
The thing we have found though, particularly when facing significant challenges, we often forget the magic that lies in not giving up and the power of practise. We have experienced it first hand in our own personal lives and witness it all the time.
And since it’s such an empowering reminder and a fun play on words, we decided that’s what our business name would be!
And it’s not just an observation, it’s backed by science. The way our brains work and our motor control, supported by our anatomy and physiology, all human function is developed through practise.
With practise, and determination, coming back to what it is we are trying to achieve, even when it feels in vain, has the potential to be an extremely powerful approach for extraordinary change.
Change that will improve our quality of life, our self-confidence, our self-efficacy, view of our abilities and how we fit into this magical, chaotic, blissful and crazy planet we live on.
Most of us have a tendency to expect to see results immediately and get discouraged when we don’t. The therapeutic process, whether it is working with a therapist or self-guided, requires self-compassion, self-reflection and most of all, to go easy on ourselves, by allowing time to do and learn things at a natural pace.
These skills come naturally to some people, however, others have perhaps not had the role models or environmental supports to learn the skills when they would have otherwise been developed, or their personal and unique circumstances are impacting their ability to apply the skills. But this doesn’t mean they can’t be learnt!
This is where the snail comes in.
The cute and humble ol’ snail became our mascot, as it is a reminder to honour the process of change, that just like the symbolism of the snail represents, takes time, determination, patience, balance and strategic negotiation.
It’s inevitable that we will feel overwhelmed, stuck and at times it’s natural to feel like things are insurmountable.
Part of our role as your therapist is to support and guide you, as you navigate and negotiate, both with us and yourself, to learn to recognise the moments of frustration as keys to your success and not failures. It’s part of the practise that will become easier with time.
The first solution may not be the last, and part of finding the solutions, the ones that fit for you, is a practise.
We hope this approach instils hope and inspires you as we work together to achieve your goals, dreams and vision for your ongoing wellbeing and quality of life.