I have been an occupational therapist for over thirty years. Initially my practice revolved around the foundations of traditional OT including neuro-developmental movement for both adults and babies and sensory processing.

Because of my profound curiosity, my practice evolved to include hands-on and integrative modalities such as:

CranioSacral Therapy

Listening Therapies

Tummy Time & Infant Massage

Trauma-Informed Care

Therapy for Sensory Integration

Somatic Experiencing

Hello, I’m Sarah Gayle Schoenbaum, OT. I’ve been working with children with developmental challenges for over 30 years.

I love the profession of occupational therapy (OT). It is the artistic column of rehabilitation and fits well with my holistic approach to wellness.

As my practice working with children and their families continues to develop, I am struck by the inter-connectedness in the parent-child relationship.

This inter-connectedness led me to study parent/infant psychotherapy at Columbia University in a two year program based on the Tavistock program in England. Although these programs were psychoanalytic at their roots, they incorporated the more recent themes of attachment and trauma.  Please read more about my educational background, below.

Before I became an occupational therapist I wanted to be a dance therapist .  My interest in that field came from my personal awareness that I needed to ground my body in order to function at my best emotionally and intellectually. As a child I was drawn to swimming and horseback riding and dance. I did not know at the time that these activities were essential to my being. I later learned that my body holds the answers for many of my questions that I could not figure out analytically.

My work is based on the innate wisdom of the human being. I seek to support a person’s sense of agency and creativity in the world through helping them to ground into the body of their being.

Occupational Therapy is based on the concept that ALL aspects of our lives influence every other: from conception to death, from the movement of cells to the large movement of the arm. From the core of the body to the tip of the fingers and toes. All of these are related.

The nervous system remembers…. Early experiences can have negative affects later on. For example, consider a child who at birth required a breathing tube. But now, at 3-years-old, despite her parent’s concern and love, refuses to eat. And so it goes: there can be consequences resulting from an early trauma that are overlooked.

When a person has developmental, relational, or regulation issues I look to their whole history as well as the function of their sensory system to explore the foundation of their problem. All this is done in the context of holding the family sacred and honoring the relationships of its members.