Trichotillomania

“My daughter was diagnosed with precocious puberty at age 9 and anxiety was a main component of her behavior, which then led her to a hair pulling disorder called Trichotillomania.

At first she tried traditional talk therapy with a children’s therapist and then later an OCD Center, but she found that occupational therapy with Justine was definitely the most effective. Treatment focused on obstacle course type movement for body awareness, age appropriate discussion, drawing, and writing about her body acceptances and ‘habit’.

The fact that Justine looks more like a teen (even though she’s in her early 30s) vs an older adult and is able to relate to my daughter on a girl level. She helped my daughter feel supported and safe on a deeper level- the other great thing was that Justine did not overly focus on ‘the habit’ but rather favored body awareness and acceptance.

This combination of this OT work with Justine mixed with more green space play and time away from school during the pandemic has helped my daughter get a handle on her anxiety and habit during accelerated hormones. I’m thrilled to finally say that life for has definitely normalized as an 11 year old!”

C.L.

Sensory Integration & Motor Milestones

Justine is amazing. She is insightful, supportive, empathetic, and simply great at what she does! I wish I had met her sooner because she has made a difference in literally every aspect of my child’s life.

My daughter was four years old and non-verbal when we began working with Justine. At that point, my daughter had missed so many milestones and I was in a state of despair because I wasn’t having any success trying to teach her to do very basic things like wash her own hands, brush her own teeth, dress herself (and I certainly didn’t think she’d learn to use the potty anytime soon). Justine has taught her all these skills and more.

Before I met Justine, I didn’t know anything about OT, and since my child couldn’t talk, I had no idea that the sensory world was often overwhelming her to the point that she was rarely in a calm enough state of mind to learn. Justine took the time to get to know me and my girl and taught me clever strategies to support her sensory needs and learning goals. (She even took the time to reach out to her speech therapist and ABA team so that we were all taking the same consistent approach.) When my husband and I think about it, we are just totally blown away by the progress Justine has helped our daughter make in a little less than a year. But most importantly, it is obvious to everyone in our life that she is a much happier child now and we’ve never felt more optimistic.

My daughter is always happy to see Justine because she knows it means she gets to have fun. And of course, it isn’t always easy for my girl (which is understandable because learning new things can be challenging) but Justine always has some clever trick up her sleeve to calm her down and make her happy again.

Billie Franklin (Google Review)

Sensory Feeding Therapy

We are very satisfied with my son's therapy session with Ms. Justine. My son has a sensory issues that affects his eating habits. Even though we've only seen her 2x a month since January of this year, we have seen a lot of improvements happened to my son and he is now more willing to try and explore with different kinds of textures. Ms. Justine has been very patient and kind With my son. She always goes above and beyond every session that she even buys stuff that would help during his therapy. We've seen different many therapist and I could attest that she's the best among them. There are days when my son tends to be bored and non-cooperative but she always try different ways in order to have him engaged during therapy session. We never felt like she's trying to rush and give-up with my son every time he has his bad days which we really appreciate. I really do wish we could extend our session with her and can't thank her enough. If you're looking for a great food therapist, I highly recommend her!

Jhanine (Yelp Review)

Self Regulation: 4 year old

We have been working with Justine all year and she has made such a wonderful difference in our child's (and our) lives. Our child was really struggling, and she worked with him both in school and at home, and after several months he is thriving. The tools she gave him and us changed everything . My son loves her too. She's a kid whisperer. So kind and thoughtful and understanding. I cannot recommend her more highly.

Sarah K. (Google Review)

Early Intervention & Motor Milestones: 2 year old

We are so grateful we found Justine! Initially, our son had a Telehealth OT assessment with someone else who didn’t believe he needed any OT treatment. We had a 2nd assessment performed with Justine. She found some areas of improvement for us to work on and really helped us understand how to help him with his SPD. Our son loved every session with Justine; she has such a wonderful, playful demeanor and she really connected with him. We highly recommend Justine to any parent/kids/adults who want an insightful diagnosis and a gifted, caring OT.

Michael Pinkney (Google Review)

Adult CBIT Tic Therapy

Justine is a gem and a wonderful OT! She is compassionate, enthusiastic, knowledgeable, and non-judgmental. It's not common to find an OT who works well with both pediatric and adult clients. After years of dealing with tics and medical professionals not knowing how to treat Tourette's, I found Justine through The Tourettes Association to start CBIT. Together we analyzed my tics and came up with strategies before they happen. Her expertise as an OT was also crucial in identifying my sensory processing needs and stress management techniques. My quality of life has improved and I feel confident knowing I have a bag of tricks to help navigate life's stressors. Thanks Justine! I highly recommend her.

Tamar Massen (Google Review)

Self Regulation: 4 year old

I was referred to The Sensory Brain by my son’s speech pathologist and was initially hesitant to give it a try. My son is four years old and was experiencing an uptick of challenges with emotional regulation after a series of back-to-back big (and rather disruptive) unexpected life events. My husband and I got to a point where we were very concerned, exhausted, and desperate for anything that could help. I was weary of an OT being quick to put a diagnosis or label on my son - but Justine was very empathetic, easy to talk to, and reassuring in her approach. We immediately felt a sense of relief after our first consultation with Justine and Emma and felt like we left with a plan and an important puzzle piece that we’d been missing. The solutions Justine offered to us made sense and my son loved seeing Ms. Emma. We saw lots of improvements in my son’s behavior and emotional regulation in the first couple of months and my husband and I grew confident with the new tools we were implementing at home too. Justine and Emma helped us ease the transition with my son starting a new school and made themselves available to touch base with his new teachers as well. I’m grateful for The Sensory Brain, and grateful that this therapy is being offered by two women who genuinely care about the work they do and the families they work with.

E. Johnson