I am Gayle Seago, an Occupational Therapist with a passion for physical rehabiliation and founder of Hands In OT. In the early days of my studies I knew that physical rehabilitation was what I was meant to do. I enjoyed the hands on approach to physical therapy and discovered the healing power that touch can have on patients. I qualified as an Occupational Therapist from the University of KwaZulu Natal (2011), and afterwards went onto do my community service (2012) at Charlotte Maxeke Johannesburg Academic Hospital (CMJAH), where I developed a paediatric hand unit and gained experience and absorbed all the knowledge that I could. It was certainly a wonderful learning experience.

In 2016, I entered private practice and was introduced to the areas of lymphoedema and oncological rehabilitation, where my passion for helping people grew even more. I completed my lymphoedema certification in 2017 with the International Lymphoedema and Wound Care Training Institute (ILWTI) and went on to certify as a LTA Certified Therapist in 2020 with the Lymphatic Training Academy. Although, I am an experienced therapist, I am always keen on learning new things and regularly attend courses and read journal articles to ensure I am up to date in my field and am providing evidence-based therapy to my patients.

My philosophy

Personally, my belief is that meticulous assessment and knowledge of anatomy and tissue healing is the foundation for providing quality, effective treatment. I recognise the role of the patient in the therapy process; it’s not just me, “the therapist,” telling the patient what to do. Rather the patient, caregiver, and therapist must work together. It is important to realise that collaboration is the best way forward to get results; the individual’s condition, needs, wants, personal circumstances and goals influence therapy and we need all “hands in” (the therapist’s and the patient’s) to get patients where they want to be.