Custom Interventions and Home Care Approach Produce Powerful Outcomes for OT Clients
Carol Garner-Houston, an OTR in Florida, is being recognized for her work helping individuals with neurodevelopmental challenges through Brain Harmony®, a medical care company she co-founded.
Carol Garner-Houston, OTR/L
Co-Founder and Chief Clinical Officer, Brain Harmony
Location: Florida
Certified in 1997
Making an Impact Through Everyday Practice
Sisters Carol Garner-Houston and Lara Garner Shane spent years working in health care and saw many families struggling with numerous neurodevelopmental disorders. They knew there had to be a better approach to care for these families and they made it their mission to find a way to help. The result was Brain Harmony®, a private medical care company that uses the neuroplasticity of the brain to provide powerful and proven therapies to help children and adults with learning and performance difficulties.
Carol is a nationally certified and licensed occupational therapist who has specialized for the past 25 years in helping adults and children cope with neurodevelopmental challenges. She put her occupational therapy (OT) experience and passion to work co-creating Brain Harmony and assembling a team of nationally-certified and licensed occupational therapists and occupational therapy assistants. The team is committed to helping families gain individualized, one-to-one access to care using the most effective practices available for many disorders, including sensory and auditory processing, learning difficulties, autism spectrum disorders, PTSD, speech and language delays, strokes, and brain injuries, to name a few.
“I became an OT to help clients find their purpose, regardless of their circumstances. We developed programs and connected with the latest technological advancements to treat the root cause of trauma and dysfunction. We are now giving friends across the nation and the world access to gains never thought possible.”
Carol Garner-Houston, OTR/L
2020 NBCOT Impact Award Winner
An Impactful Approach to Care
As chief clinical officer, Carol developed Brain Harmony’s 5-Step Plan of Care to Achieve Neurological C.A.L.M.®
The approach is customized to each client and produces powerful outcomes by combining Brain Harmony’s therapeutic protocols with the most progressive technology available. There is a committed focus on training caregivers and clients to apply the Brain Harmony protocols and modalities in their homes with the skill and support of an OTR or COTA in a clinic and/or on a telehealth platform.
Making an Impact with Clients at Home
With a strong commitment to serving their clients, Carol and Lara began a home care delivery program in addition to traditional clinic-based therapy. Outcomes were positive, word spread quickly, and calls started to flow in from all over the country. The home care program grew quickly as Brain Harmony nimbly pivoted from a primarily traditional brick-and-mortar setting to a 100% virtual provision of service in the comfort of the client’s home setting. With the national onset of the COVID-19 pandemic there has been a dramatic rise in parents seeking help for their children while quarantined in their homes, which Brain Harmony has been able to provide seamlessly. Now, anyone with access to the internet can receive services from Brain Harmony in all 50 states.
Carol and the Brain Harmony team are proud of the impact they have had on their clients and families. Their successes can be measured not only in client satisfaction rates but also in outcomes and costs. They have closed the gap between clinical outcomes and accessibility, making it faster and easier than ever to obtain the help needed to enhance quality of life for children and adults and achieve profound change.
“So it [home therapy] kind of became a routine to us. Seeing results was what made us remember to do it all the time… it was able to be integrated easily.”
Megan
Mother of a Brain Harmony client