The Embodied Practitioner: PROOF Enhances Embodied Reflection and Professional Reasoning

In the dance of pediatric therapy, we often spotlight one performer: the child. Yet every therapeutic interaction is a dialogue between two agents, each bringing their lived experience to the encounter (Arntzen, 2018; Kinsella & Bailliard, 2023). Although volumes have been written about children’s sensory processing and integration (SI-SP) challenges, little attention has been paid to occupational therapy practitioner’s (OTPs’) embodied experience—how their bodily sensations, emotional responses, and intuitive reactions shape the therapeutic process.