Today we’d like to introduce you to Dr. Marielly Mitchell.
Hi Dr. Mitchell, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start, maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers.
I’ve always had a deep fascination with the mind-body connection, which directly influenced my decision to major in psychology during undergrad before leading me to the field of occupational therapy. I graduated from the top-ranked University of Southern California in 2011 with a master’s degree and completed a Doctorate with a teacher’s aid scholarship in 2012. I founded TheraPlay LA not long after, bringing play to the forefront of my therapeutic approach! Since then, I’ve been on a constant mission of self-improvement and exploration to learn about the most effective, cutting-edge interventions out there!
Shortly after passing boards, I immediately studied sensory integration, becoming SIPT certified while studying under the pupils of Jean Ayres. After integrating that framework into my therapeutic approach, my curiosity about feeding therapy propelled me to fly across the country to take advanced courses in feeding and swallowing, allowing me to achieve an SWC certification in a fraction of the time it typically takes to receive this certification.
Once I began working with the feeding population, I started seeing the connection between craniofacial anatomy and feeding and was serendipitously introduced to orofacial myofunctional therapy through an osteopath I met who was caring for one of my patients. Upon being introduced to that world, so many dots began to connect for me. I was immediately captivated, both as a result of professional curiosity and personal struggle. Throughout my life, I experienced chronic ear infections, resulting in partial hearing loss and tinnitus as an adult following a severe ear infection. Upon being introduced to myofunctional therapy, I slowly began unraveling the causes behind many of the health issues I was experiencing, and I’ve seen staggering improvements in my overall well-being, including my tinnitus resolving and all of my hearing being restored.
As I started incorporating airway health into my practice over the years, I was amazed to see first-hand just how many aspects of health, well-being, and behavior are impacted by orofacial myofunctional disorders, even in young children. I’ve watched children overcome hurdles and roadblocks that previously felt insurmountable.
My experiences as both patient and practitioner have made me a fierce advocate for airway health and the importance of investigating the root cause of sleep difficulties, behavior, and attention. I believe the key to unlocking a child’s true potential lies in addressing these causes rather than simply treating surface-level symptoms. Time and time again, I’ve witnessed both how detrimental surface-level care can be and how meaningful and transformative proper airway health is, especially for neurodivergent children. I can’t tell you how many children I’ve seen flourish upon receiving the care they need, transforming their ability to regulate, attend, communicate, and engage with the world around them in meaningful ways. It’s been incredibly fulfilling and nourishing on a soul level to watch children learn, grow, and thrive!
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Looking back, would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Being at the forefront of any revolution poses its own unique struggles; being part of the airway revolution has proven no different. In the past and even, to an extent, currently, many practitioners have not been on the same page as me regarding the absolutely vital importance of optimal airway health and sleep.
Much of the research supporting the efficacy of Orofacial Myofunctional Therapy (OMT) and the importance of proper breathing and sleep was still in its infancy when I began integrating this approach into my practice. The technology (i.e., Oura rings, Whoops, Sleep Image rings, etc.) backing up the prevalence of many sleep and airway disorders wasn’t as readily available to validate how poor sleep and airway health can impact brain function and behavior and how improving these physiological processes can improve the symptoms of many diagnoses, including Autism, ADHD, and Sensory Processing Disorder. The climate of how OMT is being received now compared to how it was when I first started learning about it in 2015 is staggering, especially thanks to the New York Times Bestseller Breath written by James Nestor.
Being among the pioneers of the airway health movement in the occupational therapy space, while exciting and exhilarating, came with a lot of responsibility, especially in the form of educating and advocating. Much of what I did and still do involves educating colleagues, parents, teachers, and caretakers about the negative effects of poor sleep quality and sleep deprivation. Even today, with all of the incredible research being done, it doesn’t resonate with everyone. Poor sleep and breathing have become normalized and overlooked in our society to the detriment of our health and well-being. Just because these symptoms are common, that doesn’t make them normal. Too often, we prioritize profit over health, and people sacrifice their well-being as a result.
Losing the support of the “village” that used to be there for parents during those early parental milestones has also had much more of an effect than I think many people realize. Most parents don’t have the luxury of the support that was historically provided by grandparents and other relatives, the support that allows them to get those extra hours of sleep and have some time to care for themselves. This impacts their ability to function and to support their child with the same patience and attention they could have even just a few decades ago when this was more commonplace. We’re just scraping the tip of the iceberg with sleep and realizing the long-term effects it has on people ranging from children with ADHD to the geriatric population with degenerative neurocognitive disorders such as Alzheimer’s and dementia and everyone and everything in between.
As is true of any business or entrepreneurial journey, we’ve experienced some bumps and growing pains along the way, especially during the height of Covid when we had to navigate switching to an entirely telehealth-based practice. That being said, challenges like this are often where true resourcefulness, creativity, and entrepreneurship tend to shine. It allowed my team and me to craft out-of-the-box, purposeful, and effective strategies that can easily be done remotely and in-home by parents, many of which we still use today during parent coaching sessions!
Ultimately, each one of these bumps in the road has made us better clinicians and has made me a better business owner and advocate for my patients.
Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about TheraPlay LA?
TheraPlay LA is a therapeutic one-stop-shop that goes above and beyond traditional OT, Speech, or PT services. We’re the first pediatric therapy center to offer integrative services that include sleep monitoring in conjunction with virtual and in-clinic therapy services. We focus heavily on airway and sleep health as this can have a negative impact on therapeutic outcomes. It’s important to remember that short-term memories are processed during sleep. If someone is not breathing or sleeping well, this impacts their ability to turn the short-term memories and skills a therapist is working on during their sessions into long term memories, ultimately prolonging their time in therapeutic intervention.
Traditionally, families would need to work with two or more clinicians to receive the services our OT or Speech department can provide and would need to work with these clinicians for a longer period of time due to poor retention caused by poor sleep. At TheraPlay LA, both disciplines integrate orofacial myofunctional therapy (OMT) into each session, a therapeutic specialty which is often difficult to find. This makes it logistically easier and more cost-effective for families in the long run as we address sleep and airway issues that could potentially hinder therapeutic progress if a child were to have undiagnosed breathing or sleeping problems that are impacting their ability to make progress in therapy.
At TheraPlay LA, we target a wide range of therapeutic skills and concerns, including sensory processing, fine and gross motor skills, feeding and swallowing disorders, Orofacial Myofunctional Disorders, nutritional concerns, and sleep training. Our innovative approach to therapeutic intervention centered on OMT combines principles of cranial nerve integration, sensory processing, and motor function, allowing us to take a sensorimotor-based approach that truly resonates with the pediatric population that experiences trouble with the oral motor skills associated with proper breathing, sleep, and behavior. Essentially, while regulating and integrating your child’s nervous system, we become your family’s north star in uncovering and addressing any medical issues related to sleep or breathing that deeply impact your child’s behavior.
This allows us to bridge the gap between the mind and the mouth, focusing on how breathing and sleeping impacts a person’s brain by rewiring their brains from a sensorimotor perspective while ensuring they get optimal oxygen when they breathe. Regardless of our clients’ age, we prioritize collaborative care, working closely with airway-centric dentists, orthodontists, ENTs, and other specialists to ensure our clients receive the best care possible to optimize their nervous systems and day-to-day lives.
Additionally, we offer intensive therapy, a focused burst of therapy. Instead of a typical, weekly 1-hour therapy session, we dial up the frequency and length of sessions. With more time per week dedicated to therapy, children quickly develop new neurological pathways and skills through continual repetition to build on progress from session to session and accelerate their overall development.
Our unique, multi-faceted approach and emphasis on biological and physiological factors allow us to address the foundational building blocks necessary to help children thrive!
As a brand, we’re most proud to have the honor to be part of families’ journeys to help their little one achieve their full potential. It’s truly indescribable how lucky we are to help facilitate the incredible growth and transformation we see day in and day out. There are few things in the human experience more rewarding and incredible than watching children blossom and to experience the positive ripple effect that has in their family environment, at school, and beyond the walls of our clinic.
So, before we go, how can our readers or others connect or collaborate with you? How can they support you?
Anyone interested in working with myself and my team can submit a request for a discovery call on our website!
Additionally, we’re always looking for volunteers and students who are interested in learning more about occupational therapy, orofacial myofunctional therapy, or any of our other specialties!
Contact Info:
- Website: www.theraplayla.com, https://www.thenannyacademy.co/
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/doctormarielly, www.instagram.com/theraplay_la
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/doctormarielly, www.facebook.com/theraplayla
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/theraplay-la
Image Credits
Laura Grier
Beautiful Day Photography
