Hello to all of our Readers,

We are excited to share our first newsletter of 2014 with you!

This has been an extremely cold January and our therapists have been busy making sure all of our clients are staying warm and safe.

In this issue you will find tips that you can share with your clients on how to "beat the winter blues". Many of us feel less energetic during the winter months, but winter can be especially hard for people recovering from an illness or injury.

In addition, this newsletter contains information on the work that we are doing to help clients with chronic pain. Following an injury, many of our clients experience ongoing pain that limits their ability to participate in meaningful activities.

Our therapists are skilled at using non-pharmacological techniques, such as PGAP, to help clients better manage pain and to reduce the impact that pain has on their lives. We work in conjunction with family physicians and pain specialists to provide pain management strategies that are complementary to medications and that are tailored to suit the client's exact needs.

The new guidelines for treating chronic pain and fibromyalgia suggest comprehensive chronic pain programs in the community, promoting return to function and return to work as soon as possible.

OTs are a significant part of this process, and are trained in both promoting function and assisting with return to work. Our social workers, physiotherapists, and rehab support workers all work together as a team to follow the guidelines.

Lastly, I would like to bring to your attention the recent instructions from the College of Occupational Therapists of Ontario (COTO) that state OTs are no longer able to add "CCLCP" to our credentials, as doing so may imply "specialty". COTO does not recognize "specialty" in Ontario.

Therefore, all Certified Life Care Planners at GLA will modify their signature. This does not imply that the OT is not certified, rather it is a modification to comply with COTO standards.

Please feel free to share this information with any of your clients. I invite you to review these articles and look forward to connecting again soon.

Galit Liffshiz MA, OT Reg.(Ont.)