About Thrive!

Hello! And a warm welcome to Thrive Occupational Therapy, Health & Wellness services specializing in holistic occupational therapy treatment treating the whole person.

We offer functional and integrative health and rehabilitation services. We are committed to offering clients comprehensive, goal-oriented treatment in a nurturing environment. Our personalized outlook on care delivers knowledge and empowerment to the client and a commitment from the therapist to provide results in a professional and efficient manner.

I always get so much out of my appointments at Thrive OT. I love the whole body approach and their knowledge base is very deep. I really appreciate the detailed attention they give each client and how much they teach about what and why they are doing what their doing as they implement different techniques. Highly recommend to everyone! – Laura K.

Meet the Owner

Erica Stevens – MOTR/L, CLT, CHC, CYT

Erica graduated with honors and Magna Cum Laude completing her master’s degree in occupational therapy at College of Saint Mary. She is part of the national honor society for OT graduate students, Pi Theta Epsilon, and the American Occupational Therapy Association. She completed her undergraduate studies at the University of Kansas and holds undergraduate degrees in psychology and rehabilitative science. She is currently working on advanced certification through the Institute of Functional Medicine, along with her post-professional doctorate at Creighton University.

Erica is a passionate health & wellness occupational therapy private practice owner. Her private practice, Thrive Occupational Therapy, Health & Wellness PLLC, serves clients across the lifespan related to: Perinatal Rehab, Fertility Support, Food Mood and Hormones, Lymphedema Therapy, Scar Tissue Treatment, General Health and Wellness.

Additional areas of specialization and certification include women’s health and pelvic floor therapy, pregnancy and postpartum corrective exercise specialist, certified lymphedema therapist, certified health coach, certified mental health integrative medicine practitioner, and biofeedback specialist, expanding her skills to meet the health and wellness needs of individuals across the lifespan.

Erica and her husband, Wade, have two children, Haddie and Calvin. She enjoys running, yoga, water skiing, reading, gardening, and spending time with family.

Specialization and Certifications

Certified Lymphedema Therapist

Comprehensive Lymphedema Management for American Health Care

Applying Functional Medicine in Clinical Practice

Institute if Functional Medicine

Optimal Fertility: Preconception Detoxification and Preparation Specialization

Integrative Women’s Health Institute

Certified Yoga Teacher

Aura Wellness Center

Certified Health Coach

National Society of Health Coaches

Pelvic Floor Training with Ultrasound Technology

Herman and Wallace Institute

Pelvic Floor Biofeedback Specialization

Marquette University

Medical Professional Therapeutic Yoga Specialization

Professional Yoga Therapy Institute

Pregnancy & Postpartum Corrective Exercise Specialist

Core Exercise Solutions 

Marissa Horak – CLT, LANA, CPAM

Marissa Horak was hired in 2022 to expand services and thus offer help to more women and men. She serves as the Omaha Branch Lead and her passion for helping her patients aligns perfectly with Thrive OT’s vision and commitment to quality therapeutic interventions.

Marissa is an occupational therapist who specializes in lymphedema, oncology, and pelvic floor. She obtained a master’s degree Cum Laude in occupational therapy from the College of Saint Mary and has been practicing since 2016. She also holds a degree in psychology and rehabilitation studies. Marissa was the recipient of the prestigious Spirit of Saint Mary award from her graduate program – this highlights her compassion and drive for serving others.

Through her career, Marissa obtained top-tier training through the Norton School of Lymphatics for her certification as a lymphedema therapist in 2018 with over 200 hours of training. She is one of 34 practitioners in the state of NE and IA who holds a Lymphology Association of North America (LANA) certification- indicating her skills are of the highest level of competency and expertise. She has advanced pelvic floor training and provides top quality services for male and female clients in all stages of life.

Marissa also has advanced specialty breast cancer rehab and male pelvic oncology certifications. Marissa prides herself in focusing on quality of life and helping clients thrive. She is a mom to an energetic two year old daughter. She and her husband have three dogs and support rescue through fostering. Marissa loves being outside, traveling, and family adventures.

Marissa is the branch lead for Thrive OT in Omaha, NE.

Specialization and Certifications

Certified Lymphedema Therapist, LANA Accredited

Norton School of of Lymphatic Therapy and Lymphology Association of North America

Pelvic Floor Specialist for Males and Females

Herman and Wallace Level 1 and Oncology of the Pelvic Floor 2A

Breast Cancer Rehab Specialist

Klose Training

Credentialed in Physical Agent Modalities

Physical agent modalities practitioner credentialing agency

Exercise Prescription Specialist

Accelerated Care Plus, Relias Learning, LANA education center

Kailey Bell

Kailey is an occupational therapist who completed her undergraduate and professional studies at Creighton University in Omaha.  She is originally from Colorado but met her significant other while finishing OT school and decided to stay and explore all that Iowa has to offer!

She has a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology, cum laude, and a doctorate in Occupational Therapy, with honors. Kailey currently works full-time for Green Hills AEA serving children birth-21 years old. She saw an opportunity to serve the pediatric community in Harlan and is excited to further expand Thrive’s mission to the pediatric population. Kailey has special interests in self-regulation, sensory processing, executive functioning, feeding, reflex integration, myofascial techniques, and fine motor skills.

She is a life-long learner and jumps at any opportunity to learn something new. In her free time, you can find Kailey golfing, gardening, cooking, reading a book, or exercising with her chocolate lab puppy Frank.

Specialization and Certifications

Myofascial Release for Traditional Healthcare

Various Handwriting Without Tears Trainings

Zones of Regulation Comprehensive Training

Marissa was incredibly knowledgeable and explained everything in layman’s terms. So relieved to have such a caring and capable person navigating me through this experience. – Patty N.

Julia Anderson

Julia Anderson received her Doctorate of Occupational Therapy from Creighton University in the May of 2024. You may have met Julia already as she completed her Doctoral Capstone Project with us at Thrive OT this past spring.

Julia has experience in burn therapy, pediatric feeding, and perinatal health. Julia has extensive training regarding scar tissue assessment and treatment for all types of scar tissue, including C-section scars. Julia has completed pelvic health training through Herman & Wallace courses, myofascial wellness techniques through Amy Meyer, and additional lymphatic drainage courses.

Julia is passionate about women’s health and wellness, specifically maternal mental health, which was the focus of her Doctoral Capstone. She is currently pursuing her Perinatal Mental Health Certification. Julia is excited to work with you at each of our locations, and she even offers telehealth services to those in Kansas.

 

Specialization and Certifications

Pelvic Floor Specialist

Herman and Wallace Pelvic Floor Rehabilitation Level 1 and Pelvic Floor and Oncology Level 1A

Myofascial Release for Traditional Healthcare

Perinatal Mental Health Certification

Postpartum Support International

Specialization of Scar Tissue Assessment and Treatment

University of Utah Burn Center

Courtney Hundtoft

Courtney completed her bachelor’s degree in rehabilitative studies in 2014 and master’s degree magna cum laude in occupational therapy in 2015 at College of Saint Mary. She is a former elementary school teacher and has enjoyed working in the pediatric setting as part of her training in occupational therapy. Over the past 10 years, she has worked in a variety of settings across the lifespan including the intensive care unit, acute rehabilitation, the spine hospital and outpatient oncology.

She has a passion for treating the mind and the body, and for the past 5 years, along with managing lymphedema, she has focused on strength and endurance training, cognitive training, and stress management to best serve her clients in the oncology setting. 

Since having her three children and experiencing the various stages of healing and wellness pre-and post-partum, she has found a desire to learn more about pelvic floor function. Through her recent training, she has personally benefited from learning about pelvic floor treatment and continues to utilize the new tools for her own wellness.

She and her husband, John, have three children, Christian, Harman, and Skylar, and our dog, Mookie. She enjoys singing, cooking/hosting, reading, yoga, and cycling. She loves going to the zoo and traveling to Okoboji to spend time on the lake with family and friends.

Specialization and Certifications

Certified Lymphedema Therapist

Academy of Lymphatic studies 

Breast Cancer Rehab Specialist

Klose Training 

Pelvic Floor Specialist

Herman and Wallace Level 1 

Allison Hamre

Allison is an occupational therapist from Bennington, Nebraska. She obtained her master’s degree in occupational therapy from the College of Saint Mary in 2021. She also holds a Bachelor’s Cum Laude in rehabilitation studies. Allison has specialized experience in Women’s health, pelvic floor, upper extremity, and aging in place. She is passionate about preventative care and ergonomics. Outside of work, Allison enjoys spending time in nature, riding horses, and playing with her dog Whinnie.

 

Ella Vazquez

Ella Vazquez is an occupational therapist originally from O’Neill, Nebraska. She trained at College of Saint Mary to receive her bachelor’s degree in rehabilitative studies in 2016 and master’s degree in occupational therapy in 2017. In her several years of practice, Ella has worked with young children through seniors and has experience in orthopedic care, post surgical care, aging in place, emotional regulation, cognitive intervention, and sensory integration. She has specialized training through Herman and Wallace for pelvic floor assessment and treatment, as well as myofascial release training. She is passionate about preventative care, mental health, perinatal care, and holistic approaches to chronic pain.

Ella resides in Omaha with her spouse Fernando and their three adventurous children: Sofia, Oliver, and Samuel. She enjoys swimming, traveling, podcast or audio book listening, and baking. Ella has had personal experience as a patient with post trauma pain, postpartum care, and cranio-sacral therapy with her youngest child, which she wishes to pursue training in as a practitioner in the future. She strives to compassionately advocate for her patients as well as encourage them to advocate for themselves in pursuit of a high quality of life.

Specialization and Certifications

Pelvic Floor Specialist

Herman and Wallace Levels 1 and 2A

Myofascial Release for Traditional Healthcare

Pediatric Primer-Evaluation, Treatment, and Sensory Integration

TheraPeeds, Inc. 

Bonnie LaFollette

Office Manager

Bonnie has been a PTA for 25 plus years. She’s worked in the rehab world for 27 years.

In her spare time, she loves spending time with her entire family especially her four grandkids. She and her husband, Alan, enjoy sporting events and traveling with friends.

She has a passion for working out and being active as much as possible.

 

Chelsy Pattee

Administrative Assistant

Chelsy is a graduate of Creighton University with a degree in Finance. She has worked a variety of positions in banking, accounting, and other related areas. However, she is passionate about wellness and feels Thrive is a great career transition opportunity.

Chelsy and her husband, Davis, enjoy spending time with their four children and keeping up with their numerous activities. She also likes to spend time outdoors, walking, reading, gardening, cooking and baking.

 

Erica’s Story Creating Thrive OT

The main goal of Thrive OT is to help more people.

I began my OT career working in rural Iowa seeing patients of all ages in the acute, skill nursing, outpatient and home health settings. From these experiences, I recognized a missing link to our health care system. Yes, the sick are seen, but what about those who just do not feel well? Those who are technically functional, however are not living their best life?

Additionally, I began noticing trends within my patient populations: a large majority of diagnoses I treated could be traced back to poor lifestyle habits, moreover pinned to a lifetime of stress, lack of concern for optimal health and wellness, and poor coping strategies. A vast majority of my elder patients had some form of incontinence, resulting in nursing home placement at a young age, comorbidities related to poor bowel and bladder management, and an increased burden of care. Their lives were no longer their own story to write, but dictated by bouts of severe and disabling bowel and bladder incontinence, impacting what one could do each day.

I could not stand idly by and allow this trend to continue!

These discoveries paired with my own fertility, pelvic health, and wellness journey, led me to seek specialization within the scope of women’s health, pelvic floor therapy, stress management, and general health and wellness.

I am professionally passionate about improving one’s daily quality of life and empowering clients to live their best life. I am excited to share with my clients the life changing benefits occupational therapy can have physically, spiritually, mentally and emotionally.

Send us a message so we can help.