More About Marisa
Marisa Hansen is an occupational therapist located in Santa Rosa, California. She specializes in women's pelvic health, including Holistic Pelvic Care™, sound baths, and reiki energy healing. Marisa has worked in a variety of occupational therapy settings since 2015. She has worked in pediatric outpatient, home health, skilled nursing, and school-based occupational therapy settings for students 3-12 years old.
Marisa strives to increase awareness in Sonoma County about:
Common pelvic floor dysfunction
Demystifying the Vulva! This is your body and you have the right to know about this unique and beautiful part of you. (Google search result: The vulva is the global term that describes all of the structures that make the female external genitalia. The components of the vulva are the mons pubis, labia majora, labia minora, clitoris, vestibular bulbs, vulva vestibule, Bartholin's glands, Skene's glands, urethra, and vaginal opening.)
Helping clients to improve self-care and self-connection
Providing access to pelvic health care via educational tools and classes for the community
Expanding access to this valuable and vital knowledge for all
Marisa encourages adding Holistic Pelvic Care™ to your annual health and wellness routine. Prevention and connection to this sacred space might be calling to you. It’s an honor for Marisa to work with clients in this intimate frontier. She holds reverence and grace for guiding this new way of connection and healing. You are not alone.
Marisa’s Pelvic Path
Pelvic floor therapy was first brought to Marisa’s attention in 2014 by a urologist from Southern California. Amy shared with Marisa about continence training. Marisa was twenty-four years old and could only imagine working with urine and feces at the time. That was not a fit.
Fast forward to 2021 when Marisa started connecting to women who are healers. Women have been working on themselves, stepping into their strength, and acknowledging and being grateful for wounds. Connecting through various forms of energy healing is how she was introduced.
In congruence, Marisa saw a course called “OT Pioneers” available as continuing education specifically for occupational therapists to learn more about pelvic floor therapy. This is when Marisa learned that pelvic floor therapy is much more dynamic than “just” continence training and Kegels.
Pelvic floor therapy addresses bladder habits, behavioral modifications, functional assessments, occupation-based activity analysis, improving pelvic floor muscle engagement, lengthening and strengthening of muscles, breathwork, relaxation techniques, improving prolapse, decreasing pain with penetration, improving orgasms, and more. Since 2022 Marisa has taken various continuing education regarding pelvic floor therapy including Holistic Pelvic Care™ (Level I & 2), Herman and Wallace Level 1, Pelvic Rehab Manual Assessment and Treatment Techniques, and more.
Education
Marisa graduated from Brigham Young University-Idaho in 2012 with a Bachelor of Science in Social Work.
In June 2015 Marisa graduated from Bay Path University with a Master’s Degree in Occupational Therapy (OT) and shortly thereafter passed the National Board of Certified Occupational Therapists (NBCOT) and started her OT career in July 2015.
Marisa is licensed with the California Board of Occupational Therapists and continues to improve her knowledge of the pelvic floor by taking continuing education courses, educating others, collaborating with colleagues, and staying up to date on the pelvic rehabilitation world.
When Marisa is not working she enjoys trail running, spending time with her family and friends, dancing, playing guitar, and exploring with her dog.
