University of Southern California
University of Southern California
USC Chan Lifestyle Redesign® Knowledge Mobilization Initiative
USC Chan Lifestyle Redesign® Knowledge Mobilization Initiative

Latest in Lifestyle Redesign®
July 2026

LR IRL — Lifestyle Redesign in Real Life

Taking on Her Twenties

retail

As a woman in her mid-twenties, Shelby was having trouble structuring her new life while learning to cope with a diagnosis of functional neurologic disorder (FND). She was trying to break into Hollywood while juggling an inconsistent part-time retail job, a difficult financial situation, and daily headaches. These issues continued, and Shelby also found herself noticing challenges with meal planning, seizures, and a larger sense of fatigue and stress. Her inconsistent work hours meant she was always reacting to issues instead of planning for them, setting aside urgent priorities like food and physical health in the process. After a diagnosis for tinnitus by her ENT doctor, Shelby was referred to Lifestyle Redesign® services where she met her occupational therapist (OT), Dr. Erin Bussell.

Over the course of their 12 sessions, Erin worked closely with Shelby to address her health-related priorities and adapted her care plan as Shelby’s needs and routines evolved over time. Shelby had previously engaged with mental health providers who provided psychotherapy, which created a foundation from which Erin could clearly delineate how OT’s role would be distinct. The level of insight and coping strategies that Shelby had developed from those past experiences were instrumental in her work with OT, fine-tuning her approach to embedding and adapting these strategies to support the health promoting behaviors she was seeking to engage in.

Due to financial stressors, a top priority for Shelby was to work more hours, yet she was also experiencing seizures at work, a common symptom of FND. On top of that, she was often scheduled to close the store one night, and then open it the next morning, which triggered a crucial lack of sleep and led to other challenges at her job. To avoid this schedule in the future, Erin prepared Shelby to successfully advocate for accommodations at work, such as to take breaks to eat food with protein and fast-acting glucose in order to support her stressful retail schedule. This way, Shelby was able to work more hours at her retail job without the added stress.

Still, Shelby’s journey of self-advocacy in the workplace went further. Later, Shelby would get a new primary job at a gym, removing the need to pay for a gym membership. She even began working out five times a week as a result! The gym’s schedule was also far more consistent, allowing Shelby to balance it with smaller part-time jobs like retail and cleaning jobs to further help her financial situation.

Another one of Shelby’s top priorities was changing her dietary habits. She was eating three meals a day at the time, which was an improvement from her past experience with disordered eating behaviors, but the meals often consisted of poor quality food chosen for their convenience and low effort. Erin collaborated with Shelby to implement more protein into her diet, as well as ensuring she ate and drank water regularly to maintain a higher energy level on a day-to-day basis and mitigate FND symptoms. Shelby also began meal planning, ensuring access to food on a week-to-week basis, with frozen options and high-quality stores near her workplaces as backups. She also made breakfast for herself much more frequently, focusing on more mindful choices like yogurt parfaits.

Shelby was also interested in further engaging with her community, attending concerts for artists she loved as well as rallies and protests to show support for the issues she cared about. However, the overwhelming visual and auditory components of these events risked triggering FND symptoms.

This was especially true for political events. While Shelby was not directly affected by the controversial rise in immigration enforcement, her own discomfort with these events and the impact on those close to her moved her to get more involved in efforts of resistance. Erin engaged Shelby in self-analysis to better understand her plans for symptom management should she join a protest. Shelby came to realize that she had not thought about the safety considerations Erin was highlighting for her. This created an opportunity for Erin to educate Shelby about the importance of modifying engagement and adjusting expectations to optimize her safety and health management while participating in advocacy efforts. Shelby was receptive to the online resources Erin shared, providing her with less risky ideas for engaging in advocacy, and tips for managing symptoms in loud crowded places.

Shelby’s time with Erin prepared her to face her daily life with a reframed set of priorities as she re-established important routines around food, safety, exercise, and overall boundary-setting. With Erin’s help, Shelby bounced back from struggles more independently and remained highly self-aware of her own challenges. Erin reflected on her collaborative experience with Shelby and shared:

“In a way, I knew less about what her triggers were and what typical interventions sometimes looked like, and her coming to the table and talking through the patterns of what was happening for her helped me to understand her unique triggers. We don’t have to have all the answers — we can also rely on the patient to bring their own expertise in.” 
— Erin Bussell, OTD, OTR/L, LRC

Research Spotlight

Adapting Lifestyle Redesign®: Navigating fidelity and contextual fit across four case examples (2026)

LR Core Elements

As Lifestyle Redesign® has expanded in scope, it has been critical to explore how this evidence-based occupational therapy (OT) intervention framework can be thoughtfully adapted for diverse populations and practice settings without compromising the core elements that define it. Using the Framework for Reporting Adaptations and Modifications-Expanded (FRAME), the authors examine four Lifestyle Redesign programs spanning chronic disease management, weight management, diabetic foot ulcer self-management, and healthy aging. Across these examples, adaptations reflected local culture, language, healthcare systems, and participant needs while maintaining fidelity to the intervention’s defining characteristics and therapeutic principles.

For OT researchers, this article provides a practical model for systematically documenting, evaluating, and communicating intervention adaptations, which is an essential step for advancing implementation science and building a stronger evidence base. For clinicians, it affirms that Lifestyle Redesign programs can be both flexible and aligned with the framework’s defining features, supporting meaningful, client-centered care that fits real-world practice. By demonstrating that adaptability and fidelity are complementary rather than competing priorities, this article offers valuable guidance for translating evidence into practice while preserving intervention quality and outcomes.

Primary author Dr. Stacey Schepens Niemiec emphasizes:

“No two clients, communities, or healthcare systems are exactly alike, and evidence-based interventions like Lifestyle Redesign OT must evolve to remain meaningful in real-world practice. This paper illustrates how Lifestyle Redesign can be thoughtfully and flexibly adapted across diverse settings while preserving the core characteristics that define the intervention. Our hope is that clinicians feel empowered to tailor Lifestyle Redesign OT with intention and that researchers have a practical framework for documenting and evaluating those adaptations.”

Read the full article*

*Full access may require additional subscriptions or institutional credentials.

Upcoming Opportunities

Lifestyle Redesign® for College Students with ADHD: An OT Group Intervention
Free Webinar | Tuesday, August 4, 2026

Dr. Kelly Liao

Date: Tuesday, August 4, 2026
Time: 11am - 12pm Pacific Time
Location: Zoom
Audience: This is an introductory level activity designed for OT practitioners, however, all levels of experience and disciplines are welcome.
Cost*: This webinar is free to attend; registration is required to join.

This presentation explores the use of a group-based Lifestyle Redesign® intervention delivered through occupational therapy to support college students with ADHD and executive functioning challenges. The presentation highlights how occupational therapists can address students’ daily routines, habits, roles, stress management, and overall well-being within higher education settings. Attendees will gain insight into the development, implementation, and potential impact of a supportive OT group designed to promote occupational balance, self-efficacy, and academic participation among neurodivergent students.

Register for this webinar

OTAC’s 1st Annual Health & Wellness Symposium
Virtual Event | Saturday, August 22, 2026

OTAC Symposium

Date: Sat., August 22, 2026
Time: 9 am — 3 pm Pacific Time

Join the first annual Health & Wellness Symposium, hosted by the Occupational Therapy Association of California (OTAC)! The virtual event will address wellness topics such as sleep, time management, spirituality, and nutrition, equipping OT practitioners with practical tools to optimize their clinical practice and their own well-being.

Early Bird Registration ends July 31, 2026

Learn More

 

Join the OTAC Pain Management Subcommittee!

Collaboration

Are you passionate about helping individuals living with pain? This subcommittee is looking for OT practitioners, students, educators, researchers, and advocates interested in advancing OT’s role in pain management. As a member, you’ll have opportunities to:

✅ Collaborate with OT professionals across practice settings
✅ Develop and share evidence-based resources
✅ Contribute to advocacy and professional awareness efforts
✅ Participate in mentorship, education, and workforce development initiatives
✅ Help shape the future of OT in pain management

Whether you work in acute care, outpatient, schools, mental health, pediatrics, geriatrics, telehealth, or another setting, your perspective is valuable.

What to Expect:

Interested in learning more?
Please reach out to Lindsey Shomer via email at lindsey.shomer@med.usc.edu.

Course Series Corner

Check out the NEW Course Series Bundles

course series

In addition to individual course registration, there are now new options available for the following discounted “bundled” courses, which are all accessible online & asynchronously:

2026-2027 Scheduled Track Registration Now Open

Scheduled Track

Interested in online, asynchronous learning with added supports? Check out the Scheduled Course Series Track, which offers:

✅ 1:1 meeting opportunities with course instructor for individualized problem-solving and support

✅ Optional synchronous discussion sessions to connect with the course instructor and other course participants

✅Individualized learning activity feedback

The Scheduled Track includes:

Bundle all 3 Core Courses for a discount!

 

Register for the Mentored Practicum
Online, Synchronous CE Course

Course Series

The Mentored Practicum in Lifestyle Redesign is the gateway to begin accruing practice hours for certification in Lifestyle Redesign. Earn continuing education (CE) credit while you apply the intervention framework to your clinical practice, and receive mentorship along the way from a Lifestyle Redesign Certified instructor. A payment plan option is now available!

(New) Extended Timeline*: Sept. 14, 2026 - Mar. 8, 2027