Occupational therapy is the intentional use of purposeful and meaningful activities to improve health and function.

The therapeutic use of crafts was (is) at the foundation of the occupational therapy discipline. There is a significant base of research (historical and modern) promoting the value of the use of craft in therapy to obtain improvements in function.

The Wildcraeft Works approach embraces this research. Interestingly, as we all find ourselves in an pervasively digital world, the discussions surrounding the importance of Craft, Handwork, and Making, are increasingly present in and out of the clinical literature.

So what are Traditional skills and Heritage Crafts? These are activities (skills and crafts) that are (and have been) part of the human experience for millenia. They are the slow, productive, and meaningful activities that address a multitude of component skills (motor, cognitive, executive, etc.). But also importantly, these activities support the development of competence and confidence, regardless of outcome...they are process-oriented rather then product-oriented.

Tending to an herb garden, kneading dough and baking bread, making butter, making and serving tea (to ourselves and others), wet felting, finger knitting, tying useful knots, making natural inks and dyes, visible mending, twig weaving tapestry, etc.

But these traditional skills and heritage crafts are not just past-times from a time gone by...new Maker activities are also part of the fun! Solar and eco printing, visible mending and upcycling, hand stitching with conductive threads and simple circuits, and more!

Yesterdays Traditional Skills and Heritage Crafts PLUS today's Maker Mindset supports the development of today's 21st Century Skills!

Wildcraeft Works therapy camps and services take place in the parks and private land of beautiful Upper Bucks County, PA. In order to have a reliable and predictable “home-base’ while out in Nature, the Wildcraeft Works motorhome (a 23’ RV) is our mobile craeft caravan, purpose designed to carry all supplies and provide fresh running water, private and safe bathroom facilities, access to refrigeration and cooking equipment, and AC/heat and protection from the elements if needed. Although access to the Wildcraeft Works caravan is always available during therapy sessions, all therapies take place outdoors in nature.

All therapy services provided through Wildcraeft Works are guided by an occupational therapy evaluation which is necessary for treatment planning.

As such, if OT records (goals and progress reports) or an OT evaluation completed within the past 6 months prior are not available, an evaluation will need to be completed. Our occupational therapists can provide this service for an additional fee.

A current evaluation is required prior to the start of any occupational therapy services. Please see the Evaluation sectio0n on the FAQs for additional information.

Wildcraeft Works is a private-pay practice.

We do not participate in any health insurance plans and do not submit to any insurance carriers for payment or on behalf of our families.

However upon request, we are happy to provide families with “superbills”, invoices with insurance information, for therapy services provided. Families can then submit the superbills to their insurance carrier to pursue possible reimbursement of the provided therapy services. It is the responsibility of each family to contact their insurance carrier to confirm coverage for out-of-network occupational therapy services, and to submit the superbills. Wildcraeft Works is not responsible for the amount or status of any insurance reimbursement that may be possible.

At Wildcraeft Works, therapy services provided through our nature-based model, including summer camps, mini camps, small group, and individual therapy services, extend beyond the scope of clinic-based service provision, in both the location of the services (outdoors) and in the length of session (beyond the standard 30-60 minutes per session limitation). Partnering with nature and allowing for the therapy process to unfold naturally, we have recognized that being a private-pay practice allows us to provide nature-based occupational therapy services and other related services (camp programming, parent consultation, and other program models) without limitation. This allows us to be the most receptive to our families’ needs and craeft service provision to meet the needs of our families.

This is an intentional use of an alternative spelling of CRAFT, derived from the Old English and inspired by,

"The word craeft signified an indefinable sense of knowledge, wisdom, and resourcefulness. Rediscovering craft will connect us with out human past, our sense of place, and our remarkable capacity to survive in the harshest of landscapes. Craeft helps us more fully appreciate human ingenuity and the passing on of traditions from generation to generation" (Langlands, 2018).

The use of CRAEFT in Wildcraeft Works is meant to communicate the importance of these traditional skills and heritage crafts to the human experience, the meaning that they hold in today's world, and the value they hold in the historic and modern therapeutic process.