Michelle LeRoy, PhD, OTR/L, BCP & Colton Sayers, OTD, OTR/L, CNS: OT in LGBTQIA+2S Health & Fellowship

In this episode, we will learn from Michelle LeRoy, PhD, OTR/L, BCP & Colton Sayers, OTD, OTR/L, CNS, Occupational Therapists who work focuses on LGBTQIA+2S Health & Fellowship. Dr. Michelle LeRoy is an assistant professor in the occupational therapy department at Colorado State University. Their research area focuses on how occupational therapy can support the mental health of LGBTQ+ youth in schools. As an occupational therapist they are board certified in pediatrics and has worked as an occupational therapist serving the transgender community in a primary care clinic focused on serving the LGBTQ+ community. They have provided multiple presentations for free to the transgender community regarding how to bind, tuck and pack safely to maintain body integrity and also currently volunteers with multiple organizations to provide support to the LGBTQ+ community in Fort Collins, Colorado. Their passion stems from being the proud mother of a transgender child and seeing the difficulty their child has had in receiving proper healthcare. Through this fellowship, they are hopeful that there will be more practitioners who can provide quality care to the LGBTQ+ community and help anyone who is part of the community reach the goals that are important to them. Dr. Colton Sayers is a practicing clinical occupational therapist at UC Health and an adjunct instructor at the University of Cincinnati. He works primarily in an outpatient neurological clinic. His doctoral work has consisted of creating learning initiatives that help healthcare workers better understand the lived experience of members of the LGBTQ+ community while accessing healthcare. In his own experience accessing healthcare as a gay man, he has suffered many uncomfortable situations with medical professionals which has led to feelings of shame and guilt. Some of his work has included being on his healthcare institutions diversity, equity, and inclusion council, teaching graduate courses on global and community health, creating the first LGBTQ+ continuing education course for the American Occupational Therapy Association, and pioneering the first Occupational Therapy LGBTQIA+ Fellowship in the world. Through his work, he is hopeful it will decrease barriers to accessing healthcare, improve healthcare workers understanding of the LGBTQ+ community, and help individuals live long and meaningful lives.

Q & A with Colton:

Please tell us a little about yourself and a few favorite occupations.

Colton is a clinical OT at UC Health in Cincinnati, OH and works primarily in outpatient neuro. Favorite occupations: being active, running, being outside and by a body of water and favorite TV show is Survivor. Michelle is an assistant professor of OT at Colorado State University with a passion for pediatric populations. Favorite occupations: hanging out with pets, spending family time, knitting and reading.

What motivated you to contribute to this podcast series?

We are motivated to contribute to this podcast to promote occupational therapists being educated in providing care to the LGBTQIA+ community and advancing our role in this area.

Please describe the UncommonOT work that you do and the setting in which you work, the population you serve and the needs that you address.

Our fellowship is the first in the nation to offer a post didactic and clinical experience for OT's interested in serving the LGBTQIA2S+ population. This experience seeks to address enhancing clinician knowledge on specific LGBTQ health considerations and decrease barriers of access to healthcare for this population in the hospital and community clinics within the Cincinnati community.

What inspired you or drew you to this type of OT work?

Both Michelle and Colton have had personal and clinical experiences that have shown the disproportionate knowledge and clinical skills between healthcare professionals in treating members of the LGBTQIA+ population.

How did you get there? Can you describe your path?

Through a PP-OTD capstone project and working with UC Health, Colton helped lay the groundwork of this experience. Once fully accepted by the health system, Michelle joined Colton in creating an inclusive clinical and didactic fellowship program.

Please describe a typical day or OT session at your uncommon setting? What OT skills do you utilize?

The fellow will see between 5-8 patients in an outpatient and community setting for 60% of their time during their week. During the additional 40% of their time they will be completing education modules, rounding with primary care physicians, and completing a capstone project of their choosing.

Can you talk about some recent highs (successes) and lows (challenges) of your current role?

Successes: Fellow starts in July of 2025 and awarded grant money Lows: Initial buy in from the healthcare system and lack of research/ other OT fellowships in this area.

How do you continue to learn in order to stay on top of things within your role?

Always staying up to date with the most current research that exists and interacting with many members of the LGBTQ community and inter and intra professional collaboration.

Can you share a little bit about salary and compensation in this setting?  How do OT or the services you provide get funded?

60% of an entry level clinical salary with benefits due to the 40% of unbillable time. Reimbursement from insurance is how we will get funded from outpatient services.

Any career advice for our followers and listeners on how to get started on this path?

Importance of advocating for your setting and the role of OT and its importance for the LGBTQ+ community.

What’s a common myth or misconception about your job/role you’d like to call out or demystify?

Not all therapy in a hospital setting needs to approach the client based on the reason they are initially being seen in that setting. We hope that our fellow can demonstrate a true holistic top down approach to patients of the LGBTQ community in this setting to consider all of their needs and provide support and make a difference to promote a meaningful life.

How do we find you, follow you, be in touch with you, and promote your unique work?

IG: @OT_lgbtqia2S_fellowship

Please list any resources you would like me to include with your Show Notes (courses, articles, assessments, tools, etc.)*

We welcome others to reach out to us regarding specific needs and topics that relate to the LGBTQIA+ community that we can provide resources on.

Fellowship Instagram

Instagram: @Ot_lgbtqia2s_fellowship

Director Emails

Colton: Colton.Sayers@uchealth.com

Michelle: Michelle.LeRoy@colostate.edu

Youtube

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5qh_FFc2beQ

As always, I welcome any feedback & ideas from all of you, or if you are interested in being a guest on future episodes, please do not hesitate to contact Patricia Motus at transitionsot@gmail.com or DM via Instagram @transitionsot

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