Who we are
With an approach shaped by both experience and education, we have developed a model rooted in the belief that meaningful care often happens outside of traditional clinical settings. Utilizing evidence-based practice, professional education, specialized training, and extensive experience across diverse populations and environments, Integrative Family Services offers a client-centered approach designed to support the unique needs of each individual.
Drawing on more than 25 years of experience within healthcare, IFS focuses on supporting people within the environments where life actually unfolds—homes, schools, and communities. Serving families and individuals throughout the East Bay, Oakland, Piedmont, and Peninsula communities, Amanda provides care directly in these everyday settings, where therapy can integrate naturally into daily life.
Our origin story
Integrative Family Services grew from a simple realization that shaped Amanda’s career: the moments that most influence health and healing most often occur in the spaces where daily life unfolds—within homes, schools, families, and communities. The practice was created to bring thoughtful, integrative care directly into those environments, where support can be woven into the rhythms of everyday life.
Amanda began working in healthcare at seventeen in an assisted living community while still in high school. Early on she witnessed the complex realities families navigate when a loved one is living with illness, disability, or developmental challenges. She later attended nursing school at the University of Connecticut, where she continued supporting individuals both on campus and in their homes. Her work during this time ranged from helping coordinate care for a student with a spinal cord injury who wanted to fully participate in campus life, to assisting families caring for loved ones living with conditions such as Multiple Sclerosis and Parkinson’s disease.
Those experiences shaped the direction of her professional path. Amanda went on to study Allied Health Sciences, Psychology, and Neuroscience, where she became increasingly interested in the process of helping people rebuild daily life, regain independence, and reconnect with the environments and activities that give life meaning.
She later earned a Master’s degree in Occupational Therapy along with certification as an Assistive Technology Specialist. During this time she continued working directly in homes with infants, children, and adults who required nursing, rehabilitation, or supportive care. These experiences deepened her understanding of how essential the home environment is to meaningful progress and highlighted a gap that often exists between medical interventions and the living of everyday life.
After becoming licensed, Amanda practiced across a wide range of settings including sensory integration clinics, pediatric home programs, adult home health services, and school systems. Across these environments she observed significant differences in access to care—often shaped by family support, socioeconomic resources, and cognitive or physical ability. These experiences strengthened her commitment to improving systems of care and advocating for more equitable access to services.
To better support change at a broader level, she pursued a Doctorate in Occupational Therapy at the University of Southern California, completing a leadership pathway in Advocacy and Policy. During this time she participated in a fellowship supporting state legislation and she served on the Occupational Therapy Association of California’s School Credential Initiative Committee, motivated by her observed gaps in how students’ needs were addressed within educational systems.
When Amanda first began developing her private practice, her initial intention was to provide in-home pediatric occupational therapy, allowing families to receive support directly within the environments where their children lived and learned. At the same time, she was pursuing extensive training in Craniosacral Therapy and bodywork approaches for infants and sensory integration.
Over time it became clear that the work she felt most drawn to was not limited to one population or stage of life. The same principles that support infants learning to organize their bodies can also support children navigating sensory challenges, adults recovering from injury, or older adults seeking to maintain independence.
Rather than narrowing the focus of her work, Amanda envisioned a model of care designed to support individuals and families across the lifespan.
From that vision, Integrative Family Services was created.
Today, Integrative Family Services provides integrative, relationship-centered care that supports people within the environments where life actually happens—homes, schools, and communities. The goal is to help individuals organize their bodies, environments, and daily routines in ways that support regulation, resilience, and meaningful participation in life.