Therapist Feature: Geoffrey Shih, OT
For this month’s featured member of the Tilton’s Team, we are highlighting Geoffrey Shih, OT! Geoffrey has been working as an occupational therapist since 2018 both in pediatrics and mental health with his focus primarily on adult mental health diagnoses such as schizophrenia, schizoaffective disorder, bipolar disorder, or depression. Since the middle of 2018, Geoffrey has worked with Southern Nevada Adult Mental Health Services and previously, had worked in related positions as a Mental Health Technician and Mental Health Counselor.
Attending the University of Las Vegas Nevada, he earned a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology before moving onto San Jose State University where he would graduate with a Master’s in Occupational Therapy. Geoffrey participated in field work in other settings in an outpatient rehabilitation facility. He also gained experience working in early intervention and has otherwise worked in mental health. In Geoffrey’s words, “I live, eat, and breathe mental health!”
It was a stroke of luck that Geoffrey found the occupational therapy profession. Originally, he had planned to become a lawyer and started attending William S. Boyd School of Law at UNLV. During the first semester he realized it was not a good fit for him and he dropped out after that semester ended. Geoffrey, looking for part time work, stumbled upon a therapy clinic and received a tour of the facility from the owners, who educated him about the profession. Instantly, he fell in love and felt this would be a much better fit for him than becoming a lawyer. Since Geoffrey had a background in psychology at this point, he had completed most of the prerequisites for this course of study. He soon began working in the state psychiatric hospital where he met another occupational therapist who would help him solidify his future as an OT.
What Geoffrey finds he likes most about his profession is the aspect that it is client-centered. He feels able to work with his clients on the things they feel are the most important to them and their lives. Geoffrey also loves that he gets to use art as a therapeutic modality. The flexibility in scheduling is another aspect Geoffrey appreciates in his profession and says his “biggest challenge is not having enough hours in the day!”
Throughout his career, Geoffrey has had many prospective occupational therapy students shadow him and move on to be accepted into OT school. He has experience supervising level one and level two students as well. Geoffrey attends various OT conferences and has presented at American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA) and Occupational Therapy Association of California (OTAC). He belongs to both of these associations as well as Nevada Occupational Therapy Association (NOTA). As a part of his focus, Geoffrey is always advocating for occupational therapists in mental health and has assisted his fellow mental health OTs to establish and grow the mental health occupational therapy program at Southern Nevada Adult Mental Health Services. His team grew from one occupational therapist to six before the pandemic and changes in state budget.
Geoffrey is originally from the Bay Area where he was born and raised and his parents are from Shanghai, China. He moved to Las Vegas with his parents in 2002 and has enjoyed the low cost of living and the food culture in the city. Geoffrey enjoys having access to some of the best restaurants in the US and he loves exploring all the nature that Southern Nevada has to offer. In his spare time, Geoffrey spends time with something else he loves — animals. He takes care of one dog, one cat, two snakes, nine reptiles, one frog, and various fish. Another passion of Geoffrey’s is art. He frequently participates in local art festivals and has painted 8’ by 8’ pieces of art on the sidewalk with chalk and pastels. Geoffrey is a self-professed avid gamer, car enthusiast, and enjoys weight lifting. He also runs a popular occupational therapy community page on instagram @memeingfuloccupations where his fellow occupational therapists can go to share laughs about the quirks of the profession!
Thanks to Geoffrey for his awesome work with the individuals he works with in the community! We are grateful to have you on our team and look forward to your future achievements.
