Personal Info
Monica has always been passionate about working with children and began her journey in caregiving through volunteer work in a South African orphanage at the age of 16. She earned her qualifications in Pediatric Occupational Therapy/Kinderkinetics at the University of the Free State, and later trained in Vision Rehabilitation in the United States. After a decade of serving children and families in Dubai, she returned to South Africa to embrace a quieter farm life—while continuing to offer remote support to clients around the world. Monica believes that healing yourself is deeply connected to healing others, and she is committed to helping individuals and families thrive through both physical and emotional well-being.
Pediatric Vision Therapy & Occupational Therapy
Monica provides individualized, evidence-based therapy for children with visual and motor development challenges, including:
- Convergence Insufficiency
- Accommodation Dysfunction
- Tracking & Saccadic Eye Movement Disorders
- Visual Processing Difficulties
- Motor Development Delays (Focus on Primitive Reflexes, Muscle Tone, Balance, Handwriting)
- Cortical Visual Impairment (CVI) – Custom home programs
All remote vision therapy sessions are supervised by Catia Pineza, Orthoptist, via in-person testing.
Specialty :
Occupational/Vision Therapist & Integrative Mental Health Coach
Experience :
13 (10 Years in Dubai, UAE)
Integrative Mental Health Coaching
Monica works with adults and families using a trauma-informed and holistic approach that integrates both somatic and cognitive therapies:
- Mindset Coaching: Identifying and reframing limiting beliefs to support personal growth and goal achievement.
- Somatic & Trauma-Informed Approaches: Including EMDR, Brainspotting, and Somatic Experiencing for emotional release and nervous system regulation.
- Cognitive Behaviour Therapy Techniques: Supporting mindset shifts and behavioral change.
- Parental & Family Coaching: Helping caregivers manage emotional stress, develop resilience, and build supportive family environments.
What is Vision Therapy?
Vision Therapy is a personalized program of eye exercises designed to improve visual skills. It strengthens the connection between the eyes and brain, improving focus, tracking, eye coordination, and visual processing. It helps treat conditions like:
- Lazy eye (Amblyopia)
- Eye turn (Strabismus)
- Convergence insufficiency
- Eye strain and headaches
What does Vision Therapy include?
- Personalized Programs based on individual needs
- Eye Exercises for use at home or in-office
- Tools & Equipment such as prisms, lenses, and filters
- Brain-Eye Connection Work to improve how the brain processes visual information
- Progressive Training with exercises that increase in difficulty as skills improve
Who can benefit from Vision Therapy?
- Children: Especially those with learning difficulties, poor handwriting, reading struggles, or clumsiness
- Adults: Experiencing headaches, digital eye strain, or work-related visual fatigue
- Athletes: Wanting to improve peripheral awareness, reaction speed, and coordination for sports like football, boxing, or golf.