Meet Erin Browning | Business Owner, Speech Language Pathologist, Ayurvedic Health Counselor

We had the good fortune of connecting with Erin Browning and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Erin, what role has risk played in your life or career?
I am almost always the person to decide to DO THE THING!! The regrets I have in my life are the ones where I was stagnant, complacent and I think the risk is most often worth it.

What should our readers know about your business?
Evolved therapy is a culmination of more than 20 years working in a field where I felt limited, but the only thing really in the way was limitations I placed on myself. My career path has been less than traditional. Most speech language pathologists find a population of clients or a disorder that they hone in on and grow in that way. I quickly found that I had broader interests and vision. In the mid 2000s I started traveling the country developing and teaching continuing education courses about neurodivergent brains and the impact of different ways of thinking on communication and eating. That was fun and gave me wider perspective too. Most of my adult life I lived in rural Appalachia, working clinically, traveling and giving seminars, leading as the president of the Board of Examiners for Speech Pathologists and Audiologists, and chairing a non-profit focused on the use of nature and growing food to serve people with autism and their families.

In 2020 I had a big life shift after my partner died suddenly and found myself fortunate that I could continue to work to see clients, but had to scale back significantly. A year after he died I traveled the country and a little of the world, roaming and adventuring for a year, but then made my way to New England. There was something appealing about the sea, the woods and the city all within a 15 mile radius. It felt like a nice place to land. In January of this year (2023) I took stock of where I was, where I wanted to be, and drew a bit of inspiration from the clients I serve to get back to the drawing board. The people I work with struggle to eat or communicate. Those are basic functions we take for granted, until we can’t. I knew that I could create a practice that would meet a need in this city and help people live better and more fulfilling lives.

Evolved Therapy is different from other speech and feeding practices in that my focus is to get to the root of the cause. I focus on breathing as a key to health. One of the modalities I use is myofunctional therapy or exercises and functional movements that work to improve mouth posture, sleep, snoring habits, speaking and eating. These core functions can actually impact all areas of living and living in a joyful way. I also am working to grow the acceptance of telehealth or hybrid model (some in person and some virtual) as an option for delivering these services. That is my aim, help people make real change that comes from the inside out and carry them over into their everyday life.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
Melrose is a great city that is small enough to connect and find community in a way that is enriching while also having activities, culture, and access to the city of Boston where there is no shortage of anything you would want.

I love the outdoors so I am always up for a hike at Middlesex Fells Reservation. The Rock Loop trail is my favorite. As far as local businesses I frequent coffee and quiche at Colette Bakery is top notch and right down the street from my office. There are always fun cooking classes at The Kitchen and Follow Your Arts has excellent programs to bring out creativity. La Qchara is a fun spot to sit outside and eat lunch too.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I would not be here without the Davis Medical Center (and their CMO Mindy Chua) a nonprofit hospital hospital system in rural WV where I still contract and do telehealth speech pathologyu services. They were ahead of the curve during the pandemic and allowed me to create a program for virtual service delivery and then continue that program even when restrictions ended. It has changed the way I practice in such a wonderful way!! I still have a contract with them and hope I will always be able to work with the organization.

Website: www.evolved-therapy.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/evolved.therapy.speech/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/erin-browning-55487116

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/evolvedtherapyslp/

Image Credits
Karim Badwan