Kerry Archer

I graduated from Wits in 2003 and completed my community service in Mpumalanga in 2004. Thereafter, I worked for 6 months in a general OMT practice in a Virgin Active gym and then went to the UK mid 2005 and worked in stroke rehabilitation. I had my first exposure to aquatics there when I worked at Medway Maritime Hospital where I worked with adults post-back surgery. I returned to SA in November 2007 and started working in adult neuro at Netcare Rehabilitation Hospital. I completed a neuroaquatics course and thereafter I treated my patients in water whenever I could. I moved to the Paediatric Unit in 2008 and later became the Therapy Unit Manager. I treated as many of the children in the water as possible and attended American physiotherapist Peggy Schoedinger’s aquatics courses – Paediatrics and Watsu. I completed my NDT in 2010 and did the advanced baby course in 2013. In April 2014 I moved into paediatric private practice at Physio in the Parks and went about starting the aquatics wing of the practice. I received my APDL2 in Aquatic Physiotherapy in July 2015 and I completed my Watsu certification in November 2015. In 2017 I completed the MAES therapy course. In 2019 I started my own private paediatric aquatic physiotherapy practice.In July 2022 I attended an international course on Water Specific Therapy and Ai Chi lectured by Johan Lambeck and Anne Bommer and in March 2024 I attended a Feldenkrais and Water Neuroplasticity course run by Australian presenters Toni Fuller and Lisa Gilkes. I’m now doing paediatric aquatic physiotherapy at Grass Roots Paediatric Development Centre alongside my colleagues Lucia Jardim, Gillian Spencer-Young and Nina Simons where we were able to design a pool best suited for aquatic Physiotherapy.