News/Blog
Wellbeing Therapy Solutions Blog
Blogs/News
Marjolein: What do you feel is important about supporting neurodiverse young people? Becky: "I’m passionate about helping children be better understood. Misunderstandings can have a lasting impact on a child’s self-esteem and day-to-day life. School life, in particular, can shape a person’s journey into adulthood. My goal is to help neurodiverse children see that their school experiences do not have to define their future. "I also empathise with parents who navigate this challenging path with their kids. It’s tough to find support within schools and to feel validated, especially when labelled an ‘overprotective parent.’ I understand how deeply it can make you question yourself." Marjolein: What encouragement would you give to parents who think their kids might be neurodiverse or who have had a diagnosis? Becky: "Trust your gut feeling. Pay attention to what your instincts are telling you about your child and their needs. No matter the challenge, there is support out there." Marjolein: From speaking to you, I know you don’t just support children and teenagers. What support do you think is important for neurodiverse adults? Becky: "Workplaces often struggle to understand neurodiverse ways of working. Tasks can be completed well but in ways that might differ from the norm. There is a lot of talk about reasonable adjustments and what these actually are. It’s very difficult for a person to always know what may help them. Occupational Therapists are the best placed people to help identify, through assessment, what the difficulties are and what supports work within the working environment. Little changes can make such a huge difference to a person’s working life to help ease the stress and anxiety that can often go hand in hand with Neurodiversity and work. At WTS we assist adults with creating health passports that articulate their needs and suggest reasonable adjustments to help them succeed. We also work with managers to bridge communication gaps, ensuring that everyone is on the same page. Misunderstandings can sometimes lead to unfair trouble at work, and we support neurodiverse adults in addressing these issues constructively." Becky’s insights underscore the importance of understanding and support for neurodiverse individuals—whether they’re children navigating school life, parents seeking resources, or adults striving in the workplace. If you have been touched by anything in this blog or are experiencing similar issues, please do reach out to see how we can support you further
As we mark Neurodiversity Awareness Week , it’s only fitting for our team to contribute to this important conversation. We’re thrilled to see more people embracing and championing neurodiversity. Workplaces are increasingly appointing neurodiversity champions and utilizing our services to better understand reasonable adjustments. This growing awareness brings us closer to fostering inclusive environments for everyone. In this blog, our associate Marjolein delves into a significant topic within neurodiversity: the distinction between having a formal diagnosis and self-identifying as neurodiverse. If you know someone who is neurodiverse, you may have noticed that some individuals have an official diagnosis, while others prefer to self-identify. Let’s unpack what this means. To learn more about the term "neurodiversity," please refer to our previous Blog Understanding Neurodevelopmental Conditions Deciding whether to pursue a formal diagnosis is deeply personal and influenced by individual circumstances. Conditions such as autism, ADHD, and dyslexia are neurodevelopmental*, meaning they are present from an early age and evolve as the individual grows. Receiving a diagnosis is essentially a medical confirmation of the presence these conditions. It does not mean that the person’s identity changes on the day of diagnosis—they’ve always been neurodiverse. For many, a diagnosis provides vital clarity and validation, aiding in self-understanding and acceptance. On the other hand, some individuals prioritize understanding their unique set of traits and challenges over obtaining a formal diagnosis. Diagnoses can be costly and time-consuming, especially when privately funded. These individuals may choose to self-identify, recognizing that they have traits associated with conditions like ADHD or dyslexia, and they will focus on finding strategies available to support themselves through any resulting challenges. However, it’s important to note that while one can describe having "traits," claiming a diagnosis without formal assessment is inaccurate. The Role of Self-Identification So, does this mean anyone can assign themselves a diagnosis? Not exactly. Self-identification serves as a tool for understanding one’s strengths and challenges, promoting self-awareness and empowerment. This shift in thinking encourages a culture of support and understanding rather than blame. For example, instead of asking, "Why don’t they try harder?" or “Why can’t they do […]?” we can explore how to break down tasks to become more manageable through tailored support. How We Can Help As occupational therapists (OTs), we believe in empowering individuals with the skills and strategies they need, regardless of any formal diagnosis. If someone exhibits traits of autism, we can provide sensory supports and daily strategies beneficial to autistic individuals. Similarly, those with traits of dyslexia or dyspraxia may find our reading aids or study techniques helpful. For individuals struggling with time management or work deadlines, we can collaborate to identify barriers and develop practical solutions to reduce stress and increase productivity. Whether you choose to pursue a formal diagnosis or self-identify, you can count on our non-judgmental, supportive approach to address the challenges you face. Our OTs will work with you to understand your barriers and find ways of overcoming them, so you can focus on getting on with the things you are best at. *Please note: This blog focuses on neurodevelopmental conditions. While other circumstances, such as brain injury or illness, may lead to similar challenges, those topics are beyond the scope of this piece. Get in touch with us
Ever find yourself spiralling down a rabbit hole of negative thoughts, feeling like there's no escape? If that sounds familiar, Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) might just be the game changer you're looking for. Let's delve into how CBT can help transform those pesky negative thoughts into positive, empowering ones. What is CBT? Cognitive behavioural therapy is a type of psychotherapy that focuses on identifying and changing negative thought patterns and behaviours. The idea is pretty straightforward: our thoughts, feelings, and actions are all interconnected. By tweaking our thoughts and behaviours, we can change our emotional responses, leading to a happier, more fulfilling life. How CBT Works 1. Identifying Negative Thought Patterns The first step in CBT is recognizing the negative thought patterns that often go unnoticed. These can be automatic thoughts, like "I'm not good enough," or more complex beliefs, like "I'll never be happy." By bringing these thoughts to the surface, we can start to challenge and change them. 2. Challenging Negative Thoughts Once we've identified these negative thoughts, the next step is to challenge them. This involves questioning their validity and considering alternative perspectives. For example, if you constantly think you're a failure, CBT might encourage you to look at your past successes and accomplishments to provide a more balanced view. 3. Replacing Negative Thoughts After challenging the negative thoughts, CBT focuses on replacing them with more positive, realistic ones. This might involve affirmations, visualizations, or simply reminding yourself of your strengths and achievements. 4. Behavioural Changes CBT also involves making practical changes in your behaviour to support your new, positive mindset. This might include setting small, achievable goals, practicing mindfulness, or engaging in activities that bring you joy and fulfilment. The Benefits of CBT Improved Mental Health: One of the most significant benefits of CBT is improved mental health. By changing negative thought patterns, CBT can help reduce symptoms of anxiety, depression, and other mental health issues. Increased Self-Esteem: As you start to replace negative thoughts with positive ones, you'll likely notice an improvement in your self-esteem. CBT helps you recognize your worth and build a more positive self-image. Better Relationships: Improved mental health and self-esteem often lead to better relationships. When you feel good about yourself, you're more likely to engage in healthy, fulfilling relationships with others. Enhanced Problem-Solving Skills: CBT teaches you to approach problems with a more balanced, rational mindset. This can enhance your problem-solving skills and make you more resilient in the face of challenges. Greater Life Satisfaction: Ultimately, the goal of CBT is to improve your overall life satisfaction. By transforming negative thoughts into positive ones, CBT can help you lead a happier, more fulfilling life. Final Thoughts Cognitive Behavioural Therapy is a powerful tool for anyone looking to overcome negative thoughts and improve their mental health. With its focus on changing thought patterns and behaviours, CBT can help you build a more positive, empowering mindset. So, if you're tired of feeling stuck in a cycle of negativity, consider giving CBT a try. It might just be the secret weapon you need to transform your life. Remember, it’s always a good idea to seek out a professional therapist to guide you through the CBT process. They can provide personalised support and help you make the most out of this transformative therapy.
Craft and Occupational Therapy: A Creative Connection At our recent Team Day, we took part in a needle felting activity—a fun and relaxing craft that reminded us of the deeper connection between creativity and occupational therapy (OT). As OTs, we know first hand how engaging in purposeful activities can enhance well-being and help us lead fulfilling lives, whether at home, work, or in any other area of life. But beyond the clinical practice, we also understand the value of taking a step back and practicing what we preach. Engaging in craft activities, like our needle felting session, brings several benefits that tie closely to the principles of OT. Here’s how: 1. Learning a New Skill – Boosting Well-Being Learning something new can significantly contribute to mental and emotional well-being. It aligns with the "learning and growth" aspect of the Five Ways to Wellbeing, which encourages us to keep our brains active by acquiring new skills. In our case, mastering the art of needle felting was not only fun but also provided a sense of accomplishment. 2. A Low-Stimulation Activity After Intense Discussions Following some heavy conversations earlier in the day, engaging in a soothing, hands-on activity like needle felting provided a welcome contrast. It allowed us to shift gears and unwind, offering a mental reset that helped balance out the more intense discussions. 3. Fun and Relaxation Sometimes, we just need to have fun—and craft activities are an excellent way to do so. The joy of creation, the satisfaction of seeing progress, and the light-hearted nature of crafting can significantly reduce stress, helping us feel more relaxed and rejuvenated. 4. Connection and Social Interaction Being together while crafting creates opportunities for informal conversation and bonding. It strengthens social connections and fosters a sense of camaraderie, which is key to emotional and mental well-being and team bonding. 5. Soothing Repetitive Motion The repetitive motions involved in crafting, like poking the needle into the wool, have a meditative, calming effect. This repetitive action can help soothe the mind and alleviate anxiety, offering a natural form of mindfulness. 6. A Focused, Mindful Activity Crafting provides a perfect opportunity to focus entirely on the task at hand. This mindful engagement can quiet the chatter in our minds, grounding us in the present moment and helping us feel more connected to ourselves and our surroundings. 7. Creative Expression Craft activities give us a chance to express ourselves in a unique and personal way. Whether it’s through colour choices, shapes, or designs, crafting allows for creative expression, something that is central to human well-being and self-identity. 8. A Welcome Screen Break In today’s digital world, we often spend hours in front of screens. Crafting offers a welcome break from technology, allowing us to reconnect with our hands and materials while taking a break from the virtual world. Incorporating crafts into everyday life, even just for a brief moment, brings balance and fulfilment. It’s a reminder that creativity and self-care go hand in hand, and that sometimes, the simplest activities can have the most profound impact on our well-being. As OTs, we know the power of purposeful activity, and our team’s experience with needle felting was a beautiful reminder of that. Whether it’s crafting or another activity you enjoy, make time to engage in something that brings you joy, helps you unwind, and connects you with others. It’s all part of living your best life.
More employers are recognising the need for workplace based support for employees. Being given space to be heard and understood is so valuable to helping people continue to give their best in the workplace. I have been supporting employees both through group work and individual support. It is always such a privilege to hear people share their burdens and concerns. I work through these together with the person or group to create an outcome that improves the situation. Sometimes employees can feel like they are trying so hard to make things work, yet not seeing a result from all of their efforts. One thing that has struck me during my time of providing workplace support is many employees I have spoken to are in a supporting role. This can give them a sense of not being good enough and that they should be able to cope with what is entrusted to them. Yet the reality is that carrying other people’s worries and concerns is difficult. It takes a lot of emotional energy to support others as well as supporting yourself. When people see you as a kind, empathetic person you are also more likely to get others sharing their worries with you. This can create a caring burden or emotional burnout which is usually a sign of having been too strong for too long, not a sign of weakness. “Sometimes the listeners need a listener too” Everyone needs a space to be heard, especially when dealing with challenging or emotional content. Having regular times for employees in caring roles to offload and share openly is an important part of looking after the overall wellbeing of staff. As Occupational Therapists, we can facilitate this to help your staff to have a listening ear and be able to continue their amazing work.
Have you ever considered gardening to be a form of exercise? This week I was pleasantly surprised to read that 3 hours gardening is the equivalent of 1 hour in the gym! Gardening is indeed a fantastic form of exercise, offering a fabulous blend of both physical and mental health benefits. I often find that as a busy working mum I don't have the hours to spend in the garden, but find that even half an hour doing a bit of weeding or planting is totally rewarding and often helps me to feel rejuvenated and re-centered. It is a go-to stress reliever, promoting relaxation and improving mood, with the added benefit of engaging all the major muscle groups as well as building strength, improving flexibility, balance and range of motion! So, whether you have a few minutes or a few hours, tending to your garden is a fantastic way to stay fit and centered. If you don't have your own garden, there are plenty of community gardening projects and volunteering opportunities around that you could get involved with, highlighted by Rebecca in her recent blog .
I t's Mental Health Awareness week 2024: with the theme of “Movement: Moving more for our mental health” So, how do we define movement? Well, it can be any type of movement that has a positive benefit on your social, emotional, and physical wellbeing. If it is meaningful, rewarding and you enjoy it, then you are more likely to repeat it. Engaging in any type of meaningful activity that gives a sense of pleasure, achievement and purpose will improve your mental health, reduce anxiety, depression, low mood and improve your self-esteem. Participating in activity that we enjoy, such as exercise, whether it be walking in the fresh air, working out at a gym, or going to a yoga class, can have such positive effects on our wellbeing. If exercise isn’t for you, movement doesn’t need to be structured, it can be any type of physical activity, which increases your movement, which could include domestic chores, necessary tasks, playing football with your children, dancing around the house or walking to the shop. However, sometimes this feels tricky if we are experiencing low mood and a loss of motivation. When this happens, we probably start to move less as we start to avoid engaging in some of our daily activities. As you avoid these activities, you then reduce your opportunity for social and personal activities that give you pleasure and achievement. Behavioural activation is a treatment technique used in Cognitive Behavioural Therapy to help you to address avoidance and focus on activities to reestablish daily routines, increase pleasurable activities, and address important necessary tasks, therefore, increasing movement and supporting positive wellbeing. This strategy helps clients to re-engage in activities to improve their level of pleasure and achievement, improving their mood and improving their positive thoughts leading to an increase in motivation. How do we overcome this: - Make a list of activities that you’ve stopped doing (routine, pleasurable and necessary) - Think about new activities that you might like to start - Start small and try to plan and schedule activities into your day starting with the easiest, e.g., go for a daily walk - Be consistent - Regular small activities are better in the early stages to reduce procrastination and to encourage motivation. Therefore… just try a little bit of extra movement and see the positive benefits on your wellbeing. Find out more about Cognitive Behavioural Therapy in Shean's earlier blog Learn more about Shean and her approach to therapy with her clients
The benefits of being in nature are well documented. When it comes to movement, we are more likely to experience exercise as restorative when in green environments and blue spaces, compared to exercising in built outdoor environments (Kajosaari and Pasanen 2021). What if your mental health makes being active outdoors difficult, however? If you feel you need some extra support to move more outdoors, here are some ideas… Green Gyms Offer free, outdoor volunteering sessions across the UK, transforming green spaces. To find a green gym near you, go to: https://www.tcv.org.uk/greengym/find-green-gym/ Mental Health Mates Peer support groups IRL and online, run by people with lived experience of mental health issues, meeting regularly to walk, connect and share without fear or judgement. To find a local walk: https://www.mentalhealthmates.co.uk/find-a-walk/ Wellbeing Walks Many local councils now run “wellbeing walks” – these typically involve shorter distances, with the option to join longer walks if you wish. Check your local council website for further information. The Ramblers Association also facilitate Wellbeing Walk Groups. To find a Wellbeing Walk Group local to you: https://www.ramblers.org.uk/go-walking/wellbeing-walks-groups Community Garden Groups The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) has information on how to join a local community gardening group. Go to: https://www.rhs.org.uk/get-involved/community-gardening/find-a-group Accessible Green Spaces Accessible Countryside for Everyone (ACE) has details of green spaces accessible by those with restricted mobility, wheelchair, pushchair and mobility scooter users. Go to: http://www.accessiblecountryside.org.uk Wildlife Spending time outdoors with other living creatures can be very beneficial for our mental health. Wildlife events can encourage movement, whilst providing a focus other than exercise. If you don’t have a garden, try visiting a local park or urban green / blue space. The Big Garden Bird Watch takes place in January each year: https://www.rspb.org.uk/whats-happening/big-garden-birdwatch Big Butterfly Count takes place from Friday 12th July until Sunday 4th August 2024: https://bigbutterflycount.butterfly-conservation.org The Wildlife Trusts also offer “citizen science projects” both locally & nationally: h ttps://www.wildlifetrusts.org/citizen-science Some other added benefits of moving more outside… • Decreased stress levels • Improvement in mood • Increased relaxation • Meeting your sensory needs • Increased energy levels • Having a change of scene • Connection to the seasons • Getting to know your local area
“The kitchen is a place of solace, where problems are solved.” Nadiya Hussain (British Chef)
“People can’t just fit in anymore these days. Everyone needs this and that, just for them” Ahh a penny for every time I have heard something similar when I tell people that my job is working with children and young people with mental health issues and neurodivergence. I would certainly be rich but I would not stop doing the job I am currently doing. [Pause here if you are new to the term neurodiversity, please refer to my previous blog first] Understanding is key and I am completely understanding of people’s attitudes to something that they do not understand. So please, allow me to explain… Let me take you back to the early 90s (yes I was there before you think I am writing out of turn) with a huge number of office workers sat all day long looking at a screens on box-standard chairs at box-standard desks slowly but surely working themselves into screen-related eye problems and posture-related back problems. My dad was one of these dutiful workers who ended up with both of these issues, struggling through the day trying to stretch every now and then and drowning the rest out with coffee. Until one day, someone started to realise that these problems could all be prevented with screen breaks, better adaptable seating and that maybe we could start doing workplace assessments to ensure office workers were better supported. What does any of this have to do with neurodiversity ? Well, after realising we all have different body sizes and lumbar support needs, we are now realising that we have many different types of brains that equally need different kinds of support. We are realising that doing something in exactly the same way all the time is maybe not the most productive way to work and we can be just as productive with certain breaks and changes in posture. A neurodivergent brain is wired differently and responds differently. If ever I am in an emergency or crisis situation, please let me be surrounded by neurodiverse people as their quick thinking and innovative ways of looking at problems will most likely produce the best rescue. Neurodivergent people have incredible analytical skills, they can think at a dazzling speed and digest huge amounts of information … if they learn to play to their strengths and are in a positive, neuro-affirming environment where they can be themselves. I know amazing people who can do all those things mentioned above, yet crumble under the pressure of delivering a 10 minute presentation in front of a critical colleague. Young people who are so creative they could earn a living from their creations, yet are being told they are failing their year at school. The key is down to understanding their thinking patterns or executive functions . Neurodivergent people’s brains are much more fine-tuned to the world around them. This can be super helpful when assessing risk in a crisis situation. It can also mean that they live in a world where they are bombarded by sounds, sights, smells. The world can feel exhausting if you are physically unable to turn off the sensations coming at you. Neurodivergent brains are incredible at out-of-the-box thinking. This also means that arbitrary rules that are not based on logic can be hard to follow. That unwritten social codes can be completely confusing, despite their best intentions to be kind, generous and honest. (Honesty and being socially acceptable do not often go together when you really think about it…) That perhaps their mind needs a better reason to follow an instruction than ‘because I said so’. If you want to understand neurodiversity better, start to look up information about executive functions instead of looking up diagnoses. If you want to be able to better support a neurodivergent person, ask them how you can support and allow them to be honest – even if you don’t like to hear the answer. No two neurodiverse people are the same as they are all spectrum conditions, meaning people can be miles apart in their presentation. Most of all, do not presume every odd interaction, word or comment is a deliberate personal attack. A little bit of empathy goes a long way. Just check if they are upset or annoyed or if they just got the tone or words wrong. They will soon tell you and then you can work together and harness the beautiful power their brain holds.