I am an BSc Occupational Therapy student currently in my final year. Here’s a little bit about my journey to OT and why I love it…
Like many people, when I first came across Occupational Therapy I had no clue in the world as to what it was. In college I knew I wanted to go to university and study something health-care related. But I wasn’t sure what. As the time slowly approached to write up a personal statement for UCAS, my dad who works in a hospital told me to just to do a five day work-experience within the Occupational Therapy department and see where this takes me. Before this point I had never even heard of Occupational Therapy.
This is the bit where you think I’m going to say I went there and knew it was the career for me. NOPE. Although the Occupational Therapists were nice and insightful, I was more confused than ever – unsure of what exactly it was they did (I just thought it was about providing equipment to whoever needs it!). Nevertheless, I stuck with it and decided to apply for the course. I went on to secure my place at the University of Derby.
As I started the course I slowly learned about the diverse nature of this profession and how broad it can be, this is one of the reasons why I love Occupational Therapy. You can work in hospitals on various wards, social services, GP practices, schools, care homes, even prisons, and the list goes on. I was amazed at how much depth there actually was to learning about occupation, never would I have envisioned it to be that deep and interesting.
After completing two very different placements (one on an acute physical ward and one at a perinatal mental health unit) I soon realised Occupational Therapy is one of the most rewarding careers out there. As it enables patients and service users to reach their potential and improve their health/wellbeing no matter what they are going through, by using the act of ‘doing’ to help facilitate this – and no not by ‘just’ handing out equipment. It is so much more than that, so why not ChooseOT?
I first became aware of the role of an occupational therapist when my close friend developed sepsis and spent a period of time in hospital. She was in a critical condition for 5 weeks but has thankfully made a full recovery. When I went to visit her in hospital, she explained how important the occupational therapists were in her recovery and how they helped to rebuild her confidence. I realised I knew little about occupational therapy and decided to do some research.
At the time, I was coming to the end of my psychology degree and was ensure about my next steps. I was pleasantly surprised when I discovered that I might be well suited for the profession as I believe that everyone has the right to carry out activities that matter to them and I understand how critical these are for an individual’s sense of identity. I learnt that occupational therapists work in mental health settings to help individuals improve their wellbeing by facilitating engagement in occupations. I studied mental illnesses throughout my undergraduate degree, and I have always had an interest in working for mental health services. The thought of being able to apply some of my previous knowledge to a healthcare role excited me and occupational therapy felt like it could be a great fit.
When I graduated, I decided to apply for occupational therapy assistant roles to get a better understanding of the profession. I got a job at a mental health rehabilitation hospital, where I worked for 10 months. I soon realised that occupational therapy is a diverse career that uses a range of skills to help people of all ages with physical and mental impairments in a variety of settings. I enjoyed interacting with service users and developing therapeutic relationships which allowed me to understand what was meaningful to them.
Occupational therapists explore ways to overcome the barriers to engagement to enable independence and assist recovery. I felt a sense of satisfaction and rewarded when I saw service users progress and achieve independence. Human beings have an innate need to engage in purposeful occupation and I quickly recognised how important this is for wellbeing. I thoroughly enjoyed my assistant role and occupational therapy felt like the perfect profession for me, so I applied for the master’s degree at the University of Derby.
I am loving the course so far and I am so excited to graduate next year and start a meaningful career, helping people reach personal goals to achieve a better quality of life.
As a society it’s often thought that we overlook the importance of child mental health, in that some fail to recognise the seriousness of it. According to the NHS in 2017 one in eight 5 to 19 year olds had at least one mental health disorder. Although, mental health services should be accessible to all, only 30% of these children/young people received appropriate interventions or support, which I am sure you’ll agree is an alarming figure.
This could potentially be a result of many reasons such as; gaps in services for at-risk children, negative perceptions or stigma surrounding mental health, lack of education/awareness, difficulty for children to verbalise what they’re going though and many more. Understanding and helping to tackle these barriers is an important step towards facilitating early access to mental health services and improving psychological well-being overall. I believe that the more child mental health is openly discussed and spoken about, the easier it is to break down these barriers and the ‘taboo’ that sadly surrounds it.
For parents who are concerned about your child’s mental health, it is normal to feel scared/confused or wonder where it ‘went wrong’. I would like to offer comfort here by telling you that mental illness does not discriminate; meaning that it can affect anyone regardless of their age, gender, ethnicity, religion, childhood, background etc. And the exact cause of most mental disorders is unknown, but research suggests that it can be due to a number of factors.
How you can help…
It is common for adults to misunderstand the importance of, a child’s mental health, sometimes hoping that it is just a ‘phase’, or the child is ‘attention seeking’. The evidence shows that we should encourage children to understand and verbalise their own thoughts and feelings. This can be done through using a range of occupations such as games, drawings/pictures, stories and even using creative activities. To allow them to express what they might be experiencing.
Similarly, when children do express difficult emotions, we might be inclined to tell them ‘it’s all going to be fine’ or ‘there is nothing to worry about’. As much as we want them to feel okay, doing this invalidates their emotions. A better approach is to have open conversations with them, getting them to discuss their feelings, helping them to focus on the positives and where appropriate talking to them about your own feelings. Doing this will reinforce to them that you care and that you are there to listen to them when they need you to.
My final thought is to encourage everyone to educate themselves further on the signs and symptoms of common mental health problems and research what support and services are available for children and young adults. The quicker we can intervene and give a child the help that they need, the less likely these problems are to persist into adulthood.
World Mental Health Day 2020 is fast approaching and with this year being incredibly tough for so many people across the globe due to the impact of Covid-19, I feel it is more important than ever to raise awareness of mental health conditions.
Mental health conditions have now been recognised as a global health concern with latest statistics showing that 1 in 4 adults in the UK will experience a mental health illness. In recent years, we’ve seen a shift in the way we talk about mental health as the topic has been given more attention in the media, allowing more people to open up conversations about how they are really feeling.
A partnership between the charity Heads Together and the FA formed to launch the campaign “Heads Up”. Prince William is the main spokesperson and it is one of the most talked about mental health campaigns this year. Their campaign raises the issue of the stigma surrounding mental health, particularly for men and aims to encourage more people to feel comfortable talking about their mental health. Dele Alli, Frank Lampard and Harry Maguire are some of the many footballers that have been involved in the campaign, reminding us that mental health is just as important as physical health.
Other high-profile public figures such as Prince Harry, Freddie Flintoff and Fearne Cotton have recently shared their struggles with mental health in hope that it will encourage others to speak out and get help.
Mental health conditions are now more widely accepted, and we appear to be moving in the right direction. However, there is still stigma attached to these conditions and with suicide being the single biggest killer of UK men under the age of 45, it would seem more still needs to be done.
I believe that occupational therapy can play a huge role in the prevention and recovery from mental illness. Occupational therapy aims to improve health and wellbeing through facilitating engagement in occupations which include activities, roles and routines. Occupational therapists provide practical support to help individuals overcome barriers that prevent them from engaging in meaningful activities, enhancing independence, assisting recovery and promoting a positive mental wellbeing. We use a holistic approach to apply interventions which can involve implementing healthy routines, developing leisure interests, education on coping strategies and developing skills that are needed for independent living and self-care.
I believe that practising self-care is something that we can all do to maintain a positive mental wellbeing and it shouldn’t be overlooked. Self-care is about prioritising time for taking care of your mental, physical and emotional health. Self-care can be anything you enjoy or find meaningful which can have a significant positive impact on your mood and mental wellbeing. I try to make time for self-care at least once a day, usually in the evening. Some of my favourite self-care activities that I like to do are running, reading and cleaning my environment, seeing family and friends and keeping to a regular sleeping routine. Self-care isn’t selfish and can keep us in tune with our minds and bodies.
I hope we can learn more about mental health conditions, reduce the stigma and expand the services for individuals experiencing them. Getting involved in events like World Mental Health Day and speaking out about mental health conditions are a great way to do this.
I love my job and get huge satisfaction and reward from almost every aspect of it. There are challenges and disappointments, of course, and not everything goes to plan (the best laid plans and all that!) and being self-employed means that I have found myself having to learn lots of additional skills very quickly! In my undergraduate degree in Occupational Therapy, I didn’t learn how to manage accounts, develop a website or market a business through social media. Of course I didn’t, they are very specific and highly skilled jobs (not really needed when I trained 20 years ago), so no wonder if find myself struggling at times with tasks that are way beyond my skills and experience.
Since starting my own business around 2 years ago, I know that I am generally happier in life, calmer at home and consider myself very lucky that I never get the ‘Sunday night blues’ at the thought of work on a Monday morning. What a great place to be in! And a big ‘phew’ as it was a risk to leave a wonderful, secure, rewarding job at LOROS Hospice and take a leap of faith into self-employment.
Part of my reasoning for making that decision was about addressing my own mental health needs. I have had problems with anxiety and panic in the past (and sometimes now still) and have found really effective ways to look after my mental health and wellbeing, but I have wanted to start my own business for many years and finally found the courage to do so. I know that achieving my goals helps my mental health and it was one goal that I felt compelled to go for.
What I have learned, more than ever, is how important it is to practice what I preach. On a daily basis, I support people in workplaces, schools, businesses and in individual therapy to develop strategies to improve their own and others mental health. I passionately believe in the approaches I use and the value of occupational therapy, but this is strengthened by the fact that I promote these from both a professional and personal perspective. Given the intensity of my work, I know that there is potential that my mental health could be affected if I didn’t use effective self-care/resilience strategies.
Each week I purposefully take time to look at my diary, see what face to face work is booked in and work out where my rest, recovery and self-care activities are going to fit in with a pretty busy work schedule. I now see which tasks are way beyond me and do my best to outsource what I can to the experts in that field. I meditate daily and have a mindful attitude (most of the time!) to my work and home life. When I notice any of this slipping or I start to get feelings of overwhelm (which I do from time to time, I’m human), I know that I need to get back on track with self-care, etc.
Taking care of your mental health is not about having the odd day at a spa or running yourself a bath when you’re really stressed. It’s the small, frequent events that you do purposefully to take care of yourself before you reach overload. It’s saying no when you need to and finding the people who you can talk to about anything and everything! I am very lucky to have a lot of support personally and professionally and will never take that for granted. And so …. long may I stay self-employed as it is one of the greatest gifts I have given to myself.
