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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Accessible Countryside for Everyone (ACE) has details of green spaces accessible by those with restricted mobility, wheelchair, pushchair and mobility scooter users. Go to:
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:
It’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 blogLearn more about Shean and her approach to therapy with her clients
“The kitchen is a place of solace, where problems are solved.”
Nadiya Hussain (British Chef)
“I just had an instinct that it [comedy] was the right thing to do.
It felt so natural to just talk to people and know there’s only going to be maybe two or three reactions – they’d laugh, get angry, or just stare me out.”
Fern Brady (Scottish Comedienne)
“Getting away from everything, sniffing about on my own, was not only fuelling that curiosity and funding that fascination for nature. It was also giving me that comfort zone.”
Chris Packham (British naturalist & presenter)
“I like going to the gym every day.”
Frank Bruno (British former professional boxer)
Answer: All the above public figures have spoken openly about their mental health & all are describing occupations that are important to them.
What are Occupations?
Occupations are the activities that we need, want, or like to do, and give meaning, value & purpose to our lives.
Occupations and Mental Health
Changes in our mental health can mean we may struggle or feel unable to carry out our usual occupations.
For example, if we experience low mood, we may feel less motivated than usual, or if feeling stressed, we may find it difficult to concentrate and focus on what we need to do.
Occupational Therapy
Occupational Therapists support people to overcome challenges completing occupations, whilst ensuring you have the skills needed to do them. We also consider how the environment around you is impacting on this.
This may include adapting familiar occupations or together, identifying new ones.
Occupational Therapists offer an individual, holistic and person-centred approach, meaning that we will work towards what is important for you in a way that feels right for you.
