OT & Chill

Episode 49 – Conversation with Jennifer Creek In this episode, I am joined by Jennifer Creek who is a well-known and highly respected Occupational Therapist. Similarly to Sue Baptiste from episode from 48, Jennifer Creek has contributed extensively to the profession through her publications around occupational therapy and mental health and many other areas. In this episode, we have a conversation...

Episode 48 – Conversation with Sue Baptiste In this episode, I am joined by Sue Baptiste who is a well-respected Occupational Therapist. She has contributed extensively to the profession through her work with the WFOT. She is recognised as one of the founding members of the Canadian Occupational Performance Measure. She has also contributed to Occupational Therapy literature with work in books and...

Episode 47 – Box Positive In this episode, I am joined by Charles Delve (Twitter: @Charles_Delve ), an Occupational Therapist and boxing coach based in the UK. Charles shares his work experience about the use of boxing in his practice, particularly with people diagnosed with Parkinsons Disease. Charles breaks down the activity and how it can have a positive impact on helping people to engage in th...

Episode 46 – No Shame In Sharing In this episode, I am joined by Richard Barrett (Twitter: @RBarrettOT), an Occupational Therapist based in the UK. Richard shares his lived experiences of mental illness and adverse childhood experiences and how this inspired him to want to work with young people. Richard is also a mental health blogger. His blog “Therapy for the Therapist” is a fantastic blog wher...

Episode 45 - RCOT Conference 2021 Review Farrah (OT Whats Your Focus? Podcast) and I put a call out for people to get to get together following the Royal Collage of Occupational Therapy 2021 conference had gone for them, thier learning and any other reflections. The episode starts with myself speaking with Steve Ford (CEO of RCOT) about his thoughts regarding the conference and future plans for th...

Episode 44 – Student Led Occupational Therapy Society In this episode, I am joined by the committee members (Daisy Doncaster, Joyce Mutoko, Elizabeth Ollivierre & Rebekah Downing) from the London South Bank University Occupational Therapy Society. We discuss the opportunities and challenges of running a student led society, the value it adds to the student experience, the learning from it, what th...

Episode 43 - OT Apprenticeship & Role Emerging Placement In this episode, I speak to Megan Malpass (Twitter: @Megan_OT20 & Paige Lee (Twitter: @paigeOT1). They are currently undertaking the Occupational Therapy Apprenticeship routine to become a qualified therapists. We discuss some of the pros and cons of taking this pathway. We move on to discuss their most recent role emerging placement working...

Episode 42 – Unlocking OT Potential in Criminal Justice System In the final episode of the OT criminal justice system mini-series, I am joined by Crystal Dieleman. Crystal is currently an associate professor at Dalhousie University in Canada and has spent most of her career working and researching the area Occupational Therapy, mental health and criminal justice system. In this episode, we discuss...

Episode 41 – Developing OT In Scottish Prisons On this week’s episode, I am in conversation with Stephanie Morrison, an Occupational Therapist and Lecturer based in Scotland about her experiences and work in developing and promoting the role of Occupational Therapy in Scottish prisons. Stephanie shares some of the projects she has been involved in and the outcomes of these before moving on to disc...

Episode 40 – Prison & Sensory Approaches On this week’s episode, I am in conversation with Gisele Craswell, an Occupational Therapist based in Canada about the use of sensory approaches in prison environment. We discuss the sensory experiences of people in prison and the possible impact on functioning. We also discuss what the evidence says about sensory interventions and mental health, the ch...

Episode 39 – OT Service In Prison: Integrated Support Unit On this week’s episode, I am in conversation with Charlotte French (@charfrenchOT), an Occupational Therapist in a remand prison in the North East of England about her role in an Integrated Support Unit which aims to support people experiencing mental health difficulties. We discuss what the unit looks like and the interventions and assess...

Episode 38 – Youth Justice and OT Continuing with the OT in criminal justice system, in this episode, I am joined by Natalie Shearer (@NatalieS_OT) & Toks Odutayo (@TokunboTweetz) to discuss their work with young people in the community as part of the youth justice service in London. They share some of the opportunities and challenges of their roles and how they try and put the Occupational Therap...

Episode 37 - Long Covid and Me In this episode, I am joined by Helen Skiffington who shares her experience of Long Covid. Helen experienced the symptoms of covid back in March 2020 and continues to be affected until now. She talks about the impact it has had on her ability to engage in meaningful and productive activities such as work, exercise and other leisure activities. If you are experiencing...

Episode 36 – Standing For RCOT Council Seat For England In this episode, I am joined by Kalimah Ibrahiim to why she is standing for the RCOT council member seat for England. Members of the Royal College of Occupational Therapists (RCOT) in England have the democratic right to select a candidate for the seat of Council Member. With the ballots closing on Friday, 4th May 2021 at 12noon, I took an op...

Episode 35 – Leading Healthcare In Prison In this episode, I am joined by Rachel Gibbs to discuss the healthcare provision in Northern Ireland prison service. Rachel has an Occupational Therapy background but is now in a senior leadership position. She discusses how she has used her leadership position to improve the prison healthcare system especially in relation to increase in allied health prof...

Episode 34 – Prison Mental Health OT In this episode, I am joined by Charlotte Wise & Katie Vaneker to discuss their roles working in mental health teams within a prison. We discuss what a typical day looks like and the challenges around this and the difficulty in maintaining an occupation focused practice in a highly restricted environment. Katie also shares her experience of having spent a month...

Episode 33 – Be Your Own OT? In this episode, I chill with Victoria Roberts discussing the difficulty we as Occupational Therapist experience in using some of the concepts and theories in the profession on ourselves when we are experiencing burnout/ difficulties with work. Victoria shares her own personal journey in overcoming some of the difficulties she has experienced over the years as an OT an...

Episode 32 - Parental & Perinatal Mental Health In this episode, I am in conversation with Sarah Maris-Shaw and Somia Jan about the Occupational Therapy role in parental and perinatal mental health working with women and babies.  For more information about the role of the perinatal occupational therapist visit the e-learning link at NHS Health Education England: https://www.e-lfh.org.uk/p...

Episode 31 - Use of Humour in Occupational Therapy In this episode, I speak again with Alice Hortop from Episode 27, about the use of humour in Occupational Therapy. Alice shares the benefits humour can have during therapeutic interactions and when it is or not appropriate to use it. We also discuss the impact humour/laughing/smiling can have on us as individuals working in stressful environments...

Episode 30 – Hoarding & Occupational Therapy In this episode, I am in conversation in Brigitte Hoare. We have a discussion about hoarding and the role Occupational Therapy can have in this area. Hoarding is often viewed negatively but it is important to understand some of the experiences of those who may engage in this in. Brigitte shares her experiences working in this area with her own indep...

Episode 29 – Occupational Therapy In Ghana In this episode, I am in conversation in Ann Sena Fordie. She is an Occupational Therapist based in Ghana. We discuss both the history and current state of the profession in the country. Ann also discuss about her position as the president of Occupational Therapy Association of Ghana (OTAG) and the impact the association are hoping to have on the wellbein...

Episode 28 – Sport For Confidence In this episode, I am joined by Lyndsey Barratt from award winning organisation Sport For Confidence . We discuss the role and impact of Occupational Therapy within the organisation, the power of sport and physical activity and her hopes and vision for the future of the organisation. You can follow Lyndsey and her colleagues on twitter @Sportforconf and @OT4PA and...

Episode 27 – Involuntary Childlessness In this episode, I talk with Alice Hortop about her personal experience of involuntary childlessness and the impact it can have on identity, mental wellbeing and the assumptions people may make of those without children. We touch on understanding the importance of both social connectedness and solitude when one may be experiencing difficult times. If you have...

Episode 26 - Pathways To Purpose In this episode, I chill out with Hannah Manning to explore her journey into Occupational Therapy before discussing her current role and the use of nature and gardening within this. We finish off by diving deep into her mindset coaching work and how she helps individuals unlock thier purpose and potential. You can find out more about Hannah's mindset coaching work...

Episode 25 – Let’s Talk Preceptorship Transition from a student to newly-qualified in practice can at times be a difficult one. Here in the UK, the preceptorship process is a way of helping newly-qualified Occupational Therapist to make that transition a little bit smoother. In this episode, I speak with 5 Occupational Therapists about their experiences of engaging in the preceptorship process in...