Category Archives: Occupational Therapy
O is for… (#atozchallenge)
O is for…
Occupational Therapy, Occupational Science and all things Occupation
I shall start with a couple of definitions:
‘Occupation: A group of activities that has personal and sociocultural meaning, is named within a culture and supports participation in society. Occupations can be categorized as self-care, productivity and/or leisure.’ (Creek, 2010 p. 25)
‘Engagement: A sense of involvement, choice, positive meaning and commitment while performing an occupation or activity.’ (Creek, 2010 p. 25)
In short then Occupational Therapists help people engage with the occupations in their lives. Additionally we can use these same occupations in our intervention plans with clients.
A fellow OT, Bridgett Piernik-Yoder, completing the a-z challenge on all things OT, posted for D on the domain of the OT and looks at what OTs do in more detail. Please check out her post here.
The British Association/College of Occupational Therapists has recently produced a range of videos showing how OTs might work with clients with a number of conditions.
Occupational Therapists could however work with anybody who is experiencing a change in their normal occupational pattern (or occupational disruption) whether they have a recognised disability or medical condition or not. Some of the potential areas I personally think OTs could work are, with new parents (what a disruption), older people entering retirement (it can be more challenging than you think having all that free time 
) and students starting university (I know I could have done with some additional cookery and domestic skills!).
Prior to becoming a lecturer in OT I worked in physical rehabilitation, most recently with older adults following a fall or with adults of any age post stroke. I facilitated clients to work on goals as diverse as making themselves a hot drink and carrying it through to the lounge to learning how to type and send an e-mail to preparing someone to return to employment. Interventions were as varied as fabricating hand splints, taking someone shopping to work on their memory and sequencing, providing equipment at home, teaching alternative strategies, such as how to dress using one handed techniques, working on strength and balance and falls safety in a falls group and completing a work place visit to assess what demands would be placed on someone with lasting cognitive impairment.
I have to say that I loved this variety and the contact with clients and their carers and I do sometimes miss it but I really enjoy educating future practitioners too.
One of the best things about returning to academia has been revisiting the theory that underpins occupational therapy practice and really gaining an appreciation of my, and our, profession’s core underlying belief that occupational engagement can affect our health and wellbeing. It is this that has driven my topic for my PhD research. An occupational exploration of creative writing as an occupation.
Another definition for you now:
‘Occupational Science: Academic discipline of the social sciences aimed at producing a body of knowledge on occupation through theory generation, and systematic, disciplined methods of inquiry.’ (Creek, 2010, p. 29)
Everybody is now focussed on delivering evidence based interventions and occupational science aims to help provide this supporting knowledge for our profession as well as society as a whole. (Just a note that Occupational Scientists are not always OTs, but can amd should be anyone interested in the science of doing).
Personally I am not going to be looking at creative writing as therapy (at least not for for my PhD, maybe later) but I will be exploring why writers write and what that can teach us about that occupation and occupations in general.
Wish me luck.
I hope that this post has helped you understand OT a little better; it is a fantastic profession to be a part of and I really hope the value of our services are seen as vital to however health and social care ends up being structured in the UK. On my to do list is to speak to my local MP about Occupational Therapy, why not speak to yours too?
References
Creek, J., 2010. The Core Concepts of Occupational Therapy: a dynamic framework for practice. London: Jessica Kingsley Publishers.
I would like to say the above represents my own opinions and may not reflect that of all OTs.
Any questions or comments please share below.
M is for… (#atozchallenge)
M is for…
Mindfulness, Minddumping and Memory
This is something I’ve mentioned before but I thought it deserved more attention.
In January I took part in the ‘a river of stones’ writing challenge, that asked us to really pay attention to one thing each day and to write a small stone about it. See my previous post ‘Skimming Stones into 2011′ for details.
The resulting book ‘pay attention’ is now available from lulu. I have linked to the paperback but it is also available as a download or hardcover.
As we grow ever busier in our daily lives we race around, jump in the shower and don’t feel the water on our skin, scoff down food so we don’t taste it and do two or three things at once, never truly being ‘in the moment’ of any of them. This is where Mindfulness comes in. This is growing in popularity as a therapeutic tool and should be something we can try and incorporate into our everyday activities. When was the last time you stood outside and breathed the air in deep, felt a flower petal or leaf, looked at the picture on the wall of the room you’re in? Kids can be good teachers for this.
Another useful tool can be something I like to term minddumping. This is basically an outpouring (it can be a verbal offloading to a friend) of everything that is on your mind. I think I’m in need of this. When I do I will write a to do list (it won’t always help me get everything done but it will help me take stock and feel a little more in control), I might also write about what I’m feeling or just put pen to paper and scribble away. This latter thought can be a useful tool for creative writing too, and is often called freewriting.
I have to say this blog is a useful place for a minddump (sorry about that guys) and it may become increasingly handy as I progress in my PhD. For me it also serves as a great Memory aid. I enjoy going back and reading things I’ve written (fictional and otherwise). It helps me remember things I’ve done or seen. I was at my parents house tonight looking for a children’s picture book I have vague recollections off reading (It’s about a party in a castle where everyone gets a number and they have to climb the stairs to find the step with the same number. On the steps were a box with food in. That’s all I can remember but if that rings any bells for anyone please let me know). I didn’t find that book but spotted another called The Tovers, I don’t remember the story but I remember the picture.
Do you minddump? What are the benefits for you?
How could you/do you incorporate mindfulness into your day?
Are any of my OTs using mindfulness in practice? How?
Do you know the title of the book I’ve mentioned above or how I can find it (I’ve tried Google!)
L is for… (#atozchallenge)
L is for…
Laughter and Tears
They say laughter is the best medicine and I would agree that it can do you the world of good.
Only recently I had one of those moments where something happens that cracks you up so much that you just cannot stop laughing and it hurts so much but feels so good afterwards.
Please see this link for what triggered it. You can hear the start of my sister’s laughing, it was only when I saw the video that I got why, I thought both eyes were doing it.
Maybe you had to be there and have my sister making it worse by also being in hysterics. Mind you her boyfriend was there, couldn’t see what was so funny and left us to it, backing away hastily.
What is it that makes things funny for you?
I think, however, that the power of tears is severely underestimated. Seriously girls and guys, it is ok to cry. I’m the first to admit that maybe I do it a little too often and, for me, it appears to be my stock approach to feeling sad, feeling angry, feeling overtired and I also cry with laughter. But crying is surely not worse than bottling your emotions up (before you say it guys who know me, yes there have been a number of occasions when I wish I could have waited to cry in a more private . When I was in practice I began to see an increasing number of clients with somatization. This is where psychological symptoms can manifest as physical problems and pains (see link for fuller explanation). This is an area that really interests me and I hope to look into it more in future.
I know myself that there are times when I’ve thought, ‘I’ve not had a good cry in a while’ and I will resort to a good weepy movie otherwise I will feel in a funk until I’ve had that emotional release.
Do you feel the need to cry or are you a stiff upper lipper?
K is for… (#atozchallenge)
K is for…
Kate Monster
K was going to be for the Kawa River Model and Kielhofner (with MOHO)(See my occupational therapy links widget for more info. These are two occupational therapy practice models that I am interested to explore further to see if any of their concepts might apply to my PhD research. Please feel free to share your views. It could also have been for Kindle (I have one, not used it too much) – there are big debates going on about whether Kindles are helping authors or not.
But, I really don’t have time for blogging today so K is now for Kate Monster. I have just been to see the musical Avenue Q at the Mayflower in Southampton. Kate Monster is one of the puppet characters, she is a single girl at the start of the show and she is actually quite similar to me (I felt her songs!). I have to say I absolutely loved this show, it is hilarious. Do go and see it if you can – but it is not one for the kids these are most definitely adult puppets. With songs with titles such as ‘The Internet is for Porn’ and ‘Everyone’s a little bit racist’ you can’t be too surprised I guess.
I’ve just ordered the soundtrack Avenue Q – The Musical [Soundtrack]
I is for… (#atozchallenge)
- I is for…
- Clark, F.A, Jackson, J. and Carlson, M. 2004. Occupational Science, Occupational Therapy and Evidence-based Practice: What the Well Elderly Study has Taught Us. In: Molineux, M. 2004. Occupation for Occupational Therapists. Oxford: Blackwell Publications, 200-218.
- Iwama, M. 2010. Cultural Perspectives on Occupation. In. Christiansen, C.H., Townsend, E.A., 2010. Introduction to Occupation: The Art and Science of Living, 2nd ed. New Jersey: Pearson, 35-55.
- Wilcock, A.A. 2003. Occupational Science: The Study of Humans as Occupational Beings. In: Kramer, P., Hinojosa, J., Brasic Royeen, C. 2003. Perspectives in Human Occupation: Participation in Life. Philadeplhia: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, 156-180.
Identity (and iPad)
As you may have seen my blog is not just on one theme, it’s not just a writing blog, not just an OT blog, not just a PhD student blog (not yet even but elements coming soon), it’s a me blog (ooo doesn’t that sound self-centred?). Now I could have had two or three separate blogs but I would find it so difficult to split what went where. All of these different elements form my identity and I wouldn’t feel right splitting them.
As an occupational therapist I believe that our sense of self and identity comes from what we do (the ‘occupations’ or activities we engage in our daily lives) and the roles we play. As such our occupations play a huge part in our personal feelings of health and wellbeing.
Wilcock (2003, p. 175) cite Whiteford and Wicks (2000, p.48) who discuss the idea of an ‘occupational persona’:
“That dimension of self shaped by a myriad of factors both biological and sociocultural, which is predisposed, as well as driven toward, engagement in certain types of occupations. Through the process of such engagement and the outcomes generated, the occupational persona is shaped, and to some extent reinvented over time.”
Iwama (2010) also suggests that self is ‘embedded in the environment‘.
To me these quotes mean that aspects of our personal nature (things like being an owl or a lark, short or tall, shy or extrovert) as well as nurture (how/where we are bought up, what opportunities we were afforded) as well as our environmental contexts (the place we live and work and socialise), the people around us, the culture we are, shape what we do and thus our identity. This can change and develop over time.
I always hear people I know, and myself, saying “I couldn’t do what they do”. This is most definitely a good thing. After all we need all types of people doing all types of things to make society work.
Within the last few years I have been diagnosed with dyspraxia, I’ve clearly always been dyspraxic and having read about the condition I can see that it has always affected me. Although I now tick the box to say I have a disability, generally I would not identify myself as disabled. Others though may feel differently and if I had had this diagnosis earlier in life maybe I would have a different opinion of this and a different identity. Disability then, to me, isn’t an automatic feature of having a specific health condition if you can still accomplish what you want or need to. At times I feel perhaps that I have been made to feel disabled by environments or processes around me. This is a common theme in literature about disability, that people are disabled by their environment (whether this is physical or in terms of the attitudes of those around them) rather than by the condition or label they are given.
Instead I identify with being an OT (even though I am not currently practising, my current emersion in occupational literature, teaching about OT, communicating with other OTs (via Twitter and Blogs even)and students on placement), a lecturer (through writing and presenting lectures, facilitating group sessions), a writer (through writing, reading about writing, blogging, running an online writing community, thinking about writing), a sister, a daughter, a granddaughter, a friend (through spending time socialising, talking on the phone, visiting, listening to, laughing with etc).
I also look forward to, in future, developing my potential roles and occupations in being a researcher, a girlfriend, a wife, a mother, grandmother etc. Knowing some new mothers I do think that it is likely that my identity in terms of my work and the importance that plays in my life may change (and probably rightly so).
It may be that identity is transient but there are some occupational identities that I think stay with us, like a fellow OT @claireOT said to myself and @GentleChaos on Twitter, “once an OT, always an OT. (like king or queen of Narnia. and order of phoenix, obvs.)”. I think that’s true and that I will always be an occupational therapist and possibly always have been without having a word to call it (it is weird how when a new group of students arrive in the university you can almost always identify them relating to the profession they are enrolled in).
How does this apply to life or practice? For therapists, or people in general, I think at times we can impose an identity on someone based on their condition, e.g. a stroke survivor, a person with a learning disability, a person with depression. But we need to look beyond this to what they have done in the past, what they do now and importantly what they’d like to do. We can do this by simply taking the time to talk to that person and find out. The stroke survivor may have been an astronaut, the person with a learning disability may enjoy acting in a theatre group, the person with depression might be you or me.
Please feel free to leave comments – I have no questions for you today but an activity:
Activity for you to post to your blogs (please link back here or place a link in the comments)
(This activity is taken (with only minor amendments) from Clark et al, 2004, p. 214)
Collect together ten pictures of yourself taking part in occupations (or activities) that best characterise your sense of self. Arrange them in an order that shows us your story (e.g. chapters of your life, different elements such as work, rest and play). Tell us a little about them and in essence your identity. These pictures can be from past and present. You may want to add pictures of occupations you would like to become involved in (though you won’t have pictures of you doing this unless you photoshop them).
(I’ll try and do this too – I’ve not got the pictures ready though)
References
I’ve got to squeeze a word or two in for my iPad which I think has solidified my identity as a gadget geek. I do plan to do a top 10 apps feature (or two or three) after the A-Z challenge has finished.
I hope this post makes sense, I’ve had to do it in a but more of a rush than I’d like because some of my other occupational identities have taken over!!
E is for… (#atozchallenge)
E is for…
E
By e I don’t mean the mathematical constant (whatever that is) or e=mc2
I mean e for electronic, as in e-learning, e-CPD, e-portfolio, e-books and so on.
One of the big debates of the moment is about e-books and whether they are helping publishing and writers. As an administrator of an online Writing Community I can say that the emergence of e-publishing has made it pretty easy (and cheap) for me to publish competition anthologies and a magazine for http://www.slingink.com. I have done this through http://www.lulu.com. The only real financial layout I have had is in ordering the proof copies of the print books so that they can be distributed though other retailers. The books can be made available as a PDF download or individual customers can make a print on demand order all managed through lulu. They’ve also just contacted me to say they are putting the books forward to become available through iBooks (a word of caution you do have to have some, or get some, technical knowledge of PDF formats to create an uploadable file).
Of course it’s the Amazon Kindle that really seems to be driving the e-book market forward and allowing authors to self-publish their material and in some cases make more money doing this than they would through traditional publishing. The name that springs to mind is Amanda Hocking and you can read her recent blog post about her switching back to traditional publishing here.
When I have something decent written I may well turn to Kindle myself too.
My C post was on CPD and one of the things I have been investigating over the last few years at work is finding an e-portfolio tool that will support my students (and myself) to maintain our CPD and share elements of it with potential employers, our registering body and others. In fact my presentation at last year’s College of Occupational Therapists Annual Conference was on this topic. One of the biggest findings that arose from an audit I completed was that current practice was still very much paper based and I think this is a factor that is preventing e-portfolios taking hold once students leave university. I think I’ll leave this topic here today and post in more detail at a later date. The search continues…
I am a huge supporter of e-learning and by this I mean using online technologies to support learning. As an Open University alumni I have been an e-learner myself, distance learning using the Firstclass forums. The OUs OpenLearn initiative to share free learning resources means that everyone with access to a computer can get a flavour of a range of subjects. In my professional life it is e-learning and developing online resources that inspires me and I have used Facebook, podcasts, blogs, wikis, e-portfolios to name but a few to, hopefully, enhance the learning experience of my students.
Despite my love of all things e, I think there is a place for traditional means and methods too.
I have a kindle but I am not planning on selling any of my books anytime soon and as my B post demonstrates I love Books (weirdly enough a second hand smoky smelling, liquid book arrived through the post (which had been described as in Good condition) – I am sending it back and debating buying the kindle version instead.
I still have to buy albums in CD format (though I will download singles) and films and TV shows have to contribute to my DVD collection.
At one of the sessions at the e-portfolio conference I attended in Birmingham recently, the speaker discussed having given students a choice of how to gather evidence for a portfolio, scrapbooking was a more popular option than e-portfolios.
As good as e-learning can be there are some things that can only be taught face to face. I particularly enjoy one to one or small group sessions where I can really get a flavour of what students have learnt.
A few questions for you:
What have your experiences of e-learning be? In what situations would e-learning be the best method to learn and in what situations would other methods be better?
Has anyone used an e-portfolio? What type? What were your experiences? OTs, if there was a readily accessible e-portfolio system available for you to use, would you? Why/Why not?
Writers what do you think of the e-book versus traditional publishing route?
C is for… (#atozchallenge)
C is for…
Creativity in CPD
UK Occupational Therapists, I don’t want to burst any bubbles of denial but did you know that the two yearly audit of CPD activity is coming up again this summer, ready for our November re-registration?
Is that nod you are giving me a smug, ‘my CPD folder is completely up to date’ or a slow nod of fear? My nod lies part way between these.
CPD for the uninitiated stands for Continuing Professional Development (or at least it does in this case).
This blog post will hopefully help you to see where you have completed CPD already, provide links to useful resources and hopefully make you less fearful of being randomly selected for audit and preparing your profile. (Come back again on April 21st where I’ll be talking about Reflection in more detail).
The first thing to say is that CPD is not just about attending courses, nowadays money to actually do this may be tight. See what the Health Professions Council (soon to become the Health and Care Professions Council) say constitutes CPD activity. What can you already tick off as having done in the last two years? What could you do in the next few months? Next see what they suggest can provide evidence of CPD. What can you gather together to put into a folder (whether this is in paper or electronic format)?
Now I called this post creativity in CPD because I believe that we may have to create these opportunities ourselves but I think we can also be creative with this.
- If you are reading this post then I suspect that you are engaged with social media. Why not summarise what you’ve learnt from your engagement with this over the past two years. What contacts or networks have you developed?
- Do you watch television programmes and films, read books, newspapers and magazines? What have these taught you about occupations, conditions, life… that you can apply to your practice?
- How can you demonstrate that what you do in your home life and spare time applies to development of professional skills, i.e. transferable skills?
- Have you experienced a situation that went really well? Do you know why? Can you read around the topic to see what theory might help you understand the situation better. Or can you be creative and write something from the Point of View of a colleague you were working with or the client. Note the additional insights this gives you so that you can try to replicate the positive experience next time.
- You don’t just have to write, you could capture your CPD through drawing, painting or photography. You could video yourself or tape an audio reflection (be sure to gain consent or maintain confidentiality with any means you use).
- Now if you do have money available for training in your department why not see if you can get sponsored to attend the Annual Conference in Brighton. I attended my first conference last year and I found it so useful. If you can’t attend follow the tweets on Twitter using the hashtag #cot2011.
- The BAOT/COT website has the Interactive Learning Opportunities Database available to members with links to relevant training and resources such as reflective tools.
- An excellent CPD activity would be to take a student on placement with you, why not speak to your department’s practice placement coordinator about this or if you are a private practitioner contact your local university.
So if you are called up for audit what will you be expected to do?
You will need to write a profile explaining the CPD activity you have completed over the last two years and how it has helped you meet the HPC’s 5 Standards of CPD. You also need to provide a few select examples of evidence to support this profile. Some of the documents you could use to check your activity against are, your job description and person specification, your appraisal documentation and KSF outline (if in the NHS). Also take a look at both your COT and HPC Codes of Ethics and Conduct and the HPC Standards of Proficiency for Occupational Therapists.
I hope you now feel you can you show your CPD has been continuous and is up to date, that you have completed a range of activities, that these have improved the quality of your practice and that it has been of benefit service users.
On this page you can find completed examples of a practitioner, manager or educator profile.
My final suggestion would be that we all aim to complete our profiles over the next few months rather than waiting for the audit, reviewing how far you’ve progressed over the last two years can be a positive experience and it can help show what we still have to learn so that we can plan goals for the next two years (after all it is called Continuing Professional Development). Why not do this as a departmental CPD activity and review your profiles with your colleagues?
Hoping this has been helpful – look forward to reading your comments and queries.
Skimming Stones into 2011
Dear all,
Life passes us by so quickly now that we barely have time to breathe, let alone stop and take notice.
Well January is a time for new resolutions and there’s one that’s sweeping Twitter and bloggers – it’s simple – lots of people are resolving to take more notice.
Fiona Robyn, a writer has set up ‘a river of stones‘ – a month long challenge starting 01.01.11 to take notice of something each day and to write a ‘small stone’ about it.
Fiona describes small stones as ‘a very short piece of writing that precisely captures a fully-engaged moment.’ Although you write down these stones, you can choose to keep them private and you don’t have to be a writer.
For some more ideas on how to ‘polish your stones’ – check out what Fiona has to say here.
I have shared this project with Occupational Therapists and Occupational Therapy Students too because this is a prime example of a mindfulness technique. Mindfulness within occupational therapy is growing, especially within mental health. The theory is about connectedness with our world. It’s not just about being mindful in terms of taking time to meditate but being mindful in our daily occupations. Noticing the sensation of brushing our teeth, the feel of ingredients we are preparing, their smell, their taste. Really listening to someone, identifying their tone, noticing their expressions. Being aware.
I know that a lot of my writerly friends are going to engage in this journey of discovery – I hope that ‘non’ writers join us and discover themselves, their world and their inner poet.
How to join in
The simplest way is to jot down your stones in a notebook but if you would like to share them you can ‘sign up on the site‘ (I’ve added a widget to the right to share the river of stones – apologies this has been removed as it wasn’t working). You can set up a blog or on your exisiting blog use the tag aros against your stone posts. On twitter people are using the hashtag #aros. Or you can post to your Facebook status.
I will be posting here and on Twitter (which will post to Facebook). I have also made a Keynote presentation on my iPad that has a slide per page where I can post a picture and write my stone. This will then be zipped up in a pretty format to keep when January is over.
Now we haven’t officially started but I’ve just taken notice of something out of the corner of my eye so this one is just a bit of fun.
My eye catches a spider – lets it go as a speck – I really need to hoover!
Kirsty
NaNoWriMo and Cancer Research UK
I have decided to participate in NaNoWriMo (or National Novel Writing Month for the uninitiated) to raise money for Cancer Research UK. This is a personal challenge for two reasons, obviously I would love to meet the 50,000 word target but more importantly I have just found out that a family member has cancer for the second time.
You can find out more about my reasons and sponsor me at http://www.justgiving.com/Kirsty-Stanley.
If you decide to pledge based on my word count please make a note of your pledge below (to keep me on track). Please note comments will be moderated so be reassured they will be made visible once I’ve waded through the spam.
Please follow my updates here and on twitter (kirstyes) and use these to talk to me and keep me motivated).
Thanks for your support.
Kirsty
