Occupied

Do you ever wish communication in healthcare was more efficient? Clarissa does – all the time. In this episode, Clarissa shares how her frustrations with clinical communication led her to seek out a job in the health technology industry, and what she learnt about transferability of Occupational Therapy skills in the process. Clarissa (@geekyOT on Twitter) works in forensic mental health, and also for the secure messaging app Pando. Pando is free to download in the UK. To get your name on the international waiting list, please email aline@hellopando.com Show Links:https://hellopando.com/https://hellopando.com/privacy-centre/https://geekyot.com/ Keep occupied Brockbrock.cook@me.com@brockcookOT

DURING THIS PODCAST TOPICS SUCH AS BORDERLINE PERSONALITY DISORDER, SELF HARM AND EXPERIENCES OF TREATMENT ARE DISCUSSED. IF THIS IS A TRIGGER OR MAKES YOU UNCOMFORTABLE, LOOK AFTER YOURSELF AND DON’T FEEL LIKE YOU HAVE TO LISTEN.  OTforBPD was an account on Instagram and Facebook that I came across through MH4OT. They were putting out some practical and detailed resources for practitioners about the often misunderstood diagnostic category of Borderline Personality Disorder. BPD is a diagnosis that even though I encountered people who have it through my career, I do not feel like I had a good grasp on the user experience of it. I messaged the page and managed to track down the owner, Laura, who explained that she had a diagnosis of Borderline Personality Disorder, was a qualified OT and her mission was to help not only support others with BPD but to help educate OT’s and other health practitioners about BPD. Borderline personality disorder (BPD), is a mental illness characterized by a long-term pattern of unstable relationships, a distorted sense of self, and strong emotional reactions. There is often self-harm and other dangerous behavior. People may also struggle with a feeling of emptiness, fear of abandonment, and detachment from reality.[4] Symptoms may be triggered by seemingly normal events. The behavior typically begins by early adulthood and occurs across a variety of situations. Substance abuse, depression, and eating disorders are commonly associated with BPD. Up to 10% of people affected die by suicide.https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Borderline_personality_disorder I’m super grateful that she agreed to come onto Occupied and share her invaluable experience of navigating the health care system as a person with BPD. Laura was so kind and genuine. There is a sense of vulnerability in her words but a feeling of strength in her words. Check out OTforBPD here: https://www.facebook.com/OTforBPD/ View this post on Instagram A post shared by Laura, Anya & Ozias (@otforbpd) on Nov 28, 2019 at 12:27pm PST

PLEASE NOTE: This episode discusses topics such as colonisation and racism in multiple forms. The guests would like to make it clear that this episode does not sit as a ‘standalone’ teaching tool. If you are planning to share it with your cohorts of students we encourage you to use it alongside other aspects of the curriculum with cultural responsiveness with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. Have you ever considered the impact colonisation might have had on the indigenous peoples of your country? Have you ever considered the ongoing impact these historical events have had in terms of systemic racism and institutional marginalisation of our clients? Australia has a checkered and often hidden history when it comes to its colonisation by western entities. The impact that this event has had on Australia’s indigenous peoples is something that continues to impact them today. Today’s episode delves into the institutional racism and cultural isolation that continues today due to Australia’s colonisation in 1788. This conversation with Tirritpa Richie and Jodie Booth was deep, confronting and mindblowing all at the same time. I can’t express enough how important it is to listen to this one with an open mind and a critically self-reflective lens. Racism in Australia traces both historical and contemporary racist community attitudes, as well as political non-compliance and governmental negligence on United Nations human rights standard and incidents in Australia.[1] Contemporary Australia is the product of Indigenous peoples of Australia combined with multiple waves of immigration, predominantly from the United Kingdom and Ireland.https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Racism_in_Australia Personal Reflection 1As I reflected on in episode 044 This session had a HUGE impact on me, alerting me to many considerations in my own schema that I was completely naive to. At the Australian National Conference where Tirritpa Ritchie challenged the room to critically challenge their “whiteness” in the context of the service they deliver/teach. Map of Indigenous Australia – The map is an attempt to represent all the language, tribal or nation groups of the Indigenous peoples of Australia.  A huge thank you to Jodie Booth who brought this conversation together as its something we all wanted to do justice to as it is something that so important to Australian health care but also relevant to many many other western cultures around the world including the USA and Canada. Keep occupied Brockbrock.cook@me.com@brockcookOT

Breeanna Janson (@breetheOT) is an Australian OT who I discovered through Instagram and her amazing content. Bree often has “theme weeks” on Instagram where she would education on topics around Occupational Therapy and personal growth including meditation. Bree has a number of amazing projects on the go at once, most of which we touch on during this podcast. I really wanted to discuss meditation with her and its clinical application for OT’s. Bree has a side gig voicing guided meditations for an app called Bloom. She also utilises the benefits of meditation with a prison population in which she works with. On that topic, during the conversation, Bree introduced me to an amazing model called the Good Lives Model which we went through and she utilises to highlight where in a persons life meditation can have a huge impact. View this post on Instagram Here’s a pic of me from last Friday, doing more meditation recordings for @bloomapp ✨ @chloeszep @mollyjane A post shared by Breeanna Janson | Bree The OT (@breetheot) on Dec 7, 2019 at 11:10pm PST Bloom Apphttps://apps.apple.com/au/app/bloom-better-you/id1469479066 The Good Lives Modelhttps://www.goodlivesmodel.com/ Since we recorded Bree has also set up a mental-health related podcast which will launch in February 2020. Give The Strong Minds Club a follow to stay up to date with their launch and new episodes. View this post on Instagram A post shared by The Strong Minds Club Podcast (@strongmindsclub) on Dec 22, 2019 at 12:41am PST Keep occupied Brockbrock.cook@me.com@brockcookOT

Charles Christiansen is a name that a large portion of Occupational Therapists from around the world would recognise. From his papers to his textbooks to his positions on AOTA and AOTF boards, Charles’ impact on the profession has been nothing short of paradigm-shifting. I first met Charles in 2012 when he was flown out to a conference here in Australia as the keynote. Through a serendipitous turn of events, I was given the privilege of picking him up from the airport. From that first minute, his bubbly personality and amazingly measured and thoughtful conversations had me enthralled. Since that time we have kept in contact and it was an absolute pleasure being able to host him on Occupied. An amazing man, an amazing story and such a great conversation. Keep occupied Brockbrock.cook@me.com@brockcookOT

WELCOME TO THE OCCUPIED BEST OF! Voted by you guys as one of the four best episodes thus far, Dr Anita Hamilton has arguably had the biggest influence of any individual on my OT career. If you’ve heard this episode before I can guarantee you’ll get something new out of it. If you haven’t heard this amazing episode before, strap in, you’re in for a ride! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The one and only Dr Anita Hamilton has had a MASSIVE influence on my career and volunteered me for a number of amazing opportunities I would not otherwise have had the fortitude to tackle. Anita is an expert and leader in the space of OT’s utilising online technology and has been a massive proponent of the OT4OT group who founded and help facilitate the whole range of 4OT facebook communities. Stay tuned to the end for a WORLD EXCLUSIVE ANNOUNCEMENT regarding the ongoing future of the OT24VX virtual conference!!! Also find the “first follower” video discussed in the episode: Anita’s video highlighting the use of her model of knowledge dissemination “the IM-KT Framework”: Keep occupied Brockbrock.cook@me.com@brockcookOT

WELCOME TO THE OCCUPIED BEST OF! Voted by you guys as one of the four best episodes thus far, this episode rustled more jimmies than just about any other! If you’ve heard this episode before I can guarantee you’ll get something new out of it. If you haven’t heard this amazing episode before, strap in, you’re in for a ride! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Goals…..we’ve all heard of them and all been advised that we should be using them both personally and clinically….but why and how are we using them? Do we have a good understanding of how they work? Hear me out and I’ll see if I can make you think

WELCOME TO THE OCCUPIED BEST OF! Voted by you guys as one of the four best episodes thus far, Professor Gail Whiteford has had an almost immeasurable impact on the profession of Occupational Therapy. If you’ve heard this episode before I can guarantee you’ll get something new out of it. If you haven’t heard this amazing episode before, strap in, you’re in for a ride! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I am honestly so excited about this episode. When Gail first sent me a message asking to be on the podcast I almost fell off my chair. All my Occupational dreams come true! Professor Gail Whiteford has been an OT hero of mine for the longest time and even though we have met multiple times, getting to have a chat with her was a surreal experience. To say I was fan-boying was an understatement. Coming to the conclusion that she is not only one of the most intelligent and well rounded Occupational Therapists i know but also one of the most easy to talk to and engage with. I can’t thank Gail enough for allowing me to pick her brain. Professor Whiteford’s work has had a significant and lasting impact on the direction of the profession and Occupational Science. In particular her work with Dr Elizabeth Townsend in the development and promotion of the Participatory Occupational Justice Framework was something that resonated with me from the core of my OT beliefs. Being involved with OT organisations such as OOFRAS and working with some marginalised populations the framework instantly resonated with the work and professional experiences I had up until that point. The Conversation Our conversation started with her journey through the profession and the evolutions of OT she experienced throughout that time. Gail, on the spot, came up with ideas I would never have ever considered about the profession. Blew my mind wide open. Feel like im still processing it. We discussed the POJF and how it came into development. The current state of Occupational Therapy as well as what the future may hold for the profession. Definitely one of the deepest, most reflective conversations I’ve had and I really hope it blows your mind as much as mine.Keep occupied Brockbrock.cook@me.com@brockcookOT

WELCOME TO THE OCCUPIED BEST OF! Voted by you guys as one of the four best episodes thus far, Rebecca Twinley’s Dark Side of Occupation has been growing exponentially over the last few years. If you’ve heard this episode before I can guarantee you’ll get something new out of it. If you haven’t heard this amazing episode before, strap in, you’re in for a ride! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Dr Twinley came into my life, as many have, via online connections and shared thoughts on Occupation and Occupational Therapy. When we first connected was just before she publicly released the concept of The Dark Side of Occupation. This concept very easily resonated with me. It integrated into my clinical practice and conceptualization very easily. It just made sense. The understanding that occupations having purpose and meaning, being contextually situated and having an impact on health are nothing new to OTs. Reflecting on “the dark side” of occupations and seeing that there are many people in society, you included, who engage in maladaptive, harmful or health decreasing occupations was profound. It’s something, that for many, doesn’t seem to have been given the focus it deserved until it was given a name. Why is it important? Since this time I’ve seen the concept spread and evolve and become more widespread. One thing I’ve seen is the evolution of how people used the term. It was good to get Bex’s opinion on this and how it differs from her understanding and presentation of the concept. It’s incredibly important that Occupational Therapists not only look at occupations that are health-promoting but also those that may not have such a positive impact. Only then are we able to fully gain an adequate understanding of the people we work with and deliver effective health services. If you are wanting to get a better understanding of the concept then definitely start with the website linked below. The Dark Side of Occupation: a concept created and being developed by Dr Rebecca Twinley Also check out some of these: Twinley, R. (2017) Woman-to-woman rape and sexual assault, and its impact upon the occupation of work: A Learn at Work Webinar. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TXGxvh96pnA Twinley, R. (2017) ‘The Dark Side of Occupation’. In: Jacobs, K. and MacRae, N. (eds) Occupational Therapy Essentials for Clinical Competence. 3rd edn. Thorofare, NJ: SLACK. Twinley, R. (2014) ‘Everyone is a moon’: The dark side of occupation. OT24Vx2014: A World of Health and Well Being. 3-4 November 2014. 24 hour Virtual exchange available at: http://www.ot4ot.com/ot24vx.html Twinley, R. and Morris, K. (2014) Editorial: Are we achieving occupation-focussed practice? British Journal of Occupational Therapy, 77(6): 275 Twinley, R. (2013) The dark side of occupation: A concept for consideration. Australian Occupational Therapy Journal, 60(4): 301-303. Twinley, R. (2013) Response to Re: The dark side of occupation: A concept for consideration. Australian Occupational Therapy Journal, 60(6): 459. Twinley, R. (2013) ‘The dark side of occupation’ Occupational Science Seminar Series. 24 April 2013. Plymouth University: Plymouth Twinley, R. and Addidle, G. (2012) Considering Violence: The Dark Side of Occupati...

Have you ever thought about how your life would change if you just found out you had a sibling? Sounds like a movie script right? What if one sibling was an Occupational Therapist and the other had Cerebral Palsy? How would your occupations change? How would your family dynamic change? I came across Whitney and Dexter’s story on Instagram. In this podcast, we explored their amazing story and how finding each other has impacted both of them. View this post on Instagram Hey guys my name is Dexter I am the other half of the team here at Tied Together I’m 26 I have cerebral palsy which has been one of craziest experiences of my life along with finding my long lost sister. What I hope to bring to this page is the fun

I came across Crystal’s Intagram account during her “Neuro A-Z Photo Challenge”. Her content and explanations are exceptional and I learned a lot. Since then her content has continued with her focus on educating OT’s and the public on all things neuro, especially stroke. Her passion for her practice area is very obvious and infectious.  We explored her journey into OT, her passion for promoting brain health as well as a number of other helpful little tidbits for therapists to be aware of.  View this post on Instagram A post shared by

This episode I wanted to reflect on an idea that I’ve been playing around with for a few weeks and that’s the difference between Mental Health and Mental Illness. Having an understanding of the links between wellbeing and mental health is a skill that every clinician can take into just about every clinical practice area. This is an area and a concept that fits core with Occupational Therapy and isn’t constrained by the boundaries of Mental Health practice. Exploring Mental Wellbeing with clients is something for ALL OT’s to engage in….but how? “There is no health without Mental Health”Erik Johnson During the episode I explore one model for wellbeing that you can find here: https://www.wheelofwellbeing.org/ Keep Occupied Brockbrock.cook@me.com@brockcookOT

I know a lot of passionate people. I also know a lot of people in a lot of different practice areas. I’ve been lucky enough to know a couple of people who are incredibly passionate about working in the aged care sector. Brooke George has an amazing passion for working with people who have dementia. Those of you who have listened to a couple of episodes will know that this is far from my forte so I’ve been keen to learn more. This conversation was one that I’d wanted to have for a long time given my own knowledge gap. I learned an absolute tonne about working with people with dementia. We also explored how Occupation based practice can be exemplified in this practice area. Brooke was also able to highlight some of the difficulties of working in this practice area. It was a fantastic conversation and Brooke was brilliant. I learned a tonne from her expertise and I’m sure you will too. https://www.holisticoccupationaltherapy.com.au/Brooke also posts a TONNE of amazing videos and resources on her Instagram profile so definitely give her a follow if youre interested in learning even more!

Continuing on a bit of a trend of lived experiences on the podcast I roped in the awesome Taylah Douglass to have a chat about her experience with Chronic Pain. Taylah is currently completing her OT degree just outside of Melbourne Australia and the combination of her study and her experience of pain has given her some great insights into its impact on occupational engagement. Her story and her insights are invaluable and I learned so much about the mindset, and the toll that pain can have on a person. With roughly 1/5 people having chronic pain of some kind in their lives if you are lucky enough to not experience this for yourself you will definitely work with someone during your career who does. For this reason, gaining an understanding of the experience and toll of pain on a person is invaluable for an Occupational Therapist. Resources Mentioned in the podcast:retrainpain.orgPainfreeyou.com Thankyoudrsarno.org (page full of success stories healing from chronic pain through the mind-body connection)healthskills.wordpress.com Books: Dr Howard schubiner – “unlearn your pain” and also has YouTube videos.Dr John Sarno: “the divided mind”Nicole Sachs (therapist working with pain  patients) – “the meaning of truth”Steven Ozanich – “The great pain deception” Podcasts:“The cure for chronic pain” – Nicole Sachs “The mind and fitness podcast” – Eddie Lindenstein (pain success stories through the mind-body connection, relating chronic pain to athletes and fitness)  Taylah’s details for any questions or feedback! taylahdouglass95@gmail.com Keep Occupied Brockbrock.cook@me.com@brockcookOT

Professor Karen Jacobs is one of those guests that makes me feel like I don’t work hard enough. Any of the projects she has been involved in could be looked at as career-defining by mere mortals like myself. Everything from writing textbooks, creating national campaigns looking at safe backpack use, writing a library of kids books. Also, she’s been President and VP of AOTA, run a cable TV show, started an academic journal and runs an OT podcast. The list goes on and on and on! I first “met” Karen in 2011 when I first got involved with the OT4OT team (where she was a member). There, I was able to help them out with their 24hr virtual conference as well as their suite of Facebook groups. The more I learned about her the more I was just in awe of the impact she has had on our profession. AOTA’s summary: Jacobs is a clinical professor of occupational therapy and the program director of the distance education post-professional occupational therapy programs at Boston University. She has expertise in the development and instruction of online graduate courses. In addition to being an occupational therapist, Jacobs is also a certified professional ergonomist (CPE). She has a private practice in ergonomics. Jacobs earned her BA at Washington University in St. Louis, her MS at Boston University, and her doctoral degree at the University of Massachusetts. Dr Jacob’s research examines the interface between the environment and human capabilities. In particular, she examines the individual factors and demands associated with increased risk of functional limitations among populations of university and middle school-aged students. She focuses particularly on notebook computing, backpack use, and games such as WiiFit. Most recently, she is co-developing, with Dr Nancy Baker at the University of Pittsburgh, the Telerehabilitation Computer Ergonomics System (tele-CES) for computer users with arthritis. The tele-CES is a remote systematic ergonomics program. It’s aimed at substantially reducing work disability among workers with any type of arthritis. Jacobs is the founding editor-in-chief of the international, interdisciplinary peer-reviewed journal WORK: A Journal of Prevention, Assessment and Rehabilitation, which celebrated its 20th anniversary in 2010. Jacobs is a past president and vice-president of the American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA). She is a 2005 recipient of a Fulbright Scholarship to the University of Akureyri in Akureyri, Iceland; the 2009 recipient of the Award of Merit from the Canadian Association of Occupational Therapists (CAOT); and recipient of the Award of Merit from the American Occupational Therapy Association in 2003. https://www.aota.org/Publications-News/ForTheMedia/Experts/Jacobs.aspx Keep Occupied Brock@brockcookOT brock.cook@me.com