Blog - Page 7 of 9

OTs Doing it Differently: Eva Nakopoulou, Occupational Therapist, Bristol

February 27, 2015

Eva talks about her contribution to “The Occupational Therapist’s Guide to Sleep and Sleep Problems” and her interest in “sleep” as a vital domain in OT. “Edward Norton playing the narrator in Fight Club says: ‘When you have insomnia, you’re never really asleep…and you’re never really awake’ and look where his insomnia got him! Hollywood aside, we all have experienced at least one night’s bad sleep (or no sleep at all) and the affect it had on our daily lives.…

The Gap

October 15, 2014

jen

Coaching and OT

A short story I wrote recently following a discussion with a friend about counselling and coaching. It is meant to provoke some discussion. Please enjoy! The waiting room at the medical was exactly as she remembered it – the magnolia paint not quite covering the 1970s wood paneling – the faded pictures from St Barnabus sixth Form College photography competition 1996, had very little colour left in them. “A bit like me” reflected Jane “a faded version of…

OTs Doing it Differently: Erin Phillips Assistant Professor, St. Ambrose University, IOWA

July 21, 2014

jen

OT Stories, OTs Doing it Differently

This is a summary of an educational project I am implementing in a health promotion course for OT students. I am really interested in how to best prepare our students to “do OT differently!” This project involves teaching empowerment through coaching strategies. The students will experience coaching for self-assessment, learn a few tools from motivational interviewing and coaching, and practice them in a community setting. I am eager to see how this experience resonates with them in terms of their…

Occupational Performance Coaching OPC

June 19, 2014

jen

Coaching and OT

I don’t remember the last time I ripped open my BJOT with gusto, but last month, I really did! “Mothers experiences of engaging in Occupational Performance Coaching ” Fi Graham, Silvia Rodger and Jenny Zivani, gives a clear voice to what those of us OTs who coach, have known for sometime – coaching has a clear and effective role to play in OT practice. It can be at the heart of our intervention, not just an add on. Without…

One day “they” will find me out…

June 19, 2014

jen

Support for OTs

So What’s Coaching For?

March 19, 2014

jen

Coaching and OT

An American researcher called George Vaillent set up a longitudinal study with a group of male students at Harvard Medical School in the 1940’s to try to review their levels of happiness as they traveled through their lives. Last year, in a Radio 4 interview he concluded that the word happiness is in itself a misleading word as it smacks of ‘getting lucky’ or just hedonistic self-gratification. But most interestingly he identified that the men in his study who…

OTs Doing it Differently: Vanessa Volpe

March 4, 2014

jen

OT Stories, OTs Doing it Differently

I have been very fortunate to experience both traditional and non-traditional approaches to my work as a role emerging (RE) OT. I have always been fascinated by the concept of colour as a therapeutic medium, and for 25+ years have attended training courses to explore this concept. I graduated in 2000 with BSc (Hons) OT and completed a ‘basic grade rotation’ before being offered a Senior II post. Simultaneously I was developing myself as a self-employed therapist using ‘complementary approaches’,…

Noticing your own process as a coach (and an OT)

February 14, 2014

jen

Coaching and OT

I have had a growing awareness lately of the differences between my health mentor and my long standing coach. I sought a “new” approach regarding my health and well-being, not because my existing coach wasn’t sufficiently skilled to tackle this, but because I have long respected the position and stance of this particular health mentor and, as with most of my decisions, it just felt the right thing to do! What I have started to appreciate is the very…

Positive Psychology and OT

February 14, 2014

jen

Coaching and OT

Shifting away from a “deficit- conflict” approach can be hard for traditional therapists. Not only are we battling with our training which has often asked us to identify problems and place them at the cornerstone of our assessment, culturally our clients are all too well trained to identify what’s “wrong” them – we all are. As OT’s we are no exception, having a goodly dollop of medical model still flavouring our practice at times. Positive psychology has at its…

“Coaching? Don’t we do that anyway?”

December 2, 2013

jen

Coaching and OT, Popular

I uttered those words when I attended my first coach training weekend back in 2005. I remember sitting there feeling quite “put out” as topics such as communication, listening, motivation, life skills etc. reared their head. I was seething. “we do this anyway! We’ve been doing this in OT for years! Grrr” these “coaches” need to learn a from our profession, not the other way round…what am I doing here?!” For once I glued my mouth shut and waited.…