I can guarantee you that many people reading this did not know that a coffee bean comes out of a cherry! Why? Because, for most of us, it’s not important to our engagement with it. Some of you may not even be aware that it is a seed! and some of you might not like coffee at all (say it isn’t so!).
What I want to do with this episode is take something that I love and explore how it has the potential to mean so many different things to different people. By looking at the different ways in which it can be engaged with I’m hoping it will act as a lesson/reminder that context is king and assumptions of meaning have very little place in Occupational Therapy.
As an added bonus, I came out of this episode so highly caffeinated I recorded another right after it!
036 – The Occupation within Acceptance and Commitment Therapy
May 01, 2019
Show notes
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) is a clinical modality that I was introduced and exposed to during my clinical career. Unlike many psychotherapies, ACT was always able to be incorporated into an Occupation-Based Practice framework.
I came across Lou Sanguine on Facebook through a post about the podcast. She challenged me to make a post about ACT. I challenged her to make it with me. It was a challenge but she caved and joined me for a chat. We explored this new experience for Lou during the conversation and use it as an example to explain a lot of the different aspects of ACT….very meta.
Lou’s knowledge and passion for Acceptance and Commitment Therapy runs deep and that comes across in our conversation. She mentions the underpinnings being based in Contextual Behavioural Science. If you’d like to explore this more, do check out their website contextualscience.org
For more regular updates and information on ACT in the OT profession go ahead and give Lou’s FB page a like:
035 – The Realities of living with Schizophrenia
Apr 22, 2019
Show notes
There’s very little I can say about RachelStarLive that she hasn’t expressed herself in one of her amazing youtube videos. So using her own words, Rachel is a “schizophrenic badass from Youtube and TV stuff.” She’s been on Americas Got Talent & Ninja Warrior. She is a Mental Health advocate. She’s a Schizophrenic (listen to the episode before you take offence to the word). She’s survived a flesh-eating bacteria. She’s a Stuntwoman. She is not a pornstar.
Her story is diverse, scary, inspiring, shocking and all that without even considering her schizophrenia. When people say they’ve “been through some stuff,” Rachel is the embodiment of that phrase.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sjxmQt47Uwo
I’ve personally used some of Rachel’s videos to help teach students about the lived experience of various symptoms etc. So when it came to wanting to highlight lived experience on the podcast there was no one else for me, It had to be Rachel.
There are a lot of things that originally drew me to Rachel’s content. Firstly her energy. The way she presents information is full of buzz and very engaging. As she discusses in the podcast, if you didn’t know she had schizophrenia, you wouldn’t guess by watching her videos. To a large degree that is one of the learning points, I liked from her content. Her descriptions of her experienced symptoms are dynamic, descriptive and strangely comprehend-able for a wide audience.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0da-Dbdkvow
Rachel has been working on her own movie called Stuntgirl so give her Youtube a follow and stay up to date with all of her mental health and stunt content!
034 – The Dark Side of Occupation with Dr Rebecca Twinley
Apr 14, 2019
Show notes
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.
https://thedarksideofoccupation.wordpress.com/
Also check out some of these:
Related publications and presentations
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 Occupation. British Journal of Occupational Therapy, 75 (4): 202-204. DOI: 10.4276/030802212X13336366278257
033 – Thoughts on how OT’s can talk about OT
Apr 06, 2019
Show notes
It’s OT Month in the states and I’ve seen a TONNE of social media posts promoting the profession and saying how amazing we are and outlining the wide variety of things we can do. What I haven’t seen is a large swell of people promoting the profession outside of the profession. I’m all for giving each other a pat on the back when we’ve done something awesome, 100% but don’t expect that pat on the back to be anything other then what it is. If we really want people outside the profession to understand what we do then we need to promote to them.
So why now?
This all started after a conversation with Gail Whiteford. Sitting on my couch the other day I had the thought that I would put out my “elevator speech” to see if it was similar to other peoples. I also wanted to share with my networks (most of which are non-OT’s) with the hope that it might trigger the conversation where I could explain fully about our amazing profession. What I didn’t expect was the reaction these three little pictures would get. To date they have reached over 70 thousand people after over 1400 of you shared them with your own networks. To me, these numbers are INCREDIBLE! So I decided to put together a little episode to explore this and why I think it’s important.
I am most definitely not saying that OT Month/Week/Day activities that are about highlighting our professional strengths are a bad thing. Quite the opposite, in fact, I feel like they do serve an important place. What I am saying is it’s important that we continue to try and push the understanding of occupation and occupational therapy outside the profession if we expect to grow and be respected as a health profession.
032 – The Rocket OT returns to Earth: Occupation in Action
Apr 01, 2019
Show notes
You may remember Simone from episode 2! She is the creator of the Regulation Rocket and an amazing occupation-based pediatric OT. Simone has definitely been one of our most popular guests. She has just got back to Australia after spending a year travelling the world (pretty sure the last episode was recorded from Japan!). Because of that, I thought it was time to touch base again and explore her occupational brain. 🙂
From the moment we met Simone and I have got along really well and found that we’re both on the same occupational wavelength. We could literally talk for days if left to our own devices. This episode we explore her new business venture including telehealth and how occupation can be implemented using it. We went deep into the realities of implementing Occupation Based Practice and the systemic limitations that become barriers. Naturally, a lot of pet peeves came to the surface such as OT memes, client labels, generational communication differences. We explored the importance of routines and habits but also of developing the adaptability and resilience to cope when they’re disrupted. From that, the topic of success and not recoiling from failure came up. We then discussed how OT’s can often let fear hold them back from breaking the mould and doing something truly innovative or scary. Of course, it wouldn’t be a Rocket OT podcast without discussing the Regulation Rocket and self-regulation.
Like I said at the start, Simone and I could talk forever and we’ve decided that we will record again. Expect an episode in the future that explores the professions over-reliance on “independence”. http://rocketot.com/
031 – Succeeding to Fail with Jon Jon Rivero
Mar 21, 2019
Show notes
Prior to meeting Jon Jon my measures of success were most definitely material and superficial. Since that time I’ve been a much more introspective OT. I met Jon Jon Rivero in 2014 when he came to Australia to deliver the keynote at the QLD State Conference. I’ve still never been to a more amazing presentation. There was singing, dancing, roundhouse kicks, beatboxing, harmonica as well as amazing occupation based practice stories. I learned about creativity and growth and finding yoURawesome.
Since that time we’ve kept in touch and I’ve followed along the success, growth and development of Qi Creative. Some of you may have seen me hinting at a link between my last guest, Meghan Harris, and Jon Jon and that link is that Meg also works for Qi!
The conversation ended up moving towards something that I’d been mulling over for a few weeks and thats, pulling success from failure. Jon Jon was open and honest enough to share an amazing story. He told how a large part of his professional self and his business birthed from a large “fail”.
I had an absolute blast talking with Jon Jon and left feeling inspired and motivated for the profession and the future.
030 – An OT’s Story of Trauma and Rehab
Mar 13, 2019
Show notes
THIS EPISODE DISCUSSES TRAUMA & TRAUMATIC INJURY. ALTHOUGH THERE IS IS NOTHING OVERLY GRAPHIC OR NEGATIVE, PLEASE DO EXERCISE COMMON SENSE IF YOU FIND THESE TOPICS DIFFICULT OR TRAUMATIC.
Meghan and I connected many years ago on twitter and I’ve followed her career and growth since then.
Last year Meghan and a group of others from her cycling club were hit by a truck whilst out for a ride. She suffered vast and traumatic injuries and spent a long while in a rehabilitation hospital. Meghan is now back at home but still working through her rehabilitation. In this conversation, we explored Meghan’s experience right from the accident to this point in time through her occupational lense. The hope is that we are able to give therapists a view and perspective from the other side of the fence.
Through the trauma, Meghan remained positive and driven. This was something I was curious about and we did get to discuss the realities of this perception. Meghan is an amazing therapist and her views and observations of the process I find incredibly positive and inspirational.
029 – OT After Dark: Sex as an ADL
Mar 07, 2019
Show notes
SOME CONTENT IN THIS PODCAST MAY BE CONSIDERED EXPLICIT BY SOME PEOPLE. SEX AND INTIMACY TOPICS ARE DISCUSSED AND MAY INCLUDE SOME COLLOQUIAL TERMINOLOGIES. EXERCISE COMMON SENSE IF YOU ARE OFFENDED BY THESE OR RELATED TOPICS.
I discovered the OT After Dark podcast only 4hrs after they released their first episode (Sex as an ADL). My initial reaction was “Yes! Finally someone is brave enough to talk about sex and sexuality in a public forum!” But it got even better. Firstly, they’re hilarious and very personable. Secondly although speaking candidly about these topics they are exceptionally well read and well researched…. They also include, on their website, all of the research they discuss in each episode for your perusal.
I firmly believe that sex, sexuality and intimacy are topics that OT’s often neglect for a variety of reasons. Similar to most social change I feel that opening the conversation is the first step. Exposure to the topics will hopefully ease some of the anxiety and awkwardness about addressing sex with our clients.
I encourage everyone to check out the OT After Dark podcast on your favorite podcast app. Also check out their website or tweet them:
028 – Seniors Flourish in a Digital World with Mandy Chamberlain
Feb 26, 2019
Show notes
You may know Mandy as Seniors Flourish. She’s an OT. Entrepreneur. Business Owner. OG OT Podcaster. Online OT personality. but most of all she was kind enough to come and have a chat with us here at OCCUPIED.
Many of you may have come across her work on social media where she produces and curates tonnes of useful and interesting content for therapists in all areas of practice. Her work is, as the name suggests, predominantly targeted at those working with seniors in the aged care sector and we explored just why her passions lay in this practice area.
It was an extremely fun conversation that had us both laughing a lot. We explored Mandy’s journey into OT, her business, her podcast, the evolution of digital tech and even her dance prowess.
If you don’t already definitely get along and check out her website and social profiles:
Facebook Twitter Instagram
And if you are in aged care or have an interest in aged care her membership site, The Learning Lab, provides and unprecedented community of support and resources to help you develop your practice.
SeniorsFlourish.com/learninglab
Also we’re still waiting for her dance video…..
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