The power of occupational therapy
Above left to right : Kate Sheehan , book contributor , with author Martina Tierney
A new book entitled The power of OT has been authored by Martina Tierney . With 40 years of experience as an occupational therapist , Martina has taken time to reflect on the profession and hopes to inspire others by showcasing the true essence of occupational therapy .
The book comprises of ‘ heartfelt stories ’ from OTs and , alongside her contributors , Martina aims to highlight the life changing outcomes occupational therapy practice can deliver to clients with mobility and healthcare challenges .
Ultimately , she hopes her publication becomes an integral part of educational reading lists , so that student OTs can appreciate the difference their chosen career pathway can make .
Martina comments : ‘ I want to inspire new and established OTs and promote the profession ... I have told my story and the story of many OTs from across the world and one of my contributors , I ’ m delighted to say , is Kate Sheehan .
‘ Kate is someone I ’ ve admired for years as she ’ s been a well-known trailblazer in the OT world for over 25 years . She ’ s made such a difference to the profession , and it ’ s been an honour to have her as part of the book .’
Kate , OT and Director of the Occupational Therapy Service , said : ‘ For me , like Martina , I want to influence OTs in the future , but I also want to promote occupational therapy and the uniqueness of it .
‘ I want to highlight the difference it can make to the clients and patients we work with and what it means to them . I ’ ve contributed to this book with a view to hopefully helping the next generation of OTs , but also the wider public .
‘ I actually want to underline what we can do and look to make sure people can achieve what they want in life and not just exist when mobility becomes a challenge .’
In summary Kate added : ‘ I think sometimes as healthcare professionals we can get stuck in a little bit of a rut and what is really important about the stories in this book , is they show the depth and breadth of what occupational therapy can achieve .
‘ For every OT starting out , I want them to realise the career they have chosen will always be an inspiring one , with no boundaries in terms of patient outcome and career reward .’
Activism and social change within occupational therapy
An RCOT EDB insights session – Activism and social change within occupational therapy , ensuring our practice is LGBT + inclusive – will take place on Tuesday 11 February 2024 , 6.30-7.30pm .
This insight session will explore how we can examine , improve and adapt our OT practice , to ensure that it is inclusive and supportive of people of all sexual orientations and gender identities – all members of the LGBT + community .
Speaker Niall Kirrane works as a Clinical Specialist OT in Ireland ’ s National Gender Service , where he has established a new OT role , the first of its kind in the country .
He will draw upon his clinical experience working with the transgender community , to highlight what changes we can make on both an individual and service level to achieve change and be effective activists within our own profession .
Niall has worked across a variety of mental health and psychosocial settings throughout his career , and is particularly interested in the impact of sociocultural factors on wellbeing and occupational engagement .
He was a co-author of the LGBT + awareness and good practice guidelines for occupational therapists , published by the Association of Occupational Therapists of Ireland ( AOTI ) in 2019 .
Since publication , these guidelines have been used by OTs both nationally and internationally , and they have been translated into a number of languages for use in other countries .
Niall is the current chairperson of the AOTI ’ s Gender and Sexuality in Occupational Therapy Advisory Group .
Book your place now at https :// www . rcot . co . uk / events / lgbtq-history
8 OTnews January 2025