Claiming our space: visibility and voice
I
n the diverse landscape of healthcare, professional advocacy is essential for occupational therapy. For occupational therapists in independent practice, using our collective and individual voices to claim our professional space is not optional, it is part of what it means to practise with confidence and integrity.
We are regulated clinical leaders navigating a complex environment and our unique contributions play an important role in the lives of the people we work with.
This article features three leaders in the profession who are actively dismantling professional barriers in their respective areas of practice: Dr Lynda Foulder-Hughes( psychotherapeutic occupational therapy), Tracey Allport( menopause and pelvic health), and Jessica Thurston( expert witness consultancy).
We explore how they advocate for the profession and ensure the occupational therapy voice is heard as a confident, evidence-grounded force for change.
Working within scope
The roles featured here illustrate what is possible within occupational therapy, not a prompt to act beyond your current competence. Before expanding your practice, consider two questions:
Does the activity have a clear occupational therapy rationale grounded in occupational performance and wellbeing? See RCOT’ s Scope of Occupational Therapy Practice Briefing, which is updated annually.
And do you have the skills, training, insurance cover, and, where relevant, legal authority to carry it out safely and effectively? See the Health and Care Professions Council( HCPC) Scope of Practice.
If in doubt, supervision, mentorship and staged skill development are always appropriate first steps. As HCPC notes:‘ Determining what is and is not part of your scope of practice will be for you to decide using your professional judgement’( HCPC 2024).
Stop explaining, start asserting: moving from description to confident professional positioning
The most successful independent practitioners move beyond spending their careers explaining what they do, towards asserting what they provide. In high-stakes environments such as a courtroom, it is critical that the occupational therapist’ s voice is not eclipsed by more traditionally recognised medical roles.
Visibility in such settings does not come from our title, but from the clarity of our professional reasoning and our ability to encapsulate the lived complexity of human experience.
When we move into independent practice, we must stop being a hidden expert. Our value lies in the roadmap we provide for a client’ s future, bridging the gap between clinical evidence and actual living. By owning our expertise, we move from being a background contributor to a recognised and confident voice in the room.
As Jessica Thurston comments:‘ Don’ t wait for others to recognise your value; articulate it and make sure you’ re in the room where decisions are made.’
The takeaway
Move beyond describing daily tasks to justify your presence.
As Tracey Allport puts it:‘ Speak to the secret frustrations of your clients and they will realise you’ re their advocate and ally.’
Asserting value is not about self-promotion, it is about ensuring clients get the right professional in the room.
The professional translator: turning clinical insight into real-world impact
Occupational therapy has a distinctive contribution at the intersection of health, occupation and environment. The most sustainable independent practices are built on the ability to translate clinical insight into real-world, functional impact.
Occupational therapists are well placed to bridge the gap between what a diagnosis or medical report describes and what it means for a person’ s daily life, sitting at the intersection of health, occupation and environment.
Whether supporting a person navigating the functional impact of menopause, or providing objective evidence for a legal claim, our value lies in this professional translation; the ability to ground recommendations in observed participation, rather than assumption.
‘ Own your expertise and make your reasoning visible; your credibility comes from the clarity of your
12 Occupational Therapy in Independent Practice