In the wake of the COVID-19 crisis, the Royal College of
Occupational Therapists has said that the provision of
personalised and occupationally-focused rehabilitation has
never been so important or more urgently needed (www.
rcot.co.uk/practice-resources/occupational-therapy-topics/
rehabilitation).
RCOT has called for occupational therapists providing
rehabilitation to share their Small Change, Big Impact work
stories to promote the importance of occupational therapy
in this area, and to be part of the Big Rehab Conversation
(www.rcot.co.uk/news/calling-members-be-part-big-rehab
conversation).
This is a personal reflection on how occupational
therapy supported my rehabilitation following an acute
mental health crisis.
As an occupational therapist with a decade of wo
experience in mental health services for older people
I am skilled in supporting individuals with a variety
of mental health conditions to use occupation to
manage and recover from their mental health
difficulties.
In 2019, after two years of cumulative
significant life events, almost overnight I
transformed from working professional to service
user and was referred into the mental health
services that I signpost my own patients to.
In those first few weeks, virtually all my
occupations and roles were inhibited, due to my
illness, and I lost all sense of myself. My partner
became my carer and my routines and structure
dissolved, becoming defined by crisis resolution
home treatment (CRHT) visits.
Treatment was medication-focused – I was
initially unable to drive, due to the side-effects, whic
had a substantial impact on my independence –
with some ad hoc access to a clinical psychologist.
Needless to say, I was unable to work.
After eight weeks of crisis management support, the
CRHT discharged me for ongoing treatment within the
local mental health team (clinical psychology). The waiting
time between referral to treatment was a further eight week
and in the interim period I felt in limbo – too unwell to return
to the responsibilities of my professional role, socially isolated
(particularly during the working week), and having to face the
daunting challenge of self-managing my own condition.
In retrospect, I believe my occupational therapy skill set was
invaluable to support my own recovery journey and bridge the
gap between services.
The experience has given me an increased appreciation
of the need for timely rehabilitation and how challenging it is
for service users with mental health difficulties to navigate and
manage a potentially unfamiliar system of health and social car
support while acutely unwell.