Occupational Therapy News OTnews February 2019_Joomag | Page 34

FEATURE ASSESSMENT MODELS
Using assessment models and
growing in confidence
Occupational therapy assistant Gemma Harley has been recognised
for improving service user engagement and experience through
the application of an occupational therapy model. Here she talks to
OTnews about her work
F
or occupational therapy assistant Gemma
Harley, receiving the Vona du Toit Model of
Creative Ability Foundation (UK) Award for
Occupational Therapy Support Workers, has
been’ a surprise and a great pleasure’.
She says: ‘I first heard of the Vona du Toit Model
of Creative Ability (VdTMoCA) when I started as an
occupational therapy assistant for Southern Health
NHS Foundation Trust in September 2017.
‘I work at Southfield, which is a 28-bed low secure
forensic mental health inpatient service, that provides
care and treatment for men and women with serious
mental illness, aged 18 to 65.’
Southfield provides a range of services focusing on
recovery and rehabilitation. ‘When I started, I was given
tutorials about the model from Becky Harding, the
occupational therapist specialist practitioner,’ Gemma
explains.
‘I then received support from the occupational
therapists to deliver a VdTMoCA-informed programme
of sessions, tailored to the needs of the service
users.’
34 OTnews February 2019
Gemma also attended a three-day VdTMoCA
course, where she continued to improve her
knowledge of assessment and treatment.
‘Prior to my post as an occupational therapy
assistant, I worked as a support worker. In that role
I had to assist in many activities and found it difficult
to choose the right activities to match each service
user’s abilities. However, since working with this
model I find it easier to understand a person’s abilities,
using the model’s levels of creative ability and clear
recommendations for occupational therapy treatment/
intervention.
‘The model has helped me to better understand
service users and to provide the just right challenge.’
Explaining how she uses the model to run her
sessions Gemma says: ‘I enjoy being creative, using
the model to plan sessions that are innovative and
fresh.
There are three phases within each level of creative
ability, indicating a person’s degree of ability within
that level and therefore how much support that
person requires.