MENTAL HEALTH FEATURE
There were eight sessions , each exploring a different topic . The sessions examined values , interests , future goals and social opportunities , with a focus on activities including leisure , creative , vocational , physical and self-care occupations , and outdoor and community and social activities .
The aim was to explore the use of activity planning , meaningful occupations and goal setting . Group activities included social games , physical exercise and creative activities . The final two groups were community and social activities , therefore highly appropriate to meeting outside while maintaining infection and control measures .
Through verbal feedback , one participant reported to have particularly benefitted from the social aspect of the group .
The sessions that appeared the most engaging were those that involved engagement in activities , rather than planning activities , for example using the interest checklist .
The self-care session involved some discussion around the benefit of self-care and sleep hygiene . There was also a mindful tea making exercise , where clients were asked to use mindfulness skills to fully engage in the activity together in a virtual environment . Participations were sent a selection of tea bags before the session , in order to encourage choice .
Challenges and further learning The multidisciplinary team supported some sessions ; during the vocational activity group an employment specialist adviser discussed their role in supporting access to employment . This aspect of the group helped me to develop better relationships with our link workers , helping me to understand their role and when it is appropriate to refer clients on for support .
I have found this beneficial from a cost perspective – my occupational therapy assessments could explore barriers to progress and problem solve ways to support occupational engagement within community services . This has been effective in supporting the outcome of the link worker interventions .
The programme ’ s session plans were sometimes difficult to apply online ; however , we tried to be creative and adapt the tasks to fit the needs of the group . For example , during the scavenger hunt , clients were asked to spend some time in their own garden or local outdoor space . Participants were asked to share their items and discuss what attracted them to specific items .
The biggest challenge was using the technology . This likely impacted engagement in the group , with some interruptions in sessions . On reflection , it helped to offer people telephone calls to prompt their attendance , with a better turn out in the first session compared with the second .
We found that allowing lots of time to reflect on and discuss topics and technology allowed the content of conversation to flow . We also found that having colleagues in the same room was helpful , we were then able to make suggestions to each other without having to share information with group members .
The feedback form identified that people mostly benefitted from the social connection , and it recommended changes to the format to in-person .
Therapists recognised some improvements in goal setting , engagement with the team and peer learning . One client reflected that the routine of weekly sessions helped them to better understand the importance of structure . They reported increased motivation to re-engage with past daily living activities , roles and responsibilities .
It was decided that occupational therapists would continue to use the MOHOST as a way to screen eligibility for individual occupational therapy input and to assess change . The tool was helpful not only in assessing change , but also in providing an efficient way to further explain our role to other clinicians , thus raising awareness of the benefit of occupational therapy and helping more people to access our support to meet their occupational needs .
References
Balser A , O ’ Brien SP and Wittman P ( 2020 ) Doing it right : OT meeting population needs with COVID-19 . The Open Journal of Occupational Therapy , 8 ( 4 ): 1-6
Kielhofner G ( 2008 ) Model of Human Occupation . Theory and application ( 4th edn ). Baltimore , MD : Lippincott Williams & Wilkins
Parkinson S ( 2017 ) Recovery through activity . London : Routledge
Abigail Matthews , occupational therapist , Hereford Neighbourhood Mental Health Service . Email : abigail . matthews6 @ nhs . net
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OTnews August 2021 27