Above : Group photo at the unveiling of their art work at Milestone House and how these skills can be transferable to the community .
• Practise using communication and interaction skills within a group environment and develop these through feedback .
• Provide a safe space where individuals can explore their anxieties about transition home and offer each other support to implement goals / maintain relapse prevention plans .
• Give opportunities for individuals to gain confidence in asking or seeking information .
• Encourage individuals to consider how to use information in a positive way to meet their own identified needs within their current lifestyle and occupational participation .
• Break social isolation and relieve anxiety .
• Develop a greater sense of self .
All those who participated in the group were assessed throughout the group programme using the Assessment of Communication and Interaction Skills ( ACIS ), an observational assessment that gathers data on communication and interaction skills as they exhibited during performance in an occupational form and / or within a social setting .
We are all very proud of what we have achieved in the making of this piece of artwork . It says : ‘ Life can move on and find new challenges , which are both rewarding and enjoyable ’.”
In addition to the Model of Human Occupation Screening Tool ( MOHOST ), we also used the Rosenburg Self Esteem Questionnaire ( RSES ), a 10 item Likert-type scale that measures the state of someone ’ s self-esteem by asking them to reflect on their current feelings .
This tool was used with the group to measure change of perceptions on self before and after the group intervention .
February 2023 OTnews 43