Continuing professional development
Jess Honeysett and Nicola Twilley reflect on the benefits of attending a nature-based retreat .
Continuing professional development
Feature
Ways to feel connected
Jess Honeysett and Nicola Twilley reflect on the benefits of attending a nature-based retreat .
L ast year , Jess Honeysett and Nicola Twilley attended a nature-based retreat in East Sussex ; its ethos being to bring occupational therapists together , with the hope of supporting them to feel refreshed , connected and supported .
‘ The aim was to promote further understanding of fitness to practice and bring new insight and awareness into the importance of self-care and adult play , by providing a safe and calm environment for networking , creating a sense of belonging and to enable you to adapt and pace activities ,’ Jess and Nicola explain .
‘ The retreat is non-profit and organised by occupational therapists and we have been using the Gibbs reflective cycle as a structure for our thoughts ,’ they add .
Why was it important ?
Nicky explains what attending the retreat meant to her : ‘[ It ] was important to me , because I wanted to reconnect with my mind , body and spirit following a physical health injury at the beginning of the summer and at times I felt overwhelmed by a busy work and personal life schedule .
‘ Therefore , I was looking forward to pausing , enjoying some of the activities on offer , meeting new and old occupational therapy friends and last , but not least , relaxing in the beautiful setting .’
Jess adds : ‘ My purpose for attending the retreat was to reignite my passion for learning within occupational therapy and meeting with previous colleagues to reminisce . I also looked forward to doing yoga and putting into practice making time for my own self-care .
‘ RCOT ’ s professional standards for occupational therapy practice , conduct and ethics ( 2021 ), states that we also need to be attentive to and look after our own physical and mental health and wellbeing . This was one of my main focuses for attending .
‘ The retreat was a great opportunity for personal development and highlighted areas I need to develop within my own practice . I looked forward to the Wild Spa at the retreat to focus on my self-care and relaxation .’
Now what - what does this mean for personal development ?
Jess reflects that , ‘ whilst sitting around the campfire with other occupational therapists , Nicky and I spoke about making an OT podcast .’ The two are in the beginning stages of creating this – with the working name ‘ The OT Big Night in with Nicky and Jess ’.
They also talked about writing this reflection piece for OTnews : ‘ We were meant to write one last year , so we made a promise to prioritise time to share our experience with others .’
Nicky adds : ‘ Through my own volition , I attended a mindful walk each morning , in the local woods . I found this hard at the beginning , because I wanted to reach out and talk to others , but once I settled and became more grounded I started to feel calmer . I felt grateful and appreciative of my surroundings . The quietness paid off because we were lucky enough to spot some deer .
‘ Shortly after the walk I participated in the yoga sessions , which focused on movement and resilience . I reconnected with myself through the breathing exercises , gentle and not so gentle stretches , and we quietly said some powerful and positive affirmation that helped me to selfregulate and re-adjust my mindset .’
She goes on : ‘ There were a wide variety of workshops that I engaged in , including introduction to Acceptance and Commitment Therapy ( ACT ), humour therapy , creative
48 OTnews July 2023