Above : Youngest member of the family , 8 preparing the soil alongside her aunt . Her father and brother in the background tending to the compost heap
photographs of the work being done and the crops reaped .
• Exercise from toiling the soil planting and harvesting .
• An increased interest for my children in vegetables and this alliance of growing .
We ’ re at the end of our allotment year , with autumn harvests of the last potatoes and pumpkins being gifted to neighbours , friends , or stored for the winter months ahead .
This occupation of keeping an allotment has strengthened us as individuals , but even more so , fast as a family . As an OT , working with the families provides ways of strengthening family or support systems through occupation .
As part of the Caribbean OT writers collective , I have used reflection about other occupations or activities . I have explored ways in which they have played a role in our social and cultural history .
These include the power and strengthening of family bonds through occupation as storytelling , singing old and spiritual songs , or coming together to bring ingredients together for Saturday soup . I look forward to the coming years at the allotment and to raising awareness of increasing family occupations .
Words LEAH BERRY , Head of OT , Birmingham Women and Children ’ s NHS Foundation Trust , Mental Health Division
A career more by design , than chance
For 15 years , I have been studying , practising and teaching within the profession of occupational therapy – in Ghana and in the UK . A career that I initially referred to as ‘ happened by chance ’, but as the years go by , have concluded that it was by design and to fulfil a purpose . In 2010 , I completed the MSc Occupational Therapy programme ( Pre-registration ) at Brunel University , as part of the first cohort of the programme . This led to my registration with the then Care Professions Council ( CPC ) and Dr Ellen Adomako I practised briefly as an occupational therapy technical instructor in Bethlem Royal Hospital ’ s Forensic Unit .
In 2012 , I started working as a clinical tutor for University of Ghana , in its newly established BSc Occupational Therapy programme , within the School of Allied Health Sciences .
This was the first training programme of its kind in the country and within the West African sub-region ; taking into consideration there were no established occupational therapy services to support the students ’ practice placements .
The main responsibilities included teaching the occupational therapy specific components of the curriculum , helping existing health services establish occupational therapy departments and supporting students on placements , all done with a more experienced colleague , Dr Peter Ndaa .
The first cohort of 18 students completed their training in 2016 , and in the same year the programme successfully obtained World Federation of Occupational Therapists approval .
Today , Ghana can boast of 63 qualified occupational therapists , 68 occupational therapy technicians and 10 occupational therapy services , mostly in the national capital , with staff locally trained in the country .
With the certainty that I wanted to pursue a career in academia , in January 2017 , I enrolled on a full-time PhD programme in occupational therapy at the University of Essex . Over the next five years , this took me on a journey , investigating staff and service users ’ perspectives on the impact of the physical and social environment on service users ’ engagement in therapeutic activities within an adult acute mental health unit .
While studying , I worked as graduate teaching assistant at the same university , from April 2017 to December 2018 . This role changed in January 2019 , where I became a part-time lecturer , and in October 2020 – in the peak of COVID-19 – I became a full-time lecturer . I am currently the BSc Occupational Therapy programme lead and also the role emerging placement lead .
My occupational therapy journey has been both challenging and rewarding . Getting to this level has entailed discipline , hard work and positioning , so I could take opportunities when they arose , and lots of sacrifices – the biggest being staying away from my three children for five years in order to pursue the PhD .
On the brighter side , I am at a very good position that I feel well equipped to contribute to society and have impact .
Words DR ELLEN ADOMAKO . Ellen ’ s study findings are yet to be published , but the full thesis is accessible at bit . ly / 3PEM3qi
October 2023 OTnews 25