To begin my blog I want to say I feel honoured to be undertaking this role for such an inspirational leader of Occupational Therapy. Nick Pollard has been justly nominated to deliver this year’s Elizabeth Casson Memorial Lecture. However it will not be easy to sufficiently encapsulate the content of the lecture in this blog.

I will highlight a number of key messages for you and include some personal reflections. The complete lecture will be available on the RCOT & Conference website to listen at your leisure and as the leading article in next month’s edition of the British Journal of Occupational Therapy.

Nick was nominated to deliver this prestigious lecture by Dr Rebecca Khanna Assistant Dean Faculty Health Well-Being Sheffield Hallam University. During her introduction, Rebecca reminded us that this was the 42nd National Occupational Therapy Conference and of the following advice, that the person delivering the Elizabeth Casson Memorial Lecture “should speak from and to the heart of occupational matters”, that for her this was clearly evident in the wide ranging achievements of Nick Pollard’s work over many years.

Further she recalled coming to know him and of his work in occupational therapy in the late 80’s and early 90’s, particularly that he was “deeply applied” to occupational therapy practice and the narratives of individual people”. His early commitment was far reaching, especially for  service users who were marginalised and challenged by occupational injustice. Rebecca continued to summarise by recounting Nick’s impressive range of texts  including “Occupational Therapy Without Borders”, and his means to promote social inclusion at a local, national and international appeal, whilst also engaging with people and projects at a local level and is an inspiration around the world.

A personal reflection, over many years Nick’s work  has encouraged has inspired me and numerous other occupational therapists, his work is of international acclaim and yet he also gives time and interest to the small and local spirit of occupational therapy, giving this equal credence. This has included opportunity to write a chapter in his book ‘A Political Practice of Occupational Therapy’.

As a visiting lecturer from Sheffield Hallam, Nick came to see a student on practice placement with me, he took great interest in the MACA Group, (Music and Creative Activities) and wholly endorsed our work. He could see immediately what we were doing and the great significance of the power of occupational transformation that he spoke about today. For me Nick has enabled the international and political perspective of Occupational Therapy feel accessible, within reach. This is no mean feat. He is a truly amazing occupational therapist. Elizabeth Casson would have be pretty pleased with his work as he endorses the political philosophy and power of occupation.

Nick began his lecture on a humorous note with a game of Word Bingo and a prestigious prize of a bottle of Henderson’s Relish (Google  this for more detail it is truely famous, revered and treasured in Sheffield), also signed by his colleagues in Sheffield Hallam University, some great names will be on the bottle!

Nick continued to say what a great honour it was to be nominated for this Casson Memorial Lecture and he wanted to begin by thanking the many people in his life who had supported his work. He included Silvia Sans Victoria and her hospitality and friendship, especially for himself and Frank Kronenberg after achieving approval for a publishing contract to begin writing the now acclaimed ‘Occupational Therapy Without Borders’.

Nick reminded us that Elizabeth Casson was a true hero who fought for change, but that she did not do this alone. The need to work together in teams alongside and with other people to create social change.  Nick gave a truly welcome plug to our Human Library work (see RCOT 2018 blog 11).

He spoke of the political history of our precious NHS reminding us all of how life was before its inception. Recalling his own family history, stories of health challenges both before and after the NHS came into being and pre-post war politics with pressures for change. Further Nick went on to talk of the current and relentless austerity damage within the NHS with the professions working to cope with what is called ‘Winter Pressure’. The challenges he has seen recorded in students academic assignments in a way not seen before, where the human story is often lost.

Key messages (contributed by Nick):

• Occupation is complex, but that doesn’t mean that the concept is so difficult to get across to people.
• Narrative offers a powerful vehicle for conveying the significance of occupation and enables the imagination of possible change.
• Our shared narratives can facilitate connections
• Our shared narratives can facilitate connections in a global city of occupational therapists with social transformation objectives.
• We can build on that global city through actively talking to each other about practice research ideas, sharing our stories and translating critical discussions into actions.
• Those connections lead to action.
• We are a small profession though we are international and can use this as an advantage. Our Global City does not have walls, we can use occupational based transformation, actively listening, developing narratives, doing, being, becoming and belonging across generations.

Nick’s closing words:

A city of occupational therapists – a city itself which is heroic!! To shape thinking and politics of our profession, to build a global city with narratives to involve people in action. Working with consequences of health inequality, reaching out to gain power by sharing power, doing being, becoming and belonging. What is our story?

Nick you are a brilliant man a fantastic occupational therapist, I hope this blog will encourage everyone to find your lecture on-line RCOT 18 conference website and to read your paper in the next edition of British Journal of Occupational Therapy.

Yes there was a winner for the bottle of the famous Henderson Relish!!

• This blog was written by Catherine McNulty you can find me on twitter @cathymc9781 best wishes to you all!!

Presenters: Catherine McNulty & Chris Wood, Social Change community group Lincolnshire and Sheffield Hallam University.

One of the last presentations on the last day at the Occupation station at #RCOT18

If I had to choose only one word it would be FANTASTIC!! All occupational Therapists need to know about this concept that fits beautifully with our core principles and focuses on capturing the human story without it feeling like you are being assessed, treated or put under the spot light. It is an excellent approach to facilitate understanding. Enabling people to learn from each other and promote empowerment.

Human Library’s originated in Copenhagen, Denmark following a tragic violent incident where a young man was attacked with a knife at a music festival. The root cause was tracked back to prejudice and discrimination.

Menneskebiblioket means ‘Human Library’. It has been a very successful movement and its trademarked concept spread globally earning recognition as an international inequalities movement.  It is successfully addressing barriers and enabling people to not only get their views heard but learn from each other, developing understanding, compassion and finding common ground.

The Hearing Voices group in Sleaford learned of the Human Library movement and identified a need within their Hearing Voices Social Change group to facilitate conversations that did not feel pressured, negative, and anxiety provoking or focused on vulnerabilities. The group decided on a gentler perspective where the focus was not purely on discrimination or prejudice but facilitated conversations.

Catherine and Chris were engaging and fun. They explained how a Human Library works and brought it alive in the space. Within a few minutes the participants in the room were encouraged to take part and grab a badge that said one of the following:

Book. Choose story about you, your life, your experiences, wishes, fears anything you wish, write the title on a piece of paper and brief synopsis. Once a reader chooses your book you answer the questions of the reader.

Librarians.The librarians put the papers on a metaphoric book shelf and once the reader has chosen a story they sign it out and introduce you to the ‘human book’, they time keep as the maximum book loan is 15 mins.

Readers. Read the synopsis and choose a book to read, once introduced to a human book they ask questions or share what interested them about the book.

Group rules

Books must be treated with respect. They do not have to answer questions and can end a conversation if they wish.

15 mins is kept and there is no opportunity to extend or renew.

The Librarians facilitate time and guidelines and rights of the readers and books.

Similar to standard library there are a selection of books on offer.

Once we all had decided which role we wanted to try and briefly prepared, Chris read a poem written especially for Human Library movements by the poet by John Welsh 2016,

IT IS GOOD TO TALK

Silence read the poster

Quiet was the command

Hush the words whispered

Study, read, understand

But now a new library has opened

Where words are said out loud

Talking, Living, human books

And vocal readers allowed

Come to Human books

And vocal readers allowed

Come to Human Library

Have stories all explained

Know from your close engagement

That understanding will be gained

The session was lively and engaging I had a go at being a book and a reader. It is incredible the flow and ease of the conversation and I was surprised by some of the things I said while talking about my book ‘The leaf’ and reading a colleagues book of returning to her home town in Ireland. Discussions were filled with laughter, support, sharing, encouragement and empathy.

The feedback was extremely positive, see the photographs of some of these.

In keeping with the fun and engaging theme of the session it was finished with a song

I’ll Tell Me Ma – The Belle of Belfast City

The concept is so transferable while I sat there I got excited about the potential of this approach with an intergenerational approach to address negative stigma on ageing or  cultures.

Thank you Catherine, Chris and facilitators for an inspiring and fun afternoon.

For further information look at the website or the UK twitter site.

www.humanlibrary.orgor twitter #HumanLibraryUK (is in its early formation)

Written by Marie Barstow. @mrsbaistow

As this was my first time at conference I was keen to try the occupation stations on offer, and I jumped at the chance to attend this Tuesday afternoon session. This hands on mindfulness session was facilitated by Christine Urish, Occupational Therapist and Professor at St Ambrose University in the United States (find her on Twitter @curish).

Mindfulness as a therapeutic approach is becoming increasingly popular in the occupational therapy paradigm. This was clearly reflected in the the large numbers of delegates keen to attend this session! Although I arrived early I had to sit on the floor as the session was jam-packed! I have used mindfulness both personally and professionally in my own practice with service users on a mental health placement, and was keen to hear from Christine how this approach might be applied to different client populations.

Christine explained how she has worked within psychiatric services and with university students, identifying the need for effective interventions to combat stress and anxiety. She undertook specialist training and has now used mindfulness approaches with clients for the last two years, explaining how mindfulness involves being present in the moment, free from judgement.

Christine briefly introduced us to the Koru Mindfulness Program. This is an evidence-based course designed to teach mindfulness, meditation and stress management to college students and young adults. Christine guided us through one of the strategies within this training – diaphragmatic breathing. This technique is useful in calming the mind and body by activating the parasympathetic nervous system. She uses strategies such as this to encourage clients to become more mindful and centred, in preparation for engaging in Zentangle.

Zentangle is a creative and artistic occupation in which the participant draws a beautiful image from repetitive patterns. Christine explained how clients with stress and anxiety respond particularly well to this occupation, as it enhances self-esteem and self-efficacy. Patterns are called ‘tangles’ made up of dots, lines and curves. These patterns are drawn onto small pieces of card or paper called ’tiles’ which can then be assembled into mosaics.

This occupation can be used with almost every population group, including children and older adults. We were provided with our own Zentangle materials, including a selection of tiles and pens. We had a go at creating our own tiles and Christine encouraged us not to compare ourselves and reminded us within Zentangle, there are no mistakes! Although I am not particularly artistic I found myself becoming absorbed in the activity and lost track of time, suggesting this occupation has the power to facilitate flow for service users. The client is encouraged to take the activity at their own pace and the philosophy of Zentangle is anything is possible…one stroke at a time! This was reflected in the relaxed and informal ethos of the session.

So how does it relate to occupational therapy? Zentangle has important implications for many areas of practice. Within paediatrics it can be used to improve fine motor skills, concentration, attention, sequencing skills and sensory and emotional regulation. For older adults it can be used to facilitate reminiscence, provide opportunities for social interaction if ran as a group session, and provides participants with the chance to engage in a creative and meaningful occupation. With palliative care it can foster a sense of positivity, by encouraging the client to be creative and share their creation with loved ones.

Christine explained how after being introduced to Zentangle many clients pass on the activity to friends and family, which encourages them to undertake meaningful roles. Zentangle also provides occupational therapists with a useful tool for their own self-care by enabling reflection and relaxation, and reducing the risk of professional burnout.

Written by Cathy Roberts  @CathyARoberts