Occupied

This is an emerging topic for me. It’s something for which I’ve seen a correlation for many many years. Now is the stage in my career where I’m starting to explore this more in-depth. Meaning is arguably the most important aspect of a person’s occupation. Yet, in my experience, it is also one of the most neglected or least understood areas of our practice.

This episode I wanted to take some time to reflect on my thought process and how “meaning” has evolved over my career.

I make reference to an article during the episode that has recently provided me with some food for thought around this:

Morris, K., Cox, DL. (2017) Developing a descriptive framework for “occupational engagement” Journal of Occupational Science 24 (2), 152-164

Would love to hear your thoughts on “meaning” and how you see it relating to occupational therapy! Shoot me an email or a voice mail! All links in the profile.

Keep Occupied

Brock
@brockcookOT
[email protected]

Since the beginning of my involvement in the sport of powerlifting, I’ve always been fascinated by the similarities. There are close links between the skillsets required to excel in Powerlifting and those commonly utilised by Occupational Therapists. I have, previously, written blog posts on how I’ve utilised my OT skillset in my coaching. To build on those I have planned to record an episode on it for the longest time.

At about the same time I started this podcast, I came across two ladies on Instagram. One was a powerlifter, one an OT who was developing quick reference products for students and therapists. I’m semi ashamed to admit that it took a good 12 months for me to work out that these two ladies were, in fact, one and the same…Jennifer of @OTreference.

I was talking with Jennifer one day about these previously mentioned similarities between the profession. I reflected and knew that I couldn’t record this episode on my own. Luckily for me, Jennifer agreed to come and have a chat with me, for you.

What I present to you is an exercise in viewing the world through an occupational lens. In our instance, Powerlifting was a mutual love that we discussed but I bet you could look at a myriad of your own hobbies and find similarities.

Keep Occupied

Brock
@brockcookOT
[email protected]

There aren’t too many OT’s in the online space that hasn’t come across or seen posts from The Occupational Therapy Hub. I’ve known Jamie for about as long as Occupied has existed. He was one of the very first people to contact me after the release of my very first episode. Since that time Jamie has always been a strong supporter of Occupied and all of the OT podcasts out there.

From Radio and TV then on to Occupational Therapy, Jamie discusses his journey and all the ups and downs along the way. Glad I was even able to teach him a new saying:

“The important thing to remember about the idiom “how the sausage gets made” is that it always refers to UNPLEASANT details (not boring details, unimportant details, etc.) and it always refers to a PROCESS. It means that there are a number of details that we’d rather not hear about.”

https://www.italki.com/question/129918

Jamie had a vision when he was an OT student and that was to create a “hub” where OT related resources could be curated into one spot for ease of access for therapists and OT students. He poured his heart and soul and energy into building the Occupational Therapy Hub and released it to the world (all for free I might add). He has pulled together a worldwide team of volunteers to continue building The Hub as well as developing an online community of therapists looking to learn and grow together.

He has juggled all this whilst also making the transition from student to new-grad as well as all of life’s other trials and tribulations. His passion for growth and learning is evident and something we could all use a little more of.

Keep Occupied

Brock
@brockcookOT
[email protected]

DURING THIS PODCAST TOPICS SUCH AS ABUSE, PTSD AND VIOLENCE ARE DISCUSSED. THERE IS ALSO STRONG LANGUAGE USED. IF THIS IS A TRIGGER OR MAKES YOU UNCOMFORTABLE, LOOK AFTER YOURSELF AND DON’T FEEL LIKE YOU HAVE TO LISTEN. 

When we think of Anxiety and PTSD we all would get some image of a person in our heads. But what we need to understand is that no matter what that image looks like, it’s wrong. PTSD and anxiety are both in-discriminatory.

A post shared by Heather Connor (@heather.e.connor) on Oct 27, 2018 at 10:36am PDT

I had the absolute privilege of knowing and being able to chat with Heather Connor who is pound-for-pound one of the strongest drug-free powerlifters on earth. With multiple national and international titles and records under her belt she is looked up to and admired by people all over the world for her strength, dedication, work ethic and her humorous outlook on life (as well as her dogs, Pancake and Butters lol)

A post shared by Heather Connor (@heather.e.connor) on Jun 14, 2019 at 5:24am PDT

What many people are not aware of is that the history that helped create her is quite confronting and at times scary. She has battled anxiety and post-traumatic stress for a large part of her life. This podcast is exploring her mental health story. We hope that this will help shed some light on the experience of these conditions as well as provide hope and motivation for people who have experienced similar things that you can not only survive, but you can thrive.

A post shared by Heather Connor (@heather.e.connor) on Mar 5, 2019 at 3:14am PST

Heather is passionate about using her social media platform to help people and open up the conversation about mental health. She was incredibly open and vulnerable with me during this conversation and it shows in her message. Cannot think Heather enough for such an amazing chat.

Keep Occupied

Brock
@brockcookOT
[email protected]

This conversation starting talking about the transition and what to expect moving from a student to newgrad practitioner. Thalia was honest and raw and didn’t sugar-coat any of the experiences, good and bad. We explored the intricacies of practitioner mental health. The aim being to come up with some strategies for newgrads to help maintaining their mental health and thrive during the transition. Thalia, as am I, is of the opinion that this level of awareness and conversation is important for newgrads to be exposed to. 

I first came across Thalia about a year ago and was instantly taken by her confidence in putting herself and her experiences out there for the world to see and to learn from. At the time she was a student who had been documenting her placement experiences and reflecting on them in youtube videos on her channel, Endless Eduation. 

She has since then graduated and begun working as an Occupational Therapist. Her channel, likewise, has graduated to sharing her musings and reflections on her transition to a practitioner. 

Her content is amazing and i thoroughly encourage all students and new grads to check out her youtube (shown above). She is also working with The OT Hub so if you’ve not checked them out yet, get on it! If you wanted to contact her, leave a comment on her youtube or you can tweet her at @Thalia_OT 🙂 

Keep Occupied

Brock
@brockcookOT
[email protected]

On July 10-12th 2019 I found my way to Sydney for the 28th Occupational Therapy Australia National Conference & Exhibition. This was my 4th Australian National Conference which runs every 2 years. In this episode, I’d love to highlight some of the key moments and amazing inspirations for me from #OTAus2019.

Overall I have a fantastic time. It was so amazing to meet so many of you who listen to the podcast and your stories and kind words really made my conference so to those who came and said hi, thank you so much 🙂

(Stats and all photos from https://otaus.com.au/media-and-advocacy/news/photo-gallery-ota-28th-national-conference-and-exhibition-2019) 

Keep Occupied

Brock Cook
@brockcookOT
[email protected]

I first came across Sense Rugby when the below video came across my facebook browsing. Being a strong advocate for occupation-based practice AND an old rugby union tragic, this video appealed to me on multiple levels. The use of Rugby Union as a therapy seemed so simple yea sooooo powerful. 

The combination of Occupational Therapist, Carlien Parahi and her husband, Australian 7’s Rugby representative, Jesse Parahi has produced an amazing service. Utilising the culture, training, social aspects and even the equipment of rugby union and adjusting it to make it fully accessible to their clients is their core business. There is no inclusion criteria for Sense Rugby. Due to the word of mouth of friends or other therapists they have amassed a small army of children who are now reaping the benefits of organised team sport. 

Their amazing program has now expanded across almost 20 locations across Australia. They are planning to expand it even further to other parts of the country and the world. If you want to check out Sense Rugby check the links below:

www.senserugby.com.au

www.facebook.com/SenseRugby/

Keep occupied

Brock
[email protected]
@brockcookOT

DURING THIS PODCAST TOPICS SUCH AS SUICIDE AND ALCOHOL ADDICTION ARE DISCUSSED. IF THIS IS A TRIGGER OR MAKES YOU UNCOMFORTABLE, LOOK AFTER YOURSELF AND DON’T FEEL LIKE YOU HAVE TO LISTEN. 

DURING THIS PODCAST PERSONAL OPINIONS AND EXPERIENCES WITH MENTAL HEALTH AND MEDICATIONS ARE DISCUSSED. THESE ARE OUR PERSONAL OPINIONS AND EXPERIENCES ONLY AND YOU SHOULD DISCUSS YOURS WITH YOUR DOCTOR. 

Sarah Cawthorne is a friend and an amazing human. She’s always been open and friendly and there for people who need her. Almost 12 months ago she made an amazingly honest post on Instagram addressing her experience with detrimental alcohol use and her recent decision to “remove alcohol from her life”. I remember talking with Sarah at the time and being in absolute awe of her strength and clarity around the issue. To see someone who was so physically strong (she’s a badass, strong AF, powerlifter), have a hidden weakness for alcohol and to be on the journey to addressing it is so amazing to see. 

91 days ago I made a decision to remove alcohol from my life. Contrary to what I’ve always believed – I’m worth more than that. To me, alcohol was like an abusive relationship. I hid it, I protected it, I couldn’t live without it. But it was making me sick, making me sad, isolating me, forcing me to give up things I loved. It made me give up on myself. I hid it pretty well. People with addiction are very skilled at this. I slipped up once during this time but was back on track the very next day. I’ve never been able to do that my entire adult life. Thank you universe for the handful of beautiful humans in my life who held me accountable and hugged me when the mind fuck was overwhelming. Anyway, here’s me – no lashes, no makeup, no hangover and no regrets. I don’t plan on wasting another second.

A post shared by Sarah Cawthorne (@sarah.cawthorne) on Aug 5, 2018 at 9:00pm PDT

We discussed our mutual experiences working in the mental health field before delving into her personal experiences with alcohol addiction. I know Sarah was super nervous about having this conversation but her brutal self-honesty and vulnerability with myself are so greatly appreciated as it’s given me a much greater appreciation of the lived experience of alcohol addiction and recovery. 

We also discussed mutual experiences with functioning depression and conceptual ideas around mental health treatments.

I can’t thank Sarah enough for opening up, being vulnerable and taking a chance in chatting on the podcast and I truly hope this conversation gives you as many insights into addiction as it did for me. 

Keep occupied

Brock
[email protected]
@brockcookOT