If you’re a community or occupational therapist who finishes the day feeling heavy, scattered, or constantly behind, this episode will make sense of why.
In this episode of The Cognitive Capacity Chat, I dive into cognitive load and why it is foundational to how we function as therapists.
Cognitive load is the amount of information your brain is holding, processing, juggling and anticipating at any one time.
Your calendar. Your reports. Your emails. Your open loops. Your energy. Your sleep.
And as therapists, we rely on executive function all day.
Planning. Decision making. Organisation. Emotional regulation. Clinical reasoning.
When cognitive load is too high, executive function drops.
Report writing feels harder.
You start avoiding tasks.
You check your inbox more.
You feel behind, even when you are working hard.
In this episode, we explore:
- What cognitive load actually is
- How cognitive load impacts executive function and functional cognition
- Why community therapy increases cognitive demand
- The highway analogy, cars, lanes, and potholes
- Practical ways to reduce cognitive load through systems and structure
- How to protect your brain as your most important clinical tool
If you want to optimise your workload, strengthen your executive function, and reduce burnout in community therapy, this episode will help you start reviewing your cognitive load.
KEY TAKEAWAYS- Cognitive load is a primary driver of overwhelm in therapists
- High cognitive load reduces executive function and clinical capacity
- Community therapy increases cognitive demand in ways we often underestimate
- Systems and structure are essential to reduce cognitive load
If this episode resonates, I’d love to hear how cognitive load is showing up in your work, send me a DM On instagram> Imogen_occupationaltherapist
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