Author: Helen OTUK

Occupational Therapist. Explorer of social media for professional development. Enjoy discussing all aspects of Occupational Therapy & Professional Development. #OTalk Team. #OTGeek
OTalk

#OTalk Blog Squad #RCOT2018

Helen OTUK

Would you like to be part of the #OTalk Blog Squad for RCOT 2018 annual conference?

blog squad 2018

For the second year the #OTalk and #OTalk Research team are forming a blog squad to provide a stimulating, engaging, personal insight into conference. Last years the blogs were very well received and reached a global audience and we are using the learning to inform what we do this year.

To make this happen we are recruiting a small team of writers who feel able to, and are excited by, the prospect of writing short engaging posts. Last year people from all stages of their career (students to profs) and a wide range of clinical backgrounds made up the squad.

How does a blog squad work?

Members of the squad will be asked to agree before conference which sessions they will cover and commit to writing and delivering a maximum of 2 short posts about the sessions. There are key sessions that we need to cover as well as some choice. It is important to understand that these are written and posted during the conference and so you do need to be willing to commit some of your conference time to writing the posts.

You will be asked to respect professional codes of conduct in what you write but the posts are very much yours to write in your style, using your words and any media you think will convey your experience. You can check out what people wrote last year here #COT2017.

What kind of writing experience do I need?

You need to feel confident in your writing as the posts will not be heavily edited and corrected by us. You also need to feel happy writing a short article to a tight deadline. This isn’t something you can take away and complete after conference. We will provide some guidance as well as an opportunity to connect with each other before conference begins to answer any questions you may have.

How do I get involved?

Firstly you need to have registered for conference.

Once you have done this complete the expression of interest form available here https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/MVL7H8L  and we will be in touch.

Deadline for completion Friday 4th May

 

 

 

#COT2017

#COT2017 Doing beading and becoming: exploring beadmaking as therapeutic media. Session 44

Helen OTUK

Thank you to everyone who attended this occupation station session with Dr Susan Burwash (@subu_OT). Special thanks to Clare Taylor (@ClareTaylorBU) for not only ensuring we were all hydrated and fully able to engage in the session, but for tweeting so much of the session so I could just ‘do’.

Session S44
Doing beading and becoming: exploring beadmaking as therapeutic media
Burwash S: Eastern Washington University.

Aim: To discuss and demonstrate how creating a variety of simple, low-cost beads in therapy can contribute to enhanced client self-knowledge, goal identification and to taking hopeful action towards achieving desired outcomes.

Background: The occupation is fabricating beads as a component of jewelry-making. Jewelry-making has been used by occupational therapists since the early days of the profession (Kidder, 1922). However, as contemporary therapists are not often exposed to jewelry-making in their education, and as fewer occupational therapy departments have jewelry-making tools/materials because of cost/space requirements, use of this occupation in therapy may not be as common as it could be. Jewelry-making remains a popular leisure activity, may be associated with cultural practices, and can also be a source of income. An occupation that can be done individually or within a group setting, it can be used to explore self and communicate complex ideas visually. While some beadmaking processes require great skill and specialised tools, there are many beads that can be created using simple techniques and inexpensive materials. This Occupation Station will demonstrate a variety of beads, allow attendees to create one of the beads
demonstrated, and discuss therapeutic purposes to which making beads and jewelry could contribute.

For further information and insights into Dr Burwash’s work I highly recommend you take a look at the following article:

Fortuna, Jennifer (2017) “The Reciprocal Relationship Between Art and Occupational Therapy Practice,” The Open Journal of Occupational Therapy: Vol. 5: Iss. 1, Article 14.
Available at: http://dx.doi.org/10.15453/2168-6408.1366 [Accessed 16 June 2017]

Blog Squad Member @Helen_OTUK