Occupational Therapy

You may be familiar with occupational therapy. Often people have come across occupational therapists working in hospitals, the community or schools. Occupational therapy is a broad profession and ‘what we do’ can look very different depending on the setting.

Occupational Therapy at Imagine…

We work with clients who might need help to get back to social, work or leisure activities they used to be able to do, or to find new ways of living that are more meaningful to them. Importantly the occupational therapy ethos is that all parts of a person are relevant. A person is not defined by their problem or diagnosis. We look at the whole person in terms of thoughts, feelings, strengths and physical abilities as well as environment, social life, work, hobbies and spirituality. It is all part of who you are so it is all relevant.

“It is crucial to find ways of living life in the most meaningful and fulfilling way, and that’s what occupational therapists spend all their time doing with clients”

– Dr Pauline Cooper, thethoughtlaundry.org

We recognise that each individual is unique and is motivated by different things. This means that we will prioritise understanding you in terms of what you personally find meaningful and what you want to change.

What this looks like depends, of course, on what is meaningful to you, what is causing the problem and which area of your life it is affecting. At Imagine it might involve addressing anxiety with cognitive-behavioural therapy, walking in nature to improve mood, using sensory strategies to increase concentration or simply giving you the space to talk through your experience of trauma. Or it may mean something completely different.

At the crux of occupational therapy is the belief in you. That you have the capacity to change. What that looks like we will find out together

“As an occupational therapist, being and doing with my clients often helps them go places and do tasks which would otherwise cause anxiety or get forgotten”

– Sarah Good, sarahgoodOT.ca