A New Normal

Occupational Therapy is often misunderstood or simply not known about, largely because it is hard to explain succinctly. We decided what better way to illustrate the benefits of OT than to hear the experiences of our clients who can explain first-hand how OT has changed their lives, which led us to produce our video series 'A New Normal'.

The series is called ‘A New Normal’ because the short clips tell the stories of three individuals whose lives have been irreversibly altered due to a diagnosis or traumatic event and how, with the help of Occupational Therapy, they discovered what the new ‘normal’ version of their life is and how they overcame the challenges to lead happy and independent lives.

Whilst we hope that our client’s stories help illustrate the importance and benefits of OT at an individual level, it is important to also reflect on the growing importance of Occupational therapy on a larger scale. The need to facilitate people being able to live at home and maintain an independent life for as long as possible following a diagnosis, illness, traumatic event or the ageing process, is constantly growing. Not only do we need to help people maintain independence at home to manage the pressure on our health and social services, but to maintain the happiness and wellbeing of individuals who would prefer to be at home rather than in hospital or care. Occupational Therapists are key to achieving this with the needs and happiness of the client being at the heart of the care they provide, helping people remain in their home for as long as possible and showing them a way forward from what might be a challenging and daunting time.