Occupational Therapy

What is OT?

Occupational Therapy (OT) is designed to enable people to live their lives to the full, by providing specialist practical advice and techniques. Eating disorders can have a huge impact on daily occupations such as self-care, work or studies, leisure and social activities, meal planning and preparation, food or clothes shopping, and managing with eating meals in the home and out in the community. OT focuses on enabling people to increase their abilities and independence in these daily living tasks that may have been lost or diminished during the course of an eating disorder. Additionally OT may be appropriate for assisting clients with difficulties or co-morbidities that exist alongside an eating disorder, including anxiety, depression, phobias, autism or physical health difficulties.

When is OT helpful?

Occupational Therapy can be a complement in recovery treatment by helping provide practical skills that align with integrating recovery into your daily life, thereby making sure that the work done in therapy is transferrable to every area of your life such as university, work, relationships etc. OT may be offered when clients feel they have had a lot of therapy already and would be interested in trying a different approach. It can also be useful following or alongside therapy to tackle specific feared or avoided situations. Our OT, Kendra, uses evidence-based research and skilled approaches including holistic assessments, goal-focussed interventions, and exposure-based therapy. The aim of OT intervention is to listen, support and encourage clients to re-engage or learn new skills in any area of their life that they feel is important to them and their future. Positive adaptive thinking styles are encouraged and the development of a meaningful identity outside of an eating disorder is supported.

What can OT help with?

Examples of things OT can assist with are:

•  Improving structure and routine in your daily life.

• Advising on health and well-being, such as supporting with managing anxiety through relaxation, mindfulness and grounding techniques. 

• Supporting with encouraging a safe and balanced relationship with exercise (if medically appropriate)

• Offering support and advice around relationships in general, including communication techniques and assertiveness. Support with exploring sex and intimate relationships, including gender identity and sexual orientation.

• Increasing your independence with eating outside the home, or preparing for a social occasion. This may include practical sessions in the community, such as visiting a restaurant or cafe and can help you to build your confidence in these challenging areas. It is also possible to arrange remote cookery sessions using zoom or skype from your own home, practising the whole process of creating a meal plan and cooking and eating a balanced meal together.

• Assisting you with securing paid or voluntary work, or returning to work after some time off. This can include assistance with job searches, applications and interview techniques.

• Supporting a return to leisure activities or finding new activities to promote enjoyment and increase self-confidence.

• Support addressing body image concerns such as clothing selection and navigating social spaces on "bad body image" days

• Help providing practical skills to ensure relapse prevention and consistency in sticking to your recovery plan