We are a private Occupational Therapy practice specialising in enabling people develop lives that are worth living. We say that a " life worth living " is one structured on principles of occupational well-being. In particular this means the person:

• has just the right amount to do (not too little or too much)

• has a balance in work, rest and play.

• has a life that uniquely matches who they are

• has at least one thing they do that brings them fulfilment

• and has the skills/abilities and organisation to manage all the activities and responsibilities of their life in such a way as to make the most out of their potential.

 

Evidence shows that when a person's life is structured in accordance with principles of occupational well-being, the person has a full, satisfying and healthy life. Direct links exist between deterioration in health (both physical and mental) and a life that is missing one or more of these factors.

 

Many illnesses/impairments are caused by occupational deprivation (not having a life that includes all the things listed above). And in turn, these conditions further negatively affect a person's capacity to have a life of well-being.

 

At Enable Occupational Therapy in Mental Health we work with a wide variety of adults and children to turn this around. Some of the areas we work in are:

Illness:

• Mental Health Conditions: Depression, Bipolar, Anxiety, Schizophrenia, Stress-related conditions

• Chronic Fatigue

• Chronic Pain Conditions.

 

Impairments/Disabilities:

• Emotional (eg. Burn-out, PTSD, Hyper-Arousal, Emotional Developmental delays)

• Cognitive (eg. Intellectual, ADD, ADHD, Acquired brain injury)

• Social (eg. Autism spectrum disorders, Social skills delays)

• Physical (eg. Back and nerve disabilities, sleep conditions)

• Spiritual (eg. Directionlessness, Meaninglessness)

 

Life Changes/Stages (all about adapting to):

Grief & Loss of loved one, an ability, or a meaningful life role.

• Becoming a carer (a loved one becomes ill or disabled)

• Stages of parenthood

• Starting and leaving (retirement) work

 

If you have never experienced help from a mental health professional before, you might think what we do at Enable OT is counselling. It does look a bit like it because with many people we are just sitting and talking during our appointments together. But those who have been to counselling before, often say, "This is REALLY different." And it is.

 

Like all other mental health professions, OT's who work in mental health do have and use counselling skills. But Occupational Therapy is a very practical profession that comes at mental health (and other) conditions from a perspective that focusses on what you are doing in your life and how you are doing it. Actual tools and techniques our Occupational Therapists use to do this are:

• education and training (we love whiteboards and teach clients what is happening, why, and how to change it)

• involvement in activities in a way that is therapeutic (we'll often give instructions, after lots of brainstorming together, for clients to

• participate in certain activities in certain ways to help heal them, or prevent activities making them worse)

• graded (step-by-step) assistance to carry out activities

• making changes in the environment (home, family, school, work) to support things improving

• coaching and encouragement to bring about role change

• specialised rehabilitation techniques to address difficulties that underlie occupational dysfunction

 

Since relocating and expanding to Townsville and Mackay, we don’t see much advantage in having a practice location – preferring to provide a mobile service as, often, the best place to make a difference is in the person's home, school, or workplace. We go wherever we are going to obtain the best outcome possible for the client.

 

We do all this at Enable OT by working both face-to-face in individual sessions, and, through a range of fantastic workshop programs.