What will you do?

 I have been asked this question quite a bit in the last few weeks, and I’m hearing a lot of this in my beloved occupational therapy profession since the NDIS rates (in Australia) were released last Friday.

I witnessed the fear, frustration and apprehension in person at OTX2024 in Perth in the context of changes to the NDIS, including, but not exclusively the price guide released last Friday.

Since Friday night I’ve been reading the disbelief, anger, shock and sense of exhaustion that many OTs are sharing.

(I have something to offer - for free, if you don’t feel like reading all of this just skip to the end)

I get it. The sense of being devalued, targeted, attacked, ignored. The very real questions about whether it is sustainable to continue in business with what amounts to revenue cuts over the last few years because, not surprisingly, cost of living increases impact everyone in the community, not just some professions who were granted a magical price increase.

I’m not saying anyone (including you) should feel any differently to however it is that you feel right now, but I wonder….

What if ?

What if we could connect with hope

lean in to what we know, that occupational therapy is more than the NDIS

of course, I understand

- NDIS is the key funding that enables many (eligible) people in need to access occupational therapy services

• many NDIS client can not afford out of pocket gap payments if you increase prices (as an unregistered provider)
• most OTs passionately want to provide services in an equitable, accessible way to the people who need it most

however, if you are a small business owner, or solopreneur and right now you are seriously considering closing your business, looking for a job where you don’t have to worry about all of this, lying awake at night trying to work out how to stay afloat, or berating yourself for having put all/most of your eggs in the NDIS basket then I invite you to join me for a chance to connect.

When I was at OTX2024 (and I have been super busy with new things to be reflective or share about my experience yet) the thing I absolutely 100% loved more than anything was the energy, hope, conversation and joy felt by being fully present with other OTs - sharing our work, our joy, our inspiration and why we deeply believe in occupational therapy (Thanks @Brad for promoting those reflections). There was excitement. I could not have been happier with the number of super excited OTs who visited my stall to find our what my community is doing with nature in our work.

 The energy of together is potentially life saving.

I would like us to see more for ourselves as a profession than the NDIS. I’m not saying it doesn’t need ‘fixing’, and I’m all about advocating for system change.

But mostly I’m about how we can care for ourselves.

Nurture our own wellbeing.

Create work that brings us joy and an ability to sustain ourselves financially.

Look what happened during COVID - the biggest social experiment of our time. The businesses and services that thrived are those that were able to pivot - the cordial factories that made hand sanitiser, the sign companies that started making flat pack monitor stands for home offices, the health providers who were able to effectively deliver telehealth or line programming.

What if this is OUR time to be creative, pivot, find new ways. How can we ‘OT ourselves’ through this? Reflect on how we respond to change. Connect with our core values and the holistic lens we bring to situations of injury illness, disability, disadvantage. Or the epic opportunities to work with ‘everyday people’ (thanks Helen Jeffrey for that phrase) to optimise living a good life.

OTs ARE innovators. Our profession has always responded to social, system and funding change. We WILL find a way. The way HAS to include clarity about our value and outcomes.

If you’re looking for some context, my favourite ‘go-to’ reference for innovation in OT is Sue Gilbert-Hunt’s 20187 Sylvia Docker lecture;

‘the question of whether something is or isn’t occupational therapy should rest on the occupational focus of what is being done or achieved and not on whether we are doing what we have always done’ (Gilbert Hunt 2017 p 484)

What if you could build a business outside the NDIS - and yes, I KNOW you don’t want to leave your valued clients with out services.

I’m inviting you to a (FREE) OT innovation think tank. A zoom call with an intent not constrained by a lot of structure. This will include;

• opportunity for a ‘stress relieving share’. A safe space where you can be very real about any fear, frustration, anger, resentment etc. without judgement and I will facilitate space holding for whatever comes up (with a few guidelines about not harming others).
• a nature based ‘reset’ - bring a leaf. We are OTs, we KNOW that it doesn’t work to try to ‘think’ our way out of a big emotion. I’ll share some nature connection ideas to help ‘calm the farm’ - i.e., reduce sympathetic activation, support emotion regulation and rest our executive functioning processes, just for a moment.
• facilitated conversation, brain storming, sharing ideas - what other funding streams do you access, how else can your services be funded, what other ways can you earn income AS an OT doing what matters to you. Is there aa way to build a strong OT business in a different way.

How can we bring calm to our own chaos.

Create our own safety in a storm.

Practice our own principles - identify what matters the most, how to meet our own safety needs. Our clients come to us with their lives disrupted, their faith rocked, their future uncertain - we help them find stability, clarify what really matters and to prioritise their own needs. We help them ‘find a way’ and we can 100% do that for ourselves, in community.

Who am I to be doing this?

A couple of people have said to me this year - ‘if not you, then who’

I don’t have all the answers, BUT

• I can facilitate a group
• I am good at holding space, witnessing, allowing without judging (we have a saying in my forest bathing practice ‘everything is welcome’)
• I have received feedback recently about the work I do in my coaching program being valued because it is non-competitive and gentle.
• I have received a lot of feedback (including today) that my energy and enthusiasm is infectious.

So this is not some kind of ‘Pollyanna’ toxic happiness, this is a chance to validate, to ‘be’, and to create hope.

Also - I’ve worked for 31 years as an OT but never in the health, disability, aged care systems. I’ve pushed into wellness tourism in my own business innovation and have created ways of working that truly bring me joy.

I’ve also navigated high risk local advanced breast cancer at age 28 (and the uncertainty, fear of the future and challenges with trust, and chaos that brings), and 4 weeks ago I was unexpectedly retrenched from a job I love. So I get it and I’m with you.

Join me to co-create your future. You don’t need to do this alone.

Tuesday 9th July 2024 7.30 pm ACST/8pm AEST

here is the link to register for the Zoom call

This will NOT be recorded to share. If you are called to be here please do what you need to to be there in person. You can stay for as long or little as you like.

Please share this with your OT friends