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Planning for a New Year Ahead

With the festive season upon us & 2022 drawing to a close, this is often a time when individuals reflect on the year that has been and start planning for the new year ahead, including setting themselves goals of things they would like to achieve or changes they would like to make in their lives. However for many people in our community who live with a chronic health condition, planning ahead and/or setting themselves goals can be challenging due to the hurdles & barriers the symptoms of their conditions create.

At Lifeworks OT, our team of occupational therapists are passionate about assisting people living with chronic health conditions such as chronic pain and mental health conditions to be able to do more of what they want to be doing with less impact from the symptoms of their condition. We achieve this through the following process:

Assessment : We complete a thorough assessment of a person’s situation, including how the symptoms of their condition impact on their capacity to complete self care & household tasks; access their local community; work, study or volunteer; engage in recreational/leisure activities; manage their health; and develop & sustain interpersonal/social relationships. We also take a particular interest in the person’s environment to identify barriers and enablers.

Goal Setting: We explore what the person values & would like to be doing more/less of and then assist them to set goals to work towards achieving the kind of life they would like to be living. We ensure these goals are graded in a manner to optimise success.

Interventions to achieve goals: Therapy sessions are then focused on developing a person’s capacity to achieve their goals through interventions including; Education & Skills training (e.g self management skills to empower the person to manage symptoms); Adapting/modifying how a person performs a task, their routines/habits and/or the environment & problem solving challenges that arise; Evaluation of Progress: We then monitor the person’s implementation of the strategies covered in therapy session until they are confidently progressing towards their goals.

Here’s to a positive start to 2023 for you, your loved ones & your patients!

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