Philipp Santiago
Congratulations to Philipp for being a winner of the 2021
CAOT-BC Research and Education Grant!
Why did you choose occupational therapy as a career?
I had always envisioned working in mental health and substance use. Discovering OT at a career fair at the University of Toronto during my undergrad studies (I did a double major in Integrative Biology and Psychology), I was immediately blown away.
I thought, “Whoa – there’s this career that is all about overcoming obstacles (i.e. rehabilitation), with a balanced approach to wellness (including mental health), AND!!! with focus on the core elements of day to day life. How fascinating! #dreamjob
Congratulations on receiving a CAOT-BC grant! Tell us about how you have/will use this grant?
I’m so thankful to CAOT-BC for the CAOT-BC Research and Education Grant – I appreciate the consideration!
Based on the CAOT Workshop, Foundations in mental health and well-being, presented by Lisa Diamond-Burchuk, OT Reg. (M.B.), my intention is to first increase my familiarity with and confidence in using a variety of the practical mental health and resiliency/coping skills, and in my current role as an OT in acute Mental Health & Substance Use Services, assist clients in overcoming thoughts, feelings and behaviours that impede functional ability to engage in meaningful occupation.
To improve direct client care, I have started to share this learning with my colleagues. Applying an interprofessional approach to supporting clients with mental health and well-being skills, we are starting to incorporate this learning into the therapeutic group programming we offer, as well as into our 1:1 interactions with clients on the acute units at the Mental Health & Wellness Centre, Royal Columbian Hospital in New Westminster. Materials and learnings from this training have been used to contribute to use of Grounding Kits (that clients are encouraged to use on the unit and take home), and an independent activity sheet binder full of recovery-focused handouts/worksheets (that clients can access on their own, especially during evenings and weekends).
This is an opportune time for OTs to own and focus in on these skills; promoting expertise and a strong skill set in the area of mental health and well-being. These skills include: mindfulness, interpersonal effectiveness, distress tolerance, emotion regulation (the Dialectical Behavioural Therapy skills), behavioural activation, social prescribing, and basic cognitive behavioural therapy skills.
OTs, the interprofessional team, and client families can support the client, and each other, during these unprecedented times, with several options in their wellness toolkits.
By having a strong sense of resilience, clients will be able to participate more in meaningful activities, and feel intrinsically motivated by their values and beliefs, while still acknowledging any emotions brought on by the pandemic and other general life stressors. This will also support the client in getting the most out of the services they are accessing, and their general treatment and wellness goals.
What is your favourite thing about CAOT-BC?
I love the accessibility and variety of educational opportunities available! I also love the chance to network with OTs out of my worksite bubble. Each OT definitely puts their own mark on the delivery of OT services, so that is always neat to appreciate, in meeting a variety of OTs from all over the province. CAOT-BC also offers leadership opportunities, such as chairing a practice network (like the Mental Health & Substance Use Practice Network, which I have had the pleasure of chairing just under 2 years)! Thank you CAOT-BC!
Where have you worked over your career? Where do you work now?
My OT career started in 2009. I started in a return to work program in Nanaimo. Not feeling it was a fit for me, I then moved back to my home province and worked at Ontario Shores, in the Older Adult Mental Health Program. I realized then again that this area of practice wasn’t the perfect match, in terms of my skills and interests. I returned to BC to then work at the Burnaby Mental Health Inpatient Unit (IPU) for approximately 8 years (on and off!), which truly, looking back, was where my passion for OT, and rehabilitation and recovery, really was discovered. Invigorated and #mOTivated, I knew that that was where my own strengths as an OT were optimized, in the same way that we support individuals we serve to discover how to be their best selves. Did an OT create the hashtag #livingmybestlife?!?
I’ve also worked briefly in private practice in Durham Region, Ontario, and over the past 3 years, have been working in different leadership capacities, in temporary positions: first at the Burnaby Centre for Mental Health & Substance Use (Provincial Health Services Authority) as the OT Professional Practice Lead, then at Vancouver Coastal Health as the OT Mental Health & Substance Use (MHSU) Clinical Resource Therapist, and recently again with Fraser Health as the Clinical Lead for OT MHSU from March 2020 – May 2021. Since May of this year, I’ve returned to the role where I feel I have the most “flow” in acute psychiatry; at the new Mental Health & Wellness Centre, Royal Columbian Hospital, I serve one of the general Mental Health Inpatient Units, as well as the Psychiatric High Acuity Unit (PHAU).
On the side, I’ve worked with COTBC as a Continuing Competency Exam Sub-Committee Member from 2014-2016, and as a Small Group Tutorial Facilitator with UBC’s Department of Occupational Science & Occupational Therapy, starting in 2018.
What do you find most challenging about working as an OT?
The challenge in supporting the interprofessional team and leadership to truly appreciate the scope of OT practice, especially in MHSU services, continues!
I believe that outcome measures (e.g. COPM) can translate the value of OT (that we already know!) into universal information for others/stakeholders to really digest and understand, fully.
I believe that in OT MHSU practice especially, that us being mindful of how our assessment and intervention is connected to function is super important in keeping ourselves in check (in terms of scope), and being able to objectively reason (for clients, ourselves, our team, and the College) how what we’re doing is legit as OTs (e.g. use of Cognitive Behavioural Therapy as a tool in supporting a client’s occupational goals, versus a stand-alone “therapy” session).
What has surprised you most about working as an OT?
I’d say that as a sole OT on several interprofessional teams, what has been surprising, in both positive and challenging ways, is the impact of the work that you do as a sole representative of the profession. At times, it’s a lot of pressure, especially if your advocacy for the client from an OT lens isn’t fully appreciated. However, in the instances that the team totally understands and values your involvement, and the work you’ve been doing with the client has been so positively impactful for them, it’s a pleasant surprise!
What do you think will change/shape practice over the next five years?
Now more than ever, I believe that virtual services will shape OT practice in the near future. Of course, in appreciating its limitations and how it may be the next best thing compared to how things were done in the past, on the flip side, it may open the door to opportunities, in serving clients in a different way, with broader breadth of outreach. Definitely lots to appreciate, including virtual “burnout” of staff and clients, effects on engagement and rapport-building, access to technology, and the effects of changes in daily routine (e.g. less structured use of time, accessing the outside environment less frequently, less physical movement and exercise, seeing others less, and overall effects on sense of self). We can all appreciate the effects that COVID-19 has had on our own mental health – I can only imagine its effects on those who live with mental illness and/or substance use challenges, especially on their hopes and dreams.
#OT365
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