Say the following: roast, boast, coast, post. Now, what do you put in a toaster?
Bread.
Sexual Harassment and Sexual Abuse: OT Can Help
Julie Entwistle, MBA, BHSc (OT), BSc (Health / Gerontology)
The pendulum has surely shifted on what society will and will not tolerate when it comes to sexual harassment and sexual abuse. For those that remain confused on these two overlapping but very different concepts, here are simple definitions from Wikipedia:
Sexual Harassment: bullying or coercion of a sexual nature, or the unwelcome or inappropriate promise of rewards in exchange for sexual favors.
Sexual Abuse: undesired sexual behavior by one person upon another.
Sexual harassment has often been related to the workplace and women tend to be the most common recipients. It also tends to involve a power imbalance whereby one person is in a position of authority over the other, but by definition, this does not have to be the case. With the current societal shifts, it is now recognized that harassment can extend beyond the workplace, and is not gender specific. Sexual abuse, on the other hand, has always been more of a global term, applying to anyone, anywhere, anytime, who is forced into sexual activity without their consent. It has always been socially unacceptable, even when sexual harassment was more of a commonality.
Truth be told, I have been a victim of both. I can say that harassment is easier to talk about but at the time I was being harassed it was not as socially unacceptable as it has become. In fact, it almost seemed common that a young woman working (and in my case playing sports) who was exposed to men in more senior positions would be solicited, propositioned, flirted with or asked on dates or to social events. I was fortunate in that none of these experiences turned into sexual abuse and I trust (hope) that men today behave much more professionally around women in general. Sexual abuse, on the other hand, is much harder to talk about, and my experience with this is not one I am comfortable sharing publicly. I do know though that victims of sexual abuse often need therapy to help them recover from their trauma, and I am hopeful that the recent media attention to this will encourage victims to come forward and seek help should they need it.
Occupational therapy can be one form of treatment for people who have suffered from sexual harassment or abuse. When people are off work or struggling with work, our therapy helps people to discover functional barriers, develop solutions, proactively engage in problem solving, and then assists people to forward in their new chosen direction (albeit return to work, seeking new work, or addressing retraining). With sexual abuse some occupational therapists are trained in psychotherapy and work with people directly to address the results of their trauma. Occupational therapy also helps people to rebuild the elements of their life that have been lost because of their trauma. Sometimes victims of sexual abuse develop maladaptive ways to cope (addictive behaviors, inactivity, social isolation to name a few) and these can be addressed in treatment. It is also common that depression and anxiety surface following sexual abuse, and these too can be tackled through activation at home and in the community. Occupational therapists work very well with other providers who may also be involved – social workers, psychologists, and the medical team, helping to create a cohesive and impactful approach to recovery.
If the media attention to these problems results in positive societal and behavioral change, then we all need to be thankful and grateful to the people that have come forward and for the stories that have been shared. And if sexual harassment or abuse have caused problems for you and impact how you manage your day-to-day activities including work, taking care of yourself, enjoying leisure, or managing important elements of how you want to spend your time, consider occupational therapy as one element of your recovery team.
Tips for a Healthier Dining Out Experience
Eating out for pleasure is always a treat, however, for the many who find dining out to be a large part of their work-life on a regular basis, restaurant dining can lose its appeal! Although recently more restaurants have expanded menus to include healthier options, large portion sizes and high sodium levels can put the diners’ health at risk.
Learn some great tips on how to make healthier choices when dining out in the following article care of Forbes Magazine.
O-Tip of the Week: Gain Control Over Stress or It Will Control You
Our O-Tip of the week series we will be providing valuable “OT-Approved Life Hacks” to provide you with simple and helpful solutions for living.
For the month of February, Heart Month, our O-Tip series will feature Heart Smart Life Hacks.
In 2013, Statistics Canada reported that 6.6 million Canadians (ages 15 and older) reported that most days were ‘quite a bit’ or ‘extremely stressful’. That is a lot of stress. Stress can negatively affect many aspects of your physical and emotional health including your heart. Learn more about the connection between stress and heart disease in the following care of the American Heart Association.
For the sake of your heart, and overall health, it’s time to take control of your stress! Start by identifying WHAT specifically is causing the stress and from there you can work to develop healthy coping strategies.
Try our free printable Stress Management Worksheet as a guide.
Thinking Big: The Impact OT Services Can Have on the Healthcare System
Guest Blogger Lauren Heinken, Student Occupational Therapist
Recently we reviewed the book Better Now: Six Big Ideas to Improve Healthcare for All Canadians, written by Dr. Danielle Martin. While the book is excellent, it did omit to include how Occupational Therapy (OT) services may impact Canada’s Healthcare system, and this blog will fill this gap. I believe that an increase in OHIP funded OT services has the potential to have a positive economic impact on the healthcare system as a whole. This is mainly due to OT being a proactive form of therapy that may help in preventing individuals from requiring more reactive forms of care following an acute bout of illness/injury.
An aging population has the potential to place strain on our healthcare system; however, this can be minimized through strategies that: decrease the number of episodes of acute illness/injury experienced by this population, and improve the management of the chronic conditions they face. These strategies require that a proactive approach to healthcare be undertaken. OTs are well positioned to provide preventative care due to their focus on helping individuals find ways to safely engage in their daily occupations despite limitations that they may have. The OT focus on helping clients to maintain independence and through empowering clients to be accountable for the management of their own health aligns well with a preventative approach. So why does OHIP coverage (and even private coverage) for OT services remain so limited? By limiting the number of individuals who can access these services, aren’t we missing out on an opportunity to reduce costs to the healthcare system in the future?
The answers to these questions lie in the fact that our healthcare system remains highly focused on reactive care. It is no secret that Canada’s healthcare system is much more effective in providing urgent and acute medical services than it is in providing services to those with health conditions that cause functional decline, but not to the point of being imminently life-threatening. Although having these acute services is essential, making cutbacks to services that have the potential to reduce these acute events, is shortsighted. Because acute medical services are necessary, increasing funding for preventative services will initially result in an increased cost to the system. However, as these preventative services become utilized it can be expected that acute costs will decrease to a greater extent than the cost of preventative services in the first place. This is especially true if these services can be administered in a group setting, and OTs are trained to provide educational self-management interventions in this manner.
OTs are also well positioned to provide transitional services that can help to bridge the gaps between care settings, for example when transitioning from acute hospital care to the care received afterwards in the community. Problems can arise during this transition especially if information is not communicated effectively between care sources. This can lead to hospital readmissions and complications in the recovery process, which lead to further healthcare costs. OTs can be effective coordinators and can help to arrange the necessary community care following the acute phase of recovery in the hospital. OT’s understand the demands required for someone to perform their daily living activities at home and are uniquely positioned to assess if returning to these activities is possible, or what assistance might be needed. If patients are given the appropriate assistance during their recovery process, their health outcomes will naturally be more positive. Additionally, since occupational therapists are trained to address all factors that can influence a person’s well being, they are more likely to pick up on additional challenges an individual may face when returning home post hospitalization. Maybe their home environment is poorly suited to their current needs, or maybe they have little social support available to them; whatever the situation, OTs know how best to solve these problems.
Considering the role OT’s can play in improving the lives of Canadians, and in reducing long term costs, as a profession they need to continue to advocate for their services, particularly those that may be considered preventative in nature. Outcome studies do exist that showcase how OT reduces costs and prevents re-institutionalization. This is the data we need, combined with qualitative case studies and stories of client experiences, to promote change. But in the end, it is a paradigm shift that is required in the minds of all Canadians – the “it won’t happen to me” needs to become “it is happening to me and I need help” before people will be able to reshape their activities and get the support and answers required to result in more positive health outcomes.
Weekly Mind Bender
What Does a Psychologist Do?
February is Psychology Month. Psychologists, often confused with Psychiatrists, are valuable health practitioners who assist people with how they feel, act and behave. Learn more about psychology, its benefits, and how a Psychologist may be able to assist you or someone you love in the following care of the Canadian Psychological Association.
O-Tip of the Week: Exercise — The Key to a Healthy Heart!
Our O-Tip of the week series we will be providing valuable “OT-Approved Life Hacks” to provide you with simple and helpful solutions for living.
For the month of February, Heart Month, our O-Tip series will feature Heart Smart Life Hacks.
You’ve heart this before and we’ll say it again: physical activity is extremely beneficial for all aspects of your health. When it comes to heart health, regular cardiovascular activity is one of the best ways to prevent heart disease and keep your ticker ticking!
Learn more about the benefits of exercise for your heart in the following care of WebMD.
Weekly Mind Bender
Occupational Therapy Provides Solutions for Living with Heart Disease
February is Heart Month and while many of our blog posts will focus on prevention through good health habits, we want to also provide you with some tips for recovery.
Heart disease has a major impact on an individual’s quality of life. It can lead to discomfort or chronic pain, activity limitations, disability and unemployment. “An estimated 345,000 Canadians aged 35 to 64 reported living with heart disease. More than a third (36%) of these reported needing help with household tasks or personal care” (Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada, 1999). Heart disease requires lifestyle changes to prevent progression of the disease, further cardiac events and activity restrictions.
An occupational therapist, in conjunction with other team members, will help you determine what activities you can safely perform and how to modify activities to decrease the amount of energy required. Learn more about the solutions an Occupational Therapist can provide in the following infographic.