Activities for Mental Health
I passionately believe that doing the things that you enjoy and value helps to make you who you are - if you lose the ability to do these things part of you can be lost too.
​
Over the last 20 years I have worked in the NHS, Adult Social Care and the charity sector supporting people to start doing the things that give their life meaning and purpose again.
This isn't about performing miracles, rather it is about us exploring together the possible ways that you might be able to bring more of what you love back into your life again today
Activity and visiting boxes
Provision of activity and discussion boxes for you to use with family members and friends when they visit you either at home or in a residential care setting - offering a focus for time and discussion, and helping each contact to be a meaningful and valued experience for all.
​
These can also be used by care home staff to provide tailored, individualised activities in residential care settings
Ongoing supported engagement
Working on a weekly basis with an occupational therapist to remain engaged in meaningful activity either at home or in the community.
Supported engagement sessions aim to optimise your engagement in activities of interest and to maximise your independence in these and other activities. Through this process we would also hope to see an overall improvement in quality of life, health and wellbeing.
Getting back on Track
This is a short period of assessment and intervention with the aim of supporting you to either regain your independence in being able to enjoy meaningful activity, or enabling a carer or family member to support you to maintain your involvement in meaningful activity.
At the end of our work together you will have written information on what meaningful activity is for you and how you can be supported to continue to engage in it.
This package also involves exploring community resources, opportunities and services and developing links with these if they would help enhance your quality of life.
lIFE HISTORY WORK
Life history work and future planning - Working with you to explore and record your life to date - who you are and what you have done; your hopes, wishes, values, experiences, achievements, relationships etc.
Time is spent thinking about what this means for you today and how these experiences, interests and values can be used to influence your current lifestyle. These records can prompt discussion and reflection and also help inform future care and decisions.
Working with couples
KB Activities also works with couples where there has been a shift in the dynamic of the relationship from partners to ‘carer and cared for’; looking to provide support and advice to find activities which the couple can experience and enjoy together outside of practical tasks.
So how does it work?
"Simply put, successfully supporting someone to connect with and access meaningful activity is about matching their interests, hopes and wishes with their strengths, skills and resources. Sometimes this means exploring ways to make a treasured activity possible again by making changes to the way it is done, or it might be about trying a new activity that can give the same valued rewards and outcomes that the treasured activity has provided in the past. Getting this balance is where occupational therapy shines"
​
​
​
​
Where to begin?
Lets start with a chat
Firstly we’ll have an initial discussion, either on the phone or at your home, to establish what you might like to get from the service. This gives me a chance to find out a bit about you and to start thinking about how I might be able to shape the service to meet your needs.
​
Email me on kate@kbactivities.co.uk to arrange a convenient time for me to call you back.
​