Commenting on Work and Pensions Secretary, Mel Stride’s comments about ‘mental health culture’, RCOT Head of Practice and Workforce, Suhailah Mohammed, said:
‘We need to be careful not to downplay mental health. Just as with physical health, people experience mental health problems in different ways, with some needing more support than others. We’ve come a long way in how we talk about mental health in the UK, but clearly, we still have some way to go. We should be creating work cultures that support people’s mental health, and allow them to take sick leave when they need it, just as they would if they had a cold.
‘For more serious and longer-term challenges, that’s where occupational therapists come in. We support people to focus on their own abilities, providing a personalised and practical approach to overcome barriers. The holistic approach of occupational therapists, who are dual-trained in both physical and mental health problems, mean we are ideally placed to help people back into work. We’ve launched our first-ever Workforce Strategy today, to make sure that occupational therapists are placed where they’re most needed to provide support for people’s physical and mental health.’