Project title
'Experiences of task oriented occupational therapy group environments in an adult mental health setting'
Profile summary
John originally trained and worked as a mental health occupational therapist and then as a manager in adult mental health services, specialising in dual diagnosis, forensic mental health and community mental health. His Master of Science is in “Clinical and Public Health Aspects of Addiction”, from Kings College, London. In the past John has contributed to his profession in various ways, from being a member of the board at the British Association / Royal College of Occupational Therapists, to chairing a national special interest group on occupational therapy and mental health and writing several papers and book chapters on relevant topics within his profession. He has worked overseas, in Germany with the British military and in Israel as part of a fellowship, developing a public health social enterprise project. He has taught American occupational therapy students via Skype on the subject of mental health occupational therapy.
He has always been interested in the way task-oriented occupational therapy groups appear to provide a powerful environment for positive therapeutic change, hence his current PhD focus.
Teaching and subject expertise
John currently teaches on the BSc in Occupational Therapy at Christ Church, on the module on entrepreneurial skills development. He has also taught in other areas, including a coaching skills. He values cross-faculty working and has also been invited to teach on the MA in Myth, Cosmology and the Sacred. He has a strong interest in cross-cultural psychiatry.
In the past John has taught a variety of clinical subjects, including adult mental health, addictions, dual diagnosis, group-work, mindfulness, resilience, groupwork skills and use of occupation-based, task oriented groups in mental health occupational therapy.
Research outputs
Publications
John is on the editorial board of the Journal of Public Mental Health.
In the past he has published papers, chapters and book reviews in various professional journals, books and newsletters, including the British Journal of Occupational Therapy, International Journal of Therapy and Rehabilitation, Addiction Biology.
Conferences
John has presented at a range of conference in the past, most recently a seminar on Mindfulness as an occupational therapy enabling strategy at The OT Show in Birmingham to an audience of 400 therapists.