Helping you maintain your professional identity, develop your core skills and integrate theory into professional practice.
Ruth Hambling
BSc (Hons), Pg Cert
Welcome to The MoHO OT. I am Ruth, a HCPC registered OT who provides MOHO theory training, clinical supervision and clinical supervision training.
Where it started...
I accidentally stumbled across the field of Occupational Therapy after studying Sports Performance Coaching and Sports Therapy at University when I applied for a job as a Splinting and Bracing Technician at my local hospital. Following five fun-filled years working with the Trauma and Orthopaedics team in Fracture Clinic and supporting the Hand Therapy Team with splinting clinics, I decided to make a leap of faith and head back to university and study to become a fully-fledged Occupational Therapist. Since graduating with my BSc, I have completed a Pg Cert in Clinical Supervision, and completed training in sensory integration, motivational interviewing, DBT, counselling, group facilitation and the Vdt MoCA.
After my graduation, I returned to the physical health field and practised in inpatient Neuro Rehab, which, on reflection, is where I truly had my first experience working as a practitioner with patients who had mental health needs. Fast forward a few years and a few more posts on rotation, I found myself drawn to a new project setting up a ward for patients with complex chronic mental health conditions. The aim of the project was to develop a service targeted at service users who were experiencing prolonged or multiple hospital admissions as a result of their mental health and/or social circumstances.
Being the only OT within the MDT for a significant period of the project meant that it was my responsibility to develop the Occupational Therapy service and treatment pathway on the ward. This is where my love for MOHO really grew. Using MOHO enabled me to construct a pathway robust enough to respond to acute bed pressures and the ever-changing political landscape while remaining focused on delivering care within the recovery framework and most importantly keeping the service user at the core.
Unfortunately, COVID saw the closure of the project but, I returned to acute inpatient mental health and continued with my love for service development and establishing an occupational therapy pathway that is person-centred, flexible and enables smooth transitions from acute services, into the rehab setting and/or the community to ensure that they have support in the longer term.
Five years on, I have now left the NHS for a non-traditional role and am a founder of a community project Betha-Bara working with those experiencing occupational injustice and occupational segregation as a result of their living condition and/or mental health and substance misuse. In my practise as a clinician, using the Model of Human Occupation enables me to place the person and their family or carers at the centre of the decisions that I make with the person to enable the achievement of the person’s recovery goals, while fostering autonomy and improving their social and occupational functioning, with the hope of providing them with a better equality of life and facilitating social inclusion.
Through clinical education role and supervision, I strive to help other Occupational Therapists translate MoHO theory into practise and see the value of using a model of practise to support service delivery and development.
I am passionate about supporting my colleagues and providing opportunities for CPD, reflection and personal development. I believe that quality supervision and mentoring are essential for not only Occupational Therapy students but also, for those currently practising or transitioning into retirement or new life journeys.
Through clinical education and mentoring, I aim to instil a passion for helping the people that we support find meaningful occupations, through the use of occupationally focused interventions. By supporting occupational therapists to use the Model of Human Occupation in practice I aim to support them to enable their service users to gain the skills to manage both their everyday activities, their mental health and physical health, as well as achieve their recovery goals, with the ultimate goal to reduce the length of stay or contact with services, reduce re-admission rates to hospital, enable sustained recovery in the community and promote social inclusion while increasing the person’s chances of securing settled accommodation and paid employment.
If you would like to explore how my MOHO knowledge could help you improve your service or would like some clinical supervision, please contact me for a free informal chat.
