MSc students join forces to recognise occupational therapy trailblazer
GCU students have come together to create a tribute video to one of occupational therapy’s greatest pioneers.
Dr Elizabeth Casson is recognised as the founder of the profession in England after borrowing funds in 1929 to establish the Dorset House School of Occupational Therapy in Bristol. She was also the first woman to be awarded a medical degree by the University of Bristol.
2023 is the 75th anniversary of the Elizabeth Casson Trust, which was set up to honour the lasting impact Dr Casson had on occupational therapists around the world.
GCU’s Dr Katrina Bannigan recently mentioned the work of Elizabeth Casson during her class, which focused on working towards retirement. This proved to be the catalyst for a group of first year MSc Occupational Therapy students to investigate her work further.
Emma Idowu-Kueje, who was one of the six students involved in the creation of the video, explained: “My Undergraduate degree was in counselling, so I’m relatively new to occupational Therapy. I had never heard of Elizabeth Casson, so found it really interesting that one woman could have such an impact.
“It was amazing for us all to read about her work and that a trust was set up in her memory. She became so influential in the UK at a time when a lot of people weren’t recognising occupational therapy as a means of support.
“The mission of the Elizabeth Casson Trust is basically to empower those working within occupational therapy. It was a beautiful coincidence that it happened to be the 75th anniversary and gave us another reason to recognise her work.”
Emma, who came to Scotland from Nigeria in January, teamed up with her classmates Amy Wallen, Chibuikem Nwannah, Joy Akpanumoh, Julie-Anne Shearer and Blessing Christian to create a short video marking the occasion.
Emma explained: “I previously worked with UNICEF and made videos for them so I've enjoyed creating videos for some time. I knew how to capture a short video that summarised everything, but we were all in it together to help make the project a success.”
She added: “It’s funny because we actually didn’t have to practice much at all. We just went for it on the day and it was a real team effort for it all to come together.”
The video focused on five key themes, which were inspired by the groundbreaking work of Elizabeth Casson: elevating the profession, inclusivity, leadership, empowerment and innovation.
Emma admits feeling inspired by the work of Elizabeth Casson and explained how it will help her strive to become a better occupational therapist – both in the present day as a student and throughout her future career.
She said: “I actually found it particularly interesting that her background is similar to mine. Her work originally focused on mental health and the importance of occupational therapy in supporting people, which is very inspiring for someone coming from a counselling background.
“I’m really proud to be in the process of becoming an occupational therapist. I had previously worked with many different professionals from a range of health backgrounds in Nigeria, but I’d never come across an occupational therapist.
“There are very few occupational therapists in Nigeria and it’s not really recognised as being important. Mental Health is only really just starting to be acknowledged as societal issue – the focus has always been more on spiritual healing.
“One day I would like to go back and help impact on government policies. It’s important to make occupational therapy a necessity in Nigeria and that’s one of the major things I want to achieve.”
You can download the Elizabeth Casson tribute video here
By Ross Clark
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