Student plays key role in supporting Occupational Therapy community
An Occupational Therapy student has teamed up with lecturers to launch an innovative new project that supports the mental health of her peers.
Fourth year student Bethany Brammer worked alongside Dr Emma Green and Leona McQuaid on “Snack Size Self Care”, which is currently being piloted to occupational therapy students during Trimester A.
The project, which also involves GCU’s Wellbeing Team, aims to help students deal with the pressures of University and the transition into the world of work.
Bethany spoke about how she got involved: “It was just by chance. I had to cut my fourth year placement short due to personal circumstances. I then finished it and passed but had hours to make up - in occupational therapy you have to do 1000 hours of practice placement over four years in order to graduate.
“Dr Emma Green was looking at how I could make up the hours and mentioned that they were looking for a student intern to support the project. She then got the go-ahead that I could take on this role, so it all worked out nicely.”
The summer break provided Bethany with ample opportunity to research and develop the resources, which focus on everything from mindfulness through to sleep routine and physical health.
This was an integral part of the overall project, which came to fruition after being awarded £2,274 from the University's Strategy for Learning Fund (SfL) 2030.
Bethany said: “It was great that they managed to get that amount of money. It shows how seriously the University is taking the mental health and wellbeing of students.
“I came in as a slightly more mature student, so University for me was something I fully embraced because it was getting me to an end point. I wasn’t someone who was obsessed over essays because I also have a family and a life away from GCU. I think it’s important to have that balance.
“It’s so easy for people to get wrapped up in their coursework and feel like they need to do really well. It takes experience and time to realise that you should step back and take some time for yourself. That’s why “Snack Size Self Care” is an important part of the curriculum.”
The project is currently being trialed by Undergraduate occupational therapy students in third and fourth year, and Masters students.
Alongside class discussions, there are also articles and videos hosted on GCU Learn that students can look at in their own time.
Bethany explained: “Everything online is short and simple, which I had kept in mind as a student myself when developing it. I know how easy it is to get bogged down in lots of information and it would end up proving counter-productive if there’s too much there.”
With the academic year only just underway, there’s still plenty of time for students to experience all that “Snack Size Self Care” has to offer; however, Bethany hasn’t ruled out developing the project further.
She said: “Everything I’ve created can be implemented and reused by different courses. It’s not been designed specifically for occupational therapy students, so it could easily be brought in by any course or year group.”
Bethany added: “It’s exciting - we’ll just need to see how it goes. Mental health and self-care are very subjective, but if a few students can take something away from it and reduce their stress levels, then that would be a massive win for us.”
By Ross Clark
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