I’m Kirsty Stanley (she/her) and I’m an Occupational Therapist (HCPC Registered) and a Member of the Royal College of Occupational Therapists (as an individual).
I completed my BSc (Hons) in Occupational Therapy at St. Loyes in Exeter between 1996 and 1999.
I then completed a hospital rotation over 3 years followed by working in a community rehabilitation team for 4.
In 2006 I moved into Higher Education as a Lecturer in Occupational Therapy where I completed a Post Graduate Certificate in Health and Social Care Education and started my doctorate. My teaching focus was on Continuing Professional Development (CPD), occupational therapy assessment and planning and client-centred practice. I also co-ordinated the course admissions for a number of years.
In October 2011 I was one of the founding member of the #OTalk Twitter chat team – you can find out more about #OTalk here. Although I have stepped back from this role I still regularly frequent Twitter.
In Nov 2014 I left Higher Education to return to practice in the NHS. I worked in a Multiple Sclerosis Specialist Service between 2015-2019.
In Dec 2019/Jan 2020 I now realise I had COVID-19 and as a result have been living with Long Covid since. I have been involved in advocacy with two of the leading UK and international charities and was one of the founders of Occupational Therapy for Long Covid.
From May 2020 – May 2021 I worked as a clinical contact caseworker supporting the pandemic response.
Outside of work I am a keen book blogger and creative writer (I also have a BA (Hons) in Literature from The Open University). I am currently enrolled in the 12 month Industry-led, Writing for Children and Young Adults course at the Golden Egg Academy.
I am now self-employed as an Independent Occupational Therapist and Writer via Occupation4Life Ltd and provide an innovative range of occupation based and writing services delivered mainly virtually. I also provide mentorship to other occupational therapists and have published a CPD Journal to support fun and varied engagement in Continuing Professional Development.
Additionally I am a Senior Occupational Therapist and Team Member at Long Covid Kids, an associate at Long Covid Work, an associate at Thriving Autistic and associate lecturer at the University of Northampton. I am passionate about using my Lived Experience of Long Covid and Neurodiversity (ADHD/Dyspraxia) to support other neurodiverse or disabled people. I am also a founding member of AbleOTUK – an affinity group for occupational therapists with disabilities or long term health conditions.
Please contact me using the email occupation4life@gmail.com – I offer a free 15 minute consultation for all services I provide. (Please accept my apologies if you used the contact form that was here before and didn’t get a response, there was a difficulty with me receiving those messages.
Occupation4Life 