Cygnet’s Occupational Therapy Conference 2025 - Part 1
Elizabeth Lynk, Specialist Occupational Therapist at Cygnet Sherwood Lodge, shares her reflections on Cygnet's Occupational Therapy Conference 2025, which took place on Wednesday 9th July. The blog includes video links to the presentations.
Our regional team came together to watch the OT conference at Cygnet Sherwood House. The virtual conference was attended by teams across the country including teams from Bury, Kewstoke and Colchester.
You can catch up on the presentations via the video links below. Scroll down for the gallery and exciting news about nominations opening for Cygnet’s Occupational Therapy Awards 2025.
The conference was opened by Victoria Wisniewski, Cygnet’s Director of Occupational Therapy (North). Vicky said: “This is our opportunity to come together as a profession – to reflect, to share learning, and to celebrate the innovation that continues to grow across our diverse services. Our theme this year Intervention, Innovation, and Imagination couldn’t be more fitting, especially in the current context of health and social care across the UK.
She added: “This conference isn’t just about showcasing what we do – it’s about reminding ourselves of our leadership role within the wider care system. It’s about staying future-focused, confident in our identity, and connected to a strong, collective voice across our profession.”
Keynote Speaker Andy Johnston, Clinical Director of AndyJohnstonAssociates
Vicky introduced our keynote speaker, Andy Johnston. Andy is a clinical director, educator, and long-standing leader in mental health. Over a 40-year career across the NHS and independent sector, he’s championed innovation, service user engagement, and high-quality, person-centred care – always with a strong belief in the transformative power of occupational therapy.
Andy talked about the NHS Fit for the Future: 10 Year Health Plan for England, delivering value, the importance of enablement, the future of AI, OT justice and social prescribing and preventing admissions.
I was inspired and honoured that Andy really cared about the importance of advocating to empower Occupational Therapists, putting them in the forefront of acute wards as key contributors and leaders. He believes in the impact which Occupational Therapy has on people’s lives.
It was also good to hear from his perspective with a background in nursing that OTs should be provided with more of a voice around peoples’ care, and he provided fascinating insights into initiative models in Sweden and the Netherlands.
Vicky observed the keynote was: “Such a powerful reminder of the growing evidence base for the impact of occupational therapy – and a really timely reflection on the role we can play in leadership, system safety, and recovery across complex services.”
A message which stayed with me was: “OTs are leading the next chapter. You are not just a part of the system, you shape it! Shaping the next chapter of the health and social care. Challenge yourself. If not you, then who? And if not now, than when?”
Transforming Practice: VdTMoCA Preceptorship and Collaborative Approaches to Behaviours that Challenge – Theoca Fredericks & Michelle van Vuren
Theoca and Michelle delivered updates on the exclusive implementation of the Vona du Toit Model of Creative Ability (VdTMoCA) Preceptorship within Cygnet’s Mental Health Acute and PICU services. This innovate preceptorship is designed to deepen practitioners understanding of VdTMoCA framework, enrich clinical practice, and cultivate leadership by developing Occupational Therapists’ clinical decision-making skills and equipping them to guide their teams during periods of challenging behaviour.
The future of the preceptorship looks full of potential, with plans to expand into additional service lines and provide further opportunities for Cygnet’s Occupational Therapists to contribute to research publications, academic collaborations and policy development. Excitingly, the model will also see the involvement of sensory strategies and complementary initiatives such as Activity PRN which will enhance the therapeutic impact.
As Vicky commented: “We’re genuinely excited to see how this work will continue to grow, and we’re looking forward to rolling it out across all our service lines in the future.”
Poster presentations
A highlight of the conference is the opportunity to explore the poster presentations which showcase innovation on OT practice across Cygnet. I’d encourage everyone to take a look and consider adopting these approaches in your work.
Community Connections: Re-building Lives, Restoring Purpose – Richa Singh, Occupational Therapist Cygnet Hospital Woking
QI Project: Sleep Follow-up – Cygnet Autism Residential Services – Southampton
Using the Kawa Model to Support the Discharge Process – Kirsty Prochowski and Stephanie Nowell
Cygnet Bury Forestwood Garden Improvement Project – Rebecca Killey – CAMHS Clinical Lead Occupational Therapist and Daisy Seller – Head OT
Increasing our involvement in universities through guest lecturing – Adam Robinson, Sarah Lilico, Sarah Prinn, Kirstie Ralph, Saga Mak, Madeleine Pearce, Alba Gomez Nievestrillo, Ruth Shooter, Sophie Hughes, Emmanuel Ozowara, Theoca Moodley and Michelle Vanvuren
Development of an audit tool to improve OT intervention usability and staff training – Megan Bell, Regional Lead Occupational Therapist for Social Care
Increasing Service User Confidence Upon Discharge QI Project – Emily Kobelis, Clinical Lead Occupational Therapist at Cygnet Hospital Beckton
Ready, Steady, Move: Positive outcomes of Occupational Therapy led movement groups within social care setting – Amrutha Chandran, Charlotte Warren, Emma Mellor & Emma Hunt, Band 5 Occupational Therapists in Social Care
Motivation Station: Two Years On – Tracy Lambert
Activity PRN: Time to roll out. An interactive presentation about Activity PRN and roll out of the intervention across the Acute and PICU service line – Neil Barker
The next presentation, led by Neil Barker, followed on from Theoca and Michelle’s exploration as Neil shared exciting updates on the Activity PRN project currently active within Cygnet’s mental health Acute and PICU service lines.
Last year Neil first introduced this exciting piece of research which was just being implemented. A year on, we heard how it’s progressed, what’s been learned, and what’s next.
Neil offered an empathic perspective on the challenges the people we support experience on admission and the role of accessible, timely and purposeful activity in supporting recovery. The initiative has already received positive recognition from the CQC for reducing restrictive practices and encouraging all staff to be proactive in providing activities. The future for rolling out Activity PRN will include ‘train the trainer sessions’ for services which are involved. To be most effective, the project will need a collaborative approach between sites. Neil welcomes questions or enquiries for resources from clinicians interesting in implementing the initiative at their own sites.
Rediscovering Purpose: A case study of recovery through Occupational Therapy in Mental Health Rehabilitation – Shaun Arthur (Expert by Experience) & Sarah Leigh, led by Donna Ironmonger, our Clinical Lead Occupational Therapist for Mental Health Rehabilitation
Specialist Occupational Therapist Sarah Leigh and Expert by Experience Shaun Arthur shared a profoundly emotional story with the conference exploring Shaun’s journey of living through grief and belief.
Shaun and Sarah described how Occupational Therapy had identified he was missing a sense of self and identity, that he had ‘lost his sparkle’. Shaun had made tremendous strides with the support of his OT behind him and found a passion with jujitsu, attending groups and a successful transition into the community. The takeaway of their story was of the value of a connection and belief of a practitioner places in a person can be life changing, knowing they are truly seen can reignite motivation and empower individuals to move forward. It was a reminder of why we do what we do. Thank you to Shaun and Sarah for sharing and inspiring us all.
The second part of the conference demonstrated the need for Occupational Therapists to embrace their creative side implementing interventions to see big outcomes.
Roll for Motivation! Using Dungeons and Dragons as a meaningful occupation in CAMHS – Ellie Madeira & Alex Brocksom
Ellie Maderia and Alex Brocksom, Occupational Therapists from Cygnet Hospital Sheffield, discussed an exciting explanation on using Dungeons and Dragons (D&D) as a therapeutic tool within CAMHS services. They explored how the imaginative world of D&D offers young people, especially those with autism, a safe and engaging space to develop essential life skills. Through game play, young people can share their own characters with unique strengths and challenges, or take on the role of the Games Master, guiding others through their story.
This immersive approach becomes a metaphor for practicing decision making, exploring identity, empathy and learning to navigate social interactions and conflict. Such a creative way in engage people into groups! It’s such a great example of how creativity and therapeutic intent can come together in really meaningful ways.
Using Occupation to Assess and Treat Executive Function within Neuropsychiatry Services – Georgia Nelson, Ryia Farrow, Alex Scordis-Hutchinson & Abishek Gopinathan
Georgia Nelson, Ryia Farrow, Alex Scordis-Hutchinson and Abishek Gopinathan shared creative ways to assess executive function within neuropsychiatry services.
The insightful and clinically grounded presentation explored the complexities of this specialist service line while inviting the entire conference to take part in treasure hunt! This was a playful and engaging example of how Occupational Therapists can assess cognition, processing speeds and working memory in real time.
The team discussed using an escape room style activity involving numbers, codes and locks. Being so interactive the interventions have had benefits such as promoting cognitive function, reducing anxiety, building confidence and sparking curiosity. Importantly, the team described engagement within these types of assessments encourages feedback, tests the frontal lobe paradox and promotes collaboration and opportunities for OTs to complete activity analysis and MDT involvement, all whist having fun!
OT Tool Box: Empowering Independence through Social, Emotional & Practical Skills – Zaheera Gangat
Zaheera Gangat presented an exploration on the topic of group therapy promoting meaningful change.
She discussed how “group therapy is the most empowering tool we have, empowering independence though social, emotional and practical skills”. Her OT Tool Box group is a five week programme exploring social identity, ADL development, emotional insight, and reintegration.
It was wonderful to reflect on the power of group therapy and to rediscover the value of the therapeutic use of self in enabling meaningful change.
Moving Through Sensory Challenges: A Dance Group Intervention – Amrutha Chandran
This standout presentation was truly inspirational.
Through creative techniques such as mirror dancing and exploring diverse musical styles, participants were encouraged to forget usual routines, to connect with music and move their bodies, which promoted regulation and self-esteem, self-expression and aims to boost brain function and motor skills. Amrutha noted the exposure had also made improvements with an individual to attend groups and led to exploring new music. A wonderful reminder that even the briefest interventions and the smallest improvements can lead to lasting change.
Closing Plenary
Vicky reminded us that: “The Occupational Therapy Workforce Strategy (2024–2027) calls explicitly for OTs to lead in mental health, inpatient recovery, rehabilitation, early intervention, and multi-disciplinary system redesign. It champions a future where OT isn’t siloed — it’s central. For us, that’s a powerful prompt to grow our presence, raise our profile, and invest in the next generation of OT leadership. Alongside that, the RCOT’s 10-Year Research & Innovation Strategy urges us to be bold — to centre evidence, equity, and imagination, and to co-produce interventions that truly work for the people we support.
She added: “This isn’t just a space to be inspired. It’s a space to be activated. So here’s the challenge we want to leave you with: Whether you’ve been an occupational therapist for decades or you’re just approaching qualification, think about your own caseload – the environment you work in now, or the one you hope to work in soon. Where could you take one of the ideas from today – adapt it, and make it work in your context? Maybe not everything will fit perfectly. But some part of it might just unlock something meaningful for the people you support.”
