A different perspective.

Thank you for agreeing to talk to us Georgia. What do you like most about doing this type of work?

I guess I would say the best thing is that you are doing something meaningful. Every day you get up and it makes you feel like you’re actually making a difference. I guess it’s brought more meaning to my life.

You also notice that they (participants) change so much since you started working with them and sometimes that can be in just a few weeks or months… so it’s nice to be a part of that process. Also been very engaged with someone’s life, it really opens you up to so many different things. You’ll gain so much experience from other people’s experiences. It really puts things into perspective. It’s also interesting to see the way everyone else works and how your impact can be so positive, by literally just being there, for that social support such as taking them out. They really appreciate that.

 

How did you come to being involved in this role?

I am doing occupational therapy at University. In my whole first year I was working in hospitality and I felt like I wasn’t doing what I wanted to do. I just felt that someone yelling at me because I didn’t put two sugars in their coffee was just so trivial. So I took a chance and submitted my resume to PHM and then forgot about it. And then, randomly in literally the worst week of my life, I got a call from them asking if I wanted to come in for an interview. It was like a sign. A very rollercoaster week. I don’t see myself ever going back to hospitality.

A lot of people say to me, how do you have so much patience? I say to them, this is so much easier, to help someone that needs to be helped.

 

 

What do you like about working for PHM Health?

I like all the people in the office. They’re very nice and always there for you. They’re a really supportive team, so if anything happens, I know that I can call them and talk about it. They’re a really good company, and they share the same kind of values I do. I know they all genuinely want to help and it’s not a money making business. They really do care.

I also like how diverse it is, such as working with so many different people, giving me a very broad experience, into so many different people’s lives.

 

The Office Team

 

Do you have any favourite moments you’d like to share with us?

I really like kids. One child is non-verbal autistic. With all the people in his circle, with positive reinforcement there’s been real progress. Not just saying, ‘that’s good.’ But being really specific, so he understands. He’s talking a little now. And he counts with me. His eating has definitely changed a lot too. It’s a lot about texture. But he’s eating better now, just with that encouragement and support. So that’s really good to be a part of.

But then again, there’s another person I really enjoy helping. She’s in her sixties and has schizophrenia. I take her out for coffee and do shopping. She likes going to the movies and things like that but with Covid we had to stop doing that. She told me that when she was a kid, she would help her mum cooking by peeling potatoes, so we started cooking so she could take part. It was something different than what we’d normally do but she really enjoyed it. That’s just a simple story but it’s part of why I like working with people.

 

Is there anything else you’d care to add?

I feel like it’s given me really needed experience, that’s really opened my eyes because for so long, you don’t realise it, but you hold certain views on certain things. Obviously that’s not your fault, because that’s all you know, and that’s the only way you can process it, so when you go into situations, you’re predicting a person will be a certain way.

You soon realise that any person, especially in this environment, are all different. Just because someone’s got schizophrenia, does not mean that two people that have schizophrenia will have the same diagnosis. I think that’s a lot of what occupational therapy is about. Individualising a lot of people, giving them back their independence, or at least, trying to increase their independence.

 

That is really great insight Georgia. Thank you so much for talking to us. We appreciate your time and of course, we are very happy to have you as part of the PHM team.

My pleasure Anthony. I love doing what I do, and I love working at PHM. It’s really a great, rewarding environment to be a part of.

by Anthony J. Langford

July 2020 (c)