Spring is a time of hope: the earth awakens with flowers, and we look toward a lighter, colorful season. Amid this time, we highlight professionals who, like flowers, offer a lift to make people’s lives better.  Occupational Therapy Month highlights and celebrates the work done by occupational therapy practitioners, educators, and students, including work to enhance the lives of individuals living with mental illness.

Dr. Carrie Griffiths, OTD, OTR/L, faculty specialist in the University of Scranton’s Occupational Therapy (OT) Department believes in empowering her students and preparing them with skills they need to work with people living with mental illness. Griffiths, who has spent years working as an OT in mental health settings, has integrated classes and trainings on mental illness for all OT students and forged a valuable partnership with NAMI (National Alliance on Mental Illness) Northeast Region PA affiliate.

Griffiths said, “Getting students to understand mental health conditions is key for them developing holistic and comprehensive treatment plans, which in turn is going to help the clients they eventually serve.”  She added, “I hope their training helps to improve overall societal attitudes about mental health.”

In addition to the mental health course that Griffiths teaches OT students, students have accessed Adult and Youth Mental Health First Aid training as well as the ‘Hearing Distressing Voices Simulation’ program to better understand individuals who hear voices, and NAMI’s signature program ‘In Our Own Voice,’ through which trained individuals share the story of their own mental health journey.

NAMI Northeast Region Executive Director Marie Onukiavage said,  “What started as an inquiry from Dr. Griffiths about how to deliver Mental Health First Aid training to her students has blossomed into a collaboration that benefits both parties immensely: the students get access to valuable mental health information they will use in their professional and personal lives, and we benefit from a group of enthusiastic volunteers at the annual 5Kate run/walk, which is one of our most important events to raise awareness in the community.”

Students understand the value of this community collaboration too.

Kathleen O. Appau, a fifth year OT graduate student who has experienced many mental health trainings, including NAMI’s In Our Own Voice presentation, said, “The more opportunities we have, it will help us as future practitioners to ease our nerves to talk about (mental health) with anyone we think needs help and is open to it. I’m very big on ‘the more you practice, the easier it gets.” Appau said she also appreciated NAMI’s in Our Own Voice program.  “It was so eye opening to be able to connect stories to real people. It was such a good experience.”

Griffiths has ideas for expanding the mental health and OT connection and says she is encouraged by what her students have already learned through the collaboration with NAMI. She said, “Students are able to recognize mental health crises and provide support until the professional help arrives which is important because as occupational therapists they will work with individuals where they might be the first point of contact for someone who is in distress.”

Onukiavage says the relationship with the University is important, as are all of the community partnerships NAMI has in place, adding, “We value all of the partnerships we have with our local education institutions from this one, to the ‘NAMI on Campus’ club at Marywood University, to the many campus fairs and activities that we participate in. They all give us an opportunity to connect with and educate our future care providers!”