Sue Godby told us about her experience of working in VR

My first job as a qualified OT back in the late 80s/early 90s was in work rehabilitation.

I was employed to work in what was called an industrial workshop, part of the range of vocational services established by the trailblazing Netherne psychiatric hospital in Surrey, where the rehab team were one of the earliest advocates of the importance of work for people’s health and wellbeing, so much so the services were awarded international demonstration centre status. I remember inpatients going out to work from the hospital and it was certainly seen as an important outcome.

As services moved into the community in the early 80s, I moved out as well, to work as part of an MDT in a work assessment unit. Here we adopted the supported employment model of place then train and applied the IPS (Individual Placement and Support) approach, which has become more well known in recent times. I worked in a number of exciting work projects run by the work services of the trust.

In 2000, I joined the board of Surrey Supported Employment – an umbrella body of supported employment providers where we ran best practice and networking events as well as leading on successful employment contracts with EU and DWP. I was a great believer in early intervention to keep people in employment when they became unwell and so worked with OTs in all the CMHTs to create employment leads in every team who championed the work focus in assessments and therapy.

By the end of the 1990s  the NHS were sadly moving away from providing work rehab services, many of which were transferred to charities such as Richmond Fellowship. In the early 2000s I moved into the income protection insurance world, working as a VRC for 7 years at Unum where I learnt so much about VR. From 2011, I worked as an independent VR practitioner, initially as an associate consultant and latterly running my own business as a VR provider across the UK. I joined the VRA as a trustee in the last few years and have been fortunate to be part of a growing organisation and dynamic team of trustees.

I have so enjoyed my VR journey where I have been able to experience working in a wide range of sectors, statutory, voluntary, corporate and being self-employed and even having my own business.

I have always felt that getting people back to or remaining in work is what I consider to be ‘real OT’ and is such a valuable contribution we can make to people who are disadvantaged by illness or injury.