I have had the incredible opportunity to co-author with Kate D’Cruz a Chapter on Co-Design in Occupational Therapy in the Occupational Therapy Curriculum textbook entitled Occupational Therapy for People Experiencing Illness, Injury or Impairment (edition 8).
Not only do I feel so privileged to draw on my own lived experience to emphasise the HUGE value of Co-Design in practice and enhancing occupational participation, but I am elated to be able contribute to the profession.
An excerpt from the book:
Throughout the chapter, lived experience examples from Emma Gee provide insights into the perspective of individual experiencing illness, injury or impairment. Emma is an occupational therapist and stroke survivor, as well as a published author or “Reinventing Emma” and lived experience consultant. Emma attributes her experience as a stroke survivor as transformational to her worldview and understanding of occupational therapy and healthcare practices. Emma brings this unique perspective to illustrate the importance of valuing the experiences and insights of people experiences illness, injury or impairment and integrating this perspective into occupational therapy practices.
I share in the book about my lived experience in a reflection:
“The importance of adopting a collaborative approach throughout my recovery has been phenomenal. not only to ensure that I was included or involved and had a role but also that I was proactive in my recovery. Feeling appreciated and valued is essential to building and sustaining good relationships. It also ensures our self-worth remains intact. When I was cast as the ‘victim’ in relationships throughout my recovery, I lost my autonomy, became reactive to my predicament and reliant on others to act on my behalf. They become the drivers of my recovery, rather than me.”
D’Cruz, K., & Gee, E. (2025). Co-designing plans to access, initiate and sustain occupational participation. In Curtin. M., Egan. M., Prior, Y., Parnell, T., Galvaan, R., Sauve-Schenk, K., & Cezar Da Cruz, D. (Eds.), Occupational therapy for people experiencing illness, injury or impairment. Promoting occupational participation. (pp. 245-253).