Raquel Williams

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Raquel Williams currently manages an interdisciplinary inpatient unit at the Centre for Addictions & Mental Health (CAMH). Raquel is registered occupational therapist with approximately 10 years of clinical experience working with clients who have been affected by complex mental illness. After obtaining her Masters of Science degree in occupational therapy from the University of Toronto, she became a case manager with an assertive community treatment team. In 2011, she obtained full certification in Cognitive Adaptation Training (CAT) through the University of Texas Health Sciences Centre. She has since developed and facilitated various levels of educational sessions on this intervention while establishing the first interprofessional regional CAT community of practice in Ontario. Raquel has worked on a research team investigating the effectiveness of Action Based Cognitive Remediation and CAT. She has also acted as principal investigator and co-supervisor of a graduate student research project exploring this intervention and alignment with occupational therapy scope of practice. In 2017, Raquel had the honour of being recognized as Canada’s Top 100 Black Women to Watch.

 

Furthermore, Raquel acts as a status lecturer with the University of Toronto – Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy Department to provide and advocate for mental health focused education. She had the privilege of contributing in the U of T Faculty of Medicine’s Summer Mentorship Program, which exposes Indigenous or African ancestry to health care professions.

 

Raquel was drawn to become a founding member of OTEA due to recognizing the profound need for a network of mentors and peers that reflect diverse images in the occupational therapy community. Unfortunately, this was a gap during her academic years and beyond. Raquel firmly believes that seeing reflections of yourself in diverse positions can empower one to envision possibilities and address issues that may not have otherwise been considered.

John Nguyen

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1.     What drew you to join OTEA?
I was drawn to OTEA by my passion for advancing diversity and inclusion within the OT profession. From my experiences as an active student member of the diversity and inclusion committee during my MScOT education, I had a desire to continue my work in diversity and inclusion related topics as I started as a working OT. OTEA presents an opportunity to enact real change, increase representation and offer mentorship to 2SLGBTQ+ student OTs, as well as create a sense of community and ally ship among underrepresented OTs. 
 

2.     What does equity mean to you?

Equity to me is more than just a buzz word that is seen typically in company hiring processes. To me, equity is my lived reality and my aspirations to see a society that is truly diverse in the broadest sense, inclusive and equitable in that individuals/groups are treated equally universally.
 

3.     What area of practice do you currently work in and what is your role?
I currently work at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) in the Slaight Centre Early Intervention outpatient service. As an OT / Supported Employment & Education Specialist, I support young people with a first episode psychosis and/or mood disorder to achieve their employment and/or education goals.

 

4.     If you could have lunch with any OT (living or dead), who would you pick and why?
I would definitely have lunch with Kevin Reel who is both an ethicist and OT. Kevin’s engaging lectures as an OT student inspired me to continually ask questions, engage in critical thinking and to cultivate diverse ways of thinking about particular topics. Kevin although no longer practices OT day to day, continues to serve as a role model that represents diversity and inclusion within the OT profession.

 

5.     What’s your elevator pitch for describing occupational therapy OR what’s your favourite one-line description of occupational therapy?

OTs help people get back to the activities and roles that they want and need to do but are unable to do due to a physical or mental health challenge. For example, I can help someone living with schizophrenia finds ways to ensure that they maintain their personal hygiene, manage their medications, and be successful working.

Barry Trentham

 

What drew me to OTEA?

 

Collaborative community building can be joyful and gratifying, yet just as often, it can be uncomfortable and humbling. Despite the challenges, the creation of inclusive spaces and communities that enable true participation continues to drive me. This drive was incentive to engage with my OT colleagues in the creation of OTEA.

 

What does equity mean to me?

 

A typical understanding of equity speaks to ensuring a fair playing field for all. With my OT lenses on,  I would add that equity work is about breaking down obstacles to participation (discrimination, social attitudes and norms, physical barriers, regulatory structures) and creating occupational opportunities (e.g., work, play, leadership, learning) that are inclusive of a diversity of unique, needs, perspectives and abilities. Equity is about creating a socially just world that enshrines the human right to meaningful engagement in opportunities that foster growth, health and well-being.

 

What do I do?

I have worked for over 30 years as a clinician, educator, consultant, grassroots community builder and researcher. Originally from Alberta where I received my occupational therapy education (BSc(OT), University of Alberta), I transitioned from work in rehab and long-term care and residential  settings to the  community health sector  in Toronto.  A desire to know more about community health and development processes led to a Masters in Environmental Studies (York University) and later, a PhD from the Department of Adult Education and Counseling Psychology (OISE/UT) and the Institute for Life Course and Aging (University of Toronto). My academic work explores the intersections that link advocacy, equity, and social inclusion processes with the social determinants of healthy aging across the life course. I currently serve as the Academic Coordinator (Mississauga Campus) with the Department of Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy at the University of Toronto. I also co-chair our department’s Diversity and Inclusion Curriculum Theme Committee and sit on the Faculty of Medicine’s Diversity Advisory Council and the Faculty of Medicine’s Strategic Equity Working Group.

 

Apart from my academic work, I have long been an active volunteer/advocate/organizer with grassroots community organizations that support inclusion for seniors, newcomers, LGBTQ people and disability groups.  For the past several years much of my “off work time” is spent  with Rainbow Railroad, an LGBTQ  refugee support organization. While I experience the world from the standpoint of an older gay man whose early experiences of homophobia shape how I engage socially and occupationally, my work with Rainbow Railroad and other equity seeking groups reminds me repeatedly of the enabling privileges I hold as a white, well-educated, cis-gender man born in this country.