RCOMH Deputy Director Jane Cronin-Davis
‘RCOMH is
an exciting opportunity for occupational therapists to demonstrate
the value of occupation-focused practice in mental health’
At York St John…
I am a senior lecturer in occupational therapy
and teach across the undergraduate occupational therapy curriculum.
I am also involved with postgraduate education developments here at
the University. I really enjoy working with students who will be
future practitioners and helping them to recognise the value
of an evidence-base to underpin and inform practice. I also teach
and supervise postgraduate research students.
My background…
I studied occupational therapy here at York St
John University and have had an interesting career, specialising in
forensic mental health. I have been fortunate to work with some
very inspirational occupational therapists both in practice and
education. I have worked in high and medium secure hospitals in the
UK and in a range of mental health settings in the country. I am
very keen to ‘spread the word’ about the value and benefits of
occupational therapy in secure settings and find ways of supporting
others to demonstrate this.
My PhD explored occupational therapy practice
with male patients diagnosed with personality disorder in forensic
settings - this was a fantastic opportunity not only to research
the topic but also to gain specific research skills.
Other professional
activities…
I am currently chair the College of
Occupational Therapists Specialist Section for Mental Health.
I have recently been appointed to the Clinical References Group
(CRG) for High and Medium Secure Services. I have worked
for the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence
(NICE) and the Health and Social Care Advisory Service. This latter
role has involved working on projects related Combat Stress,
homicide, and reviews of medium secure units in the UK. I am
fortunate to be on the editorial board of the British Journal of
Forensic Practice which keeps me up-to-date with multi-disciplinary
research in forensic settings.