Katie qualified as an Occupational Therapist in 2010 in England. She has passionately worked within the NHS for the past 12 years, focusing her career within the fields of Learning Disabilities, Mental Health and Autism. Katie was first introduced to Ayres Sensory Integration by the Learning Disabilities team and quickly started to be inspired around how Ayres Sensory Integration fits across the lifespan and how could be the missing part to her practice as an Occupational Therapist.
Katie is now the Occupational Therapy Lead for a large Occupational Therapy Team who cover Acute Mental Health, Psychiatric Intensive Care and Forensic Services. Over the last few years Katie has been successful in a number of NHS England bids,securing funds to improve Mental Health services for people with Autism who access the services she cover, presenting at the Royal College of Occupational Therapy Annual Conference 2022, to share the learning wider.
Over the past 2 years Katie has taken her leadership further by embedding a sensory pathway within her services and the wider Mental Health Services so that regardless of where a person may enter Mental Health Services, their sensory wellbeing will be considered, assessed and intervention provided. Katie feels passionately that an understanding of the sensory systems underpins all recovery journeys and tries to utilise this knowledge and understanding to benefit all of her clients and colleagues alike.