Shore-Up
doing more together
where it all started
Hi, my name's Kate, and Shore-Up is my idea and newest venture.
I've worked in various mental health care settings over the years and have often met people who don’t fit into the boxes that services need to tick to be able to offer support. We all know mental health services are stretched at the moment; waiting lists are long, access to services is dependent on severity of risk or diagnostic criteria. The result is that lots of people live lives that feel challenging, lonely or lacking in meaning and purpose but the support available is often oversubscribed and difficult to access.
So I thought, what if I use some of my knowledge and experience and try to create a place where those who find it hard to find the right support, can come and feel part of something supportive, part of a community.
My experience as an occupational therapist tells me that doing meaningful activities with other people has the power to change how we feel; it can give us a sense of respite from the daily worries of life and give us a sense of connection with others.
And, here we are, I found some trusted friends and advisors, persuaded them to join me and Shore-Up was born.
Now all we need is to do is give it a whirl and see what happens next!
I hope you might join us as we try to create a supportive community of doing that is available and accessible for everyone.
a bit about my experience
I'm a qualified occupational therapist, a member of the Royal College of Occupational Therapists (RCOT) and the Health Care Professionals Council (HCPC).
I’ve been qualified for 14 years and in that time have worked for the NHS and more recently (since 2018) have set up my own business offering occupational therapy to individuals and groups in Leeds. I'm committed to supporting those with and without mental health difficulties to live less challenging lives.
I believe that occupational therapy offers a supportive and holistic approach that can create opportunities to make positive and practical changes in everyday life.
Occupational therapy is about all the things we do in life and an understanding that who we are, how we feel and how we organise and structure our lives impacts on our health. It’s also about recognising that our health impacts on all elements of our lives, not just the obvious bits.
At Shore-Up, I'm hoping to bring this approach to more people. A different perspective on how we understand ourselves and how what we do, where we do it and who we do it with, impacts on our identity, health and quality of lfe.
I believe this understanding of ourselves and our individual contexts can be so helpful in supporting us. It can help us find a way to give ourselves a break, create ways to plan for our strengths and challenges and have somewhere to consciously look at our habits and routines.
There’s no judgment or expectations about how you 'ought' to do things. Instead, we offer a framework for understanding and some support to give things a try, the rest is up to you.
A definition of Shore-Up that I found is: ‘to make something stronger by supporting it’.
That’s what we hope to do: offer the right level of support to get you through the tough bits so that you have the strength for the next bit of life.
If you want to find out a bit more about how I work and the occupational therapy approach, there are more details on my website