1. Slow occupation Dr Bel Youngson and Dr Helen Wilby
RCOT Conference 19 June 2017

2. Aims: Introduce and explore slow occupation through slow stitching
What is Slow?
How does this link to occupational engagement?
Flow
Mindfulness
Mundane occupation
Restoration
Temporality
Meaning
Having a go at slow stitching
Reflection
@OTBelY @helenwilby

3. What is slow?
Since 1980s – slow food
@OTBelY @helenwilby

4. What is slow? Slow education Slow fashion Slow travel Slow goods
Slow living
Slow cities
Slow gardening …..
Honore (2005)
TED talk
@OTBelY @helenwilby

5. Slow and occupational engagement
Flow
Acting with total involvement
Becoming one with the experience
Challenge-skill balance
How occupation is experienced and practiced
(Csikszentmihalyi 1975)
[Cheek-sent-me-high]
(Reid 2011)

6. Slow and occupational engagement
Mindfulness
“an intentional awareness of what is, being aware of awareness”
(Reid 2011)
Noticing events rather than being caught up in them (McVeigh 2015)
Active availability (Reid 2009)
Finding the ‘right’ mindfulness practice (McVeigh 2015)
@OTBelY @helenwilby

7. Slow and occupational engagement
‘Mundane’ occupation
Occupational presence
Does not need to be productive
Provides opportunities for participation
(Reid 2010)
@OTBelY @helenwilby

8. Slow and occupational engagement
Restoration
Energy for whatever comes up next
The least recognised experience in OT
(Howell and Pierce 2000)
@OTBelY @helenwilby

9. Slow and occupational engagement
Temporality
Occupation as a consumer of time
Pace of life (time pressure) slowing time
(Pemberton and Cox 2009)
Time experience
(Larson and von Eye 2010)
@OTBelY @helenwilby

10. Slow and occupational engagement
Meaning
Doing
Being
‘time taken to reflect, be introspective or meditative, (re)discover the self, savour the moment…..and to enjoy being with special people’
(Whalley Hammell 2004, p. 301)
Belonging
Doing and being with others
‘occupation done with others gives a sense of connection and it is through the connection that occupation comes to have meaning’
(Reed, Hocking and Smythe 2010, p.145)
@OTBelY @helenwilby

11. Sum up and having a go at slow stitching
Implications for occupational therapy?
Experience of slow stitching
(Wellesley-Smith 2015)
@OTBelY @helenwilby

12. Slow stitching
@OTBelY @helenwilby

13. How are you feeling? 3 words to describe how you are feeling:
Go to and use code
Or use QR code:
@OTBelY @helenwilby

14. Feelings
Results
@OTBelY @helenwilby

15. Reflection
3 words to describe how you are feeling after slow stitching
Go to and use code
Or use QR code:
@OTBelY @helenwilby

16. Reflection
Results
@OTBelY @helenwilby

17. Reflection HAIKU: 17 syllables in 5-7-5
Haiku – your experience of slow stitching:
Questions to guide your reflection:
How did I experience this task?
What did it mean to me?
How did I feel about slowing down?
What did I learn: about myself / about slow?
How might I use this in the future: personally / professionally?
Would I change it?
What other slow occupations could I consider?
HAIKU:
17 syllables in 5-7-5
No rigid rules re sentence structure
@OTBelY @helenwilby

18. References
Csikszentmihalyi M (1975) Beyond Boredom and Anxiety. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Honore C (2005) In Praise of Slow. London: Orion Books.
Howell D and Pierce D (2000) Exploring the forgotten restorative dimension of occupation: Quilting and quilt use. Journal of Occupational Science, 7 (2)
Larson E and von Eye A (2010) Beyond Flow: Temporality and Participation in Everyday Activities. American Journal of Occupational Therapy, 64 (1),
McVeigh R (2015) Mindfulness in practice: Developing an occupational therapy niche. Occupational Therapy Now (17.3) Available at .
Pemberton S and Cox D (2011) What happened to the time? The relationship of occupational therapy to time. British Journal of Occupational Therapy, 74 (2),
Reed K, Hocking C, Smythe L (2010) The interconnected meanings of occupation: The call, being-with, possibilities. Journal of Occupational Science, 17(3),

19. References contd
Reid D (2009) Capturing presence moments: The art of mindful practice in occupational therapy. Canadian Journal of Occupational Therapy, 76 (3),
Reid D (2010) Mundane occupations: Providing opportunity for engagement and being-in-the-world. Occupational Therapy Now (12.2)
Reid D (2011) Mindfulness and flow in occupational engagement: Presence in Doing. Canadian Journal of Occupational Therapy, 78,
Royeen L (2016) Portrait of an OT artist: Using Mindfulness to find Life Balance. The Open Journal of Occupational Therapy, 4 (1), Article 11, available at: .
Whalley Hammell K (2004) Dimensions of meaning in the occupations of daily life. Canadian Journal of Occupational Therapy, 5(71),
Wellesley-Smith C (2015) Slow Stitch: Mindful and Contemplative Textile Art. London: Batsford.

20. Useful websites http://www.clairewellesleysmith.co.uk/blog/
TED talk
TED TALK