Quinn Tyminski, OTD, OTR/L, BCMH & Serena Blank, MOT, OTR/L: OT with Individuals Experiencing Homelessness
In this episode, we will learn from Quinn Tyminski, OTD, OTR/L, BCMH & Serena Blank, MOT, OTR/L, two occupational therapists working with Individuals experiencing homelessness.
Quinn Tyminski, OTD, OTR/L, BCMH currently serves as an instructor in the Program in Occupational Therapy at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, Missouri. Dr. Tyminski earned her master's degree in occupational therapy from Washington University in 2012 and her Clinical Doctorate of Occupational Therapy in 2017 from Saint Louis University. Her clinical practice experience is in the area of community-based mental health practice, where she served as the occupational therapist for a transitional housing program for men experiencing severe and persistent mental illness and homelessness and spent a year as the clinical director coordinating occupational therapy services and students. As part of her doctoral work, Dr. Tyminski introduced occupational therapy services to a local homeless shelter through the use of Level II fieldwork students. Following the success of the program, Dr. Tyminski opened an outpatient student experiential learning clinic in collaboration with St. Patrick Center in downtown St. Louis in 2018. The Community Independence Occupational Therapy Clinic continues to provide occupational therapy services to individuals experiencing homelessness. Dr. Tyminski's research focuses on improving occupational participation and quality of life for populations experiencing marginalization through providing occupation-based services targeted at improving life skills and community reintegration. She collaborates with local community agencies to provide programming to address concerns of occupational justice related to increased participation in survival occupations among those experiencing mental illness, homelessness, or recent return to community from incarceration. She is also currently in the process of obtaining her PhD in Education at Washington University in St. Louis.
Serena Blank, MOT, OTR/L is an Occupational Therapist at the St. Patrick Center, an organization that works to increase access to sustainable housing, employment, and healthcare in the St. Louis region. In prior roles, she completed a Fellowship in psychosocial rehabilitation at the VA in Durham, NC. The program assisted Veterans experiencing serious mental illness. Upon returning to St. Louis, she worked for Saint Louis University’s Transformative Justice Initiative. She provided occupational therapy services to people incarcerated and supported their reentry back into the community. Her unique lens of occupations in marginalized populations helps her advocate for change in health and human service systems. She holds two degrees from Saint Louis University including a Bachelor of Science in Occupational Science and Master’s Degree in Occupational Therapy.
Q & A with Quinn:
Please tell us a little about yourself.
I am a mom of a young child so lately I have been into quiet occupations such as reading. I also enjoy exercising, baking, and spending time with my family.
What motivated you to contribute to this podcast series?
I am so passionate about community MH OT. I think it is a deeply underserved area and I want to take every opportunity to spread the word about unique ways that OTs can serve the community and marginalized populations.
Please describe the Uncommon OT work that you do and the setting in which you work, the population you serve, and the needs that you address.
I currently run a student-run OT clinic at a homeless service agency that provides OT services (at no cost) to individuals experiencing homelessness using students from the University where I am employed. We have been operating our student-run clinic for about 7 years now and have managed to also encourage the agency to hire a full-time OT to provide OT services within the agency alongside the clinic. For individuals experiencing homelessness (IEH) we generally provide services that fall under two buckets, those are services that improve health and wellbeing regardless of housing status and services that increase skills needed to live independently within their environment. We always keep a focus on the specific environments that the client is living within whether that being unhoused, temporarily housed, or permanently housed.
What inspired you or drew you to this type of OT work?
I became interested in the unhoused population when I first visited a homeless shelter. The shelter was in such an extreme state of occupational deprivation that it was clear that OT services were necessary.
How did you get there? Can you describe your path?
It has been a long path to get here. The clinic itself took years and dedication to come to fruition. We spent 3 years providing services pro-bono before we were even able to hire a full-time OT. To hire the OT, we had to assist the agency in writing a large grant and wait for the funding to begin. We consistently work to prove the benefit of OT to ensure that they continue to fund our services and work to demonstrate the need for more OTs. I have also been very protective of my relationship with the agency. The agency itself was wary of a partnership with a University at first. We make sure that everything we do is at the agency's request and meets their needs. We work collaboratively with them and recognize that they and the clients are the experts (not us).
Please describe a typical day or OT session in your uncommon setting. What OT skills do you utilize?
The majority of skills utilized in this setting are communication-focused (motivational interviewing, therapeutic rapport, etc.) Skills in running groups, life skills and mental health interventions, and social services are also necessary. We also have to have strong skills in limit setting and personal care to ensure that you do not burnout.
Can you talk about some recent highs (successes) and lows (challenges) of your current role?
I think some of the biggest successes are that we have managed to get the agency to truly understand and recognize the need for OT services. Our biggest success was that the agency hired a full-time OT and has kept the OT for the past 3 years and now we are working to hire more OTs and build out the services. The challenges have been plentiful- we have had difficulty with everyone in the agency understanding what OT services can do, ensuring that OT is being paid well, and then dealing with the day-to-day emotional burden of being the OT working with this population.
How do you continue to learn in order to stay on top of things within your role?
I recommend working with students. I am a full-time faculty member so I can tell you that students are a wealth of information. For practitioners working in the community, partnering with an academic institution and taking students (in either Fieldwork, Capstone, or other course activities) can provide access to the newest evidence and they can assist in program creation, literature reviews, and other ways to stay on top of the latest evidence.
Can you share a little bit about salary and compensation in this setting? How do OT or the services you provide get funded?
MH OT can be a lower salary than other areas of practice but that does not have to be the case. I know a lot of mental health OTs that have worked hard to ensure that their salary is comparable to the market rate. Also, most MH OTs that I know tend to take on additional opportunities with academic institutions (like guest lectures or CBL tutors) to make additional money. Essentially, it is possible to have a very livable salary as a mental health OT with some good advocacy and networking.
Any career advice for our followers and listeners on how to get started on this path?
Be persistent! I know so many students who want to work in MH OT but then are not willing to take the risk that is necessary to find the positions. MH OT positions do exist! However, you may need to be patient for these positions to come up with or advocate for a position. This may mean that you have to take another job in the meantime or take a PRN position while a MH OT position is built out.
What’s a common myth or misconception about your job/role you’d like to call out or demystify?
I think one of the biggest myths, even among OTs, is that mental health OT is somehow easier because we are not transferring people or it is not medical model therapy. But this is not the case. Mental health OT may be a slower pace of therapy but it is emotionally taxing and requires immense skill. The skills that mental health therapists must communicate, motivate and intervene with individuals with mental illness are just as skills as any other area of practice.
How do we find you, follow you, be in touch with you and promote your unique work?
Feel free to send me an email at tyminskiq@wustl.edu
Please list any resources you would like me to include with your Show Notes (courses, articles, assessments, tools, etc.)
Occupational Therapy for the Homeless https://www.ted.com/talks/quinn_tyminski_occupational_therapy_for_the_homeless
Quinn’s Medbridge course on working with individuals experiencing homelessness https://www.medbridge.com/course-catalog/details/homelessness-health-care-practitioners-quinn-tyminski/
The Development of a Role-Emerging Fieldwork Placement in a Homeless Shelter https://encompass.eku.edu/jote/vol2/iss2/7/
Occupational Therapy Student-Run Free Clinic: Mutual Benefits in Expanded Homeless and Health Services and Clinical Skills Development”, Journal of Student-Run Clinics, 7(1). doi: 10.59586/jsrc.v7i1.248. Drummond, R., Koziol, C., Yeats, H. and Tyminski, Q. (2021) https://journalsrc.org/index.php/jsrc/article/view/248
Q & A with Serena:
Please tell us a little about yourself and a few favorite occupations.
I love going out to eat, watching sports, and taking lots of walks with my 2-year-old yellow lab, Gizmo!
What motivated you to contribute to this podcast series?
I want to share my passion for community-based mental health OT and show the importance of OT working with people experiencing homelessness.
Please describe the Uncommon OT work that you do and the setting in which you work, the population you serve, and the needs that you address.
I work at a large Non-Profit agency in St. Louis, MO called the St. Patrick Center. Our mission is to serve people who are homeless or those at risk of becoming homeless through sustainable housing, employment, and healthcare. As an OT in this setting, I am able to address the physical, cognitive, and social-emotional health of our clients. OT is extremely beneficial in this setting because our clients often have dual diagnoses of both physical and mental health conditions, which impacts their independence and engagement in daily occupations.
What inspired you or drew you to this type of OT work?
I went to OT school at Saint Louis University and I received a bachelor’s degree in occupational science. I loved learning about OS concepts like occupational injustice and doing, being, and becoming. I think my OS background led me to work in a non-traditional setting.
How did you get there? Can you describe your path?
After graduating from OT school I completed an AOTA Mental Health Fellowship at the Durham VA, and that's where I found a passion for working with people that live with a serious mental illness. Then I worked for a program at Saint Louis University called the Transformative Justice Initiative. I provided OT services to people who were incarcerated in a city jail in downtown St. Louis, and I supported their transition back into the community. Now I work with people experiencing homelessness. I am extremely grateful for all of the different opportunities I've had to work in community-based practice.
Please describe a typical day or OT session in your uncommon setting. What OT skills do you utilize?
A typical day at work for me consists of facilitating groups, meeting with clients individually, mentoring students, attending meetings, and advocating for OT. Skills that I utilize include motivational interviewing, therapeutic use of self, harm-reduction strategies, and occupational and activity analysis.
Can you talk about some recent highs (successes) and lows (challenges) of your current role?
Recent High: Something that stands out is the recent buy-in amongst my agency for growing OT. It feels like the advocacy work we have been doing for so long is starting to pay off. I'm hopeful the program can grow in the future. Recent Low: salaries at a non-profit can be low and the burnout that is experienced from working with a high-needs population is high. A lot of that stems from the systemic problems we experience trying to find safe and affordable shelter or housing for clients that just aren't there.
How do you continue to learn in order to stay on top of things within your role?
I continue to learn and grow by taking continuing ed offered through AOTA. I’m on the SIS discussion boards for mental health, and I’m a part of a few MH OT groups on Facebook. I also like to take trainings that are not specific to OT, so right now I’m taking an online certification program for trauma studies.
Can you share a little bit about salary and compensation in this setting? How do OT or the services you provide get funded?
My salary is funded through a grant that my position was written into. I am very lucky to have a boss that loves OT and she continually advocates for higher wages for all of her staff.
Any career advice for our followers and listeners on how to get started on this path?
My career advice if you’re interested in working in community-based mental health is to find a strong level 2 fieldwork site. I also recommend pursuing a fellowship program. I can’t say enough good things about my fellowship experience. I think it’s important to build a very strong clinical foundation in this type of setting because you might be the only clinician at times.
What’s a common myth or misconception about your job/role you’d like to call out or demystify?
In homeless services people don't always understand the role of OT, so a lot of people think that I'm an employment specialist. It takes a lot of advocacy work to show people what OT can do!
How do we find you, follow you, be in touch with you and promote your unique work?
Email: blank.serena@gmail.com LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/serena-blank-a33183156
Please list any resources you would like me to include with your Show Notes (courses, articles, assessments, tools, etc.)
St. Patrick Center https://www.stpatrickcenter.org/
Washington University, St Louis – Program in Occupational Therapy
As always, I welcome any feedback & ideas from all of you or if you are interested in being a guest on future episodes, please do not hesitate to contact Patricia Motus at transitionsot@gmail.com or DM via Instagram @transitionsot
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