About Kwaku

Mr Kwaku Agyemang, Barnet, Enfiled & Haringey NHS Trust, OT & Chill Podcast

My name is Kwaku Agyemang. I am a 36 year old man born and raised in Ghana before coming over to the UK. I have over a decade worth of experience working in healthcare, mostly in secure mental health settings. I have been a qualified Occupational Therapist since 2018 and have worked with young men in a prison setting since then. My passion lies in working with people on the borders/margins of “society”. I co-founded the BAMEOTUK network back in 2020 to advocate and raise the profile of Black Occupational Therapists. I am also the host and creator of the OT & Chill podcast (@ot_chill & @otandchill) discussing all things related to Occupational Therapy with nearly 70 episodes and over 80,000 plays worldwide.

Session title

Towards Seeing Yourself Differently: Engaging Imprisoned Young Men In Occupation

Session details

Young adult men, especially those imprisoned from an adolescent to teenage, have historically had difficulties in adequately expressing their thoughts and feelings. They at times also lack the skills & experiences in making the transition into adulthood. Some of have also faced adversities as well as experienced events which can be described as traumatic including their offending. Finding the balance in engaging young adult men in occupations of meaning in order to in still hope for the future and assisting in the expression and processing of thoughts and feelings in a highly restricted environment is a constant challenge faced.

This session will focus on working with young adult men in prison, the challenges faced and the use of occupation focussed interventions to engage and assist in themselves seeing themselves differently.