OT-hero Marc-Eric: Belgium could learn something from the way the occupational therapist is appreciated in the rest of the world.

What is your biggest challenge as president of UPE? 

My biggest personal challenge is to be able to free up enough time to act and participate in the positioning of occupational therapy in the political and health landscape in the Brussels and Walloon Region.  

My position as voluntary chairman must be fulfilled alongside my job as a teacher in occupational therapy. This is a great challenge for my schedule. 

My greatest professional challenge lies in anticipating the evolution of the health sector and therefore of the profession. That’s why I participate in debates in consultative organisations, in meetings of associations in the health sector as well as in private practice; in short, I keep myself daily informed about everything that has to do with occupational therapy. 

What do you want to achieve? 

At UPE we want to realise the vision of an occupational therapy that is accessible to all and recognised and reimbursed by health and welfare policy. 

Fortunately, the historic injustice that led to some paramedics, including occupational therapists, not being represented in the insurance commission, has recently come to an end.  

Pierre Seeuws, co-chairman of EB (Occupational Therapy Belgium), (both UPE and EV) represents us.  

What we would like to achieve tomorrow, is the creation of a conventional committee for occupational therapists, like it also exists for other health professions.  

This legitimate recognition, which we are currently denied, would allow UPE to be subsidised and help to professionalise itself with a staff that would have the means to carry our missions, visions and values even higher. 

Are there differences between occupational therapists in Wallonia and Flanders? 

Yes and no, occupational therapists from all countries and regions share the same community, the same paradigms, the same beliefs… It is the policy, which is different. 

Why is the professional association so important? 

Without an association, a profession will ultimately disappear! 

The professional association keeps the profession alive by defending it when it is threatened, by proposing/supporting developments when this is necessary to keep up with social developments, by participating in the spreading of the professional knowledge, by positioning occupational therapy in relation to other healthcare providers who will be more inclined to work together, etc. 

Which country is an example for occupational therapy and why? 

This question can be looked at from two angles: Practice or policy?  

For practice, I like the innovation and “power” of the US (and also their little Canadian brothers) and for policy, I like the Swiss approach. 

Do you think the profession is undervalued? 

In the world, not particularly. In Belgium, the land of surrealism, yes, yes and yes. 

And it is indeed surreal for me to see how little recognition our profession gets. However, this Covid period has shown the importance of two concepts that are very close to our hearts: quality of life and balance at work. I have no doubt that in future, the quality of the work of Belgian occupational therapists will become even more visible and will contribute to making our profession indispensable. 

What do you like most about this profession? 

What I like most is that it’s anti-routine. Every individual that has to be accompanied is different, with his or her environment, habits, etc. And therefore  I will never accompany two people in the same way.  

That is what I like, to have to create and innovate each and every time. 

Occupational therapists are creative. They also organise camps for children, etc. Is that OK with you? 

Yes, that’s the essence of our work. Occupational therapists innovate and develop support plans and practices that meet people’s actual needs. They go where they are needed. 

How important are after school educational courses for occupational therapists? 

Continuing education is not just important, it is mandatory. As occupational therapists, we owe it to our clients to be as efficient as possible and to provide them with the most up-to-date support. Moreover, with the Quality Act, the continuing education of occupational therapists will be monitored in the coming years. 

What good advice would you give to occupational therapists? 

To be a member of UPE, or to remain member. 

What do we not yet know about Marc-Eric? 

That it was through my passion for pottery that I discovered occupational therapy. And that out of that one passion another one was born: my profession 😉