Testimonials
We’re very proud of the testimonials we’ve received over the years and we are pleased to have been able to help so many people.
Find out what some of our clients have to say about our services:
“I feel very lucky to have been supported by Kate, who helped me to recover from being severely debilitated. Kate is very easy to talk to, empathetic and inspiring. I cannot thank Kate enough and will always be grateful to her. Kate’s approach is truly tailored to an individual, combining her extensive experience and multiple types of therapy to create a personalised rehab program.”
“I had a major stroke, and subsequent seizures. It was a disaster for me and my wife. My surprising recovery has been in no small way, been to Kates’s support, guidance, and friendship. She worked with me twice a week, and most weeks, and helped to direct my recovery. There were numerous hurdles to negotiate, and Kates’s help has seen, me back to work, and gradually, achieve, some pleasing results.”
“Kate has been brilliant in every way and has helped me through some extremely tough times”
“I have received an excellent service from KMA. They have always responded quickly and efficiently to requests for reports and their services. Their reports are professionally written without being too onerous.”
“I know Kate has been a great support, helping our employee with mechanisms and techniques to manage his symptoms and support his return to work. He’s been able to take control of his health and RTW plan which has been very positive. In turn, this has had a big impact on me – both in seeing him build confidence in his work as well as being able to increase his hours and increase productivity at work.”
“KMA Occupational Therapists are highly professional and very personable. They have been able to accurately identify the root cause of my pain and provide effective and efficient treatment with excellent outcomes.”
“Shelley understood my drive to succeed, my need to understand the purpose/aim of each session and how long would it take me to get back to work. She would listen to my needs, give me a different view and coach me to be less rigid and more forgiving to myself and my wife. Shelley has a great sense of humour and is easy to get on with. In short, Shelley has been the cornerstone in helping me exceed my aim for returning to work, increasing my physical, mental capacity and cognitive capabilities, whilst making me smile.“
‘After I experienced my stroke I was informed by my employer that Kate would be working with me to get me back to a better place for me to return to work. I will be honest here I just thought it was a check box exercise to try and quicken the process up and get me back to work as soon as possible. It wasn’t that at all and I soon realised it was to strengthen me when at my weakest and to give me back the confidence that I had unfortunately lost. It worked after some tedious but important tasks and slowly my strength and confidence increased. It was also important that Kate was there to speak to as you feel alone although your family are around you but your work colleagues aren’t as they are getting on with their day to day working lives. In all honesty, I don’t think I would have managed to return to work without the support I received from Kate. It is as plain and simple as that! Amazing for something I didn’t believe in prior to starting the therapy.’
“We found working with Kate extremely supportive in terms of helping us to understand and manage an employees absence and facilitating a successful return. For both the individual and us as the employer, Kate had the specialist knowledge and experience to empathise with our employee, to know how to support them in getting the help and the treatment they needed and in helping both us and them to acknowledge limitations in the early stages. We have been involved and engaged at each step of the process. As employers, we are by no means experts in these matters and with such a serious condition Kate’s support was invaluable. I am certain that without Kate’s involvement there would have been an overly accelerated return to work that would have been to the long term detriment of the individuals health. Kate is professional and practical in terms of her approach and has provided the highest level of support to us and invaluable mental, emotional and practical support to our employee.”
“Kate is the first person to really understand my illness”
“I am forever in your debt and am so grateful for all the support and care you have shown me.”
“KMA Occupational Therapists consistently provide an effective and efficient service in a friendly and professional manner.”
“I found Kate extremely easy to speak to, she guided me through the vocational rehabilitation process, and was there to support me always. Kate is a wonderful person to work with and made me feel at ease. Despite a pandemic interrupting our face to face sessions, Kate adapted and we took to video calling every week. This was great, as I still felt connected with the vocational rehabilitation process and it provided a ‘human’ approach. I was impressed with Kate’s wider knowledge of health and her ability to signpost me to professionals such as a chiropractor for my skeletal and muscular health, she has good connections within the health industry and everyone she suggested was excellent. I would absolutely recommend Kate and her services to others, everyone I spoke to within the company was professional, friendly and I felt they all had fantastic knowledge. They all go the extra mile for their clients and are truly there for you. KMA are a company that champions human connection and they should wear that badge of honour with pride. I had a truly wonderful experience.”
I really enjoyed working with Kate. She is a very open, approachable and genuine woman. I felt at ease opening up to her and sharing the situational information I was going through. She never passed judgement and made my needs a priority.
“I believe I have been helped going through this vocational rehab in a number of ways. I’ve been given organisational methods to help work through my muddled brain at a time when I couldn’t clearly work anything out. I’ve been given exercises and complimentary therapy options to support my rehabilitation as well as someone to just vent to when I was frustrated with my own progress as well as issues I was seeing with the speed of recovery.
I hadn’t heard of vocational therapy before but would highly recommend it to anyone struggling with concussion the way I had. Kate was brilliant to work with. I can’t thank her enough.”
“I’ve found it great being supported by Kate, she understands the process really well so having somebody there that has been through this before has been very useful indeed. I’ve found her good at pushing me forward in my role to improve but also striking a balance in a way so that I haven’t been pushed too quickly which could provoke further anxiety. The main things she has focused on with me is my breathing and reminding me to make sure I take my regular breaks. Also making me understand that due the period of time I have had off that returning to work won’t be a quick process and to not get frustrated if things take longer than expected.”
KMA Occupational Therapy services have been instrumental in helping me get back to work after a period of depression and anxiety linked to PTSD brought on by a work-related trauma. Shelley helped me through many of the issues related to returning to work, she provided structure and practical support. Knowing that she was available for ongoing support was really helpful, her compassion and understanding was a comfort during a really difficult time. A year ago I couldn’t have imagined feeling safe and at ease at work but with Shelley’s help I am and enjoying it as well!
“Shelley provided me with invaluable support over a twelve-month period to recover from a stroke, with the objectives of improving my quality of life/coping with the lasting effects and being able to return to work. I found her personable and professional, calm, encouraging and insightful – in particular: she invested upfront in our relationship, really getting to know my issues and preferences/foibles she was supportive, motivating and encouraging she was insightful – it was clear she had a deep understanding of my issues and challenges and was able to guide me through an effective routine of embracing what I wanted/needed to do but being thoughtful in how I prepared and recovered. she was professional, skilfully balancing what could have been competing objectives of my desire to return to work with what I would be capable of. I am indebted to Shelley for what she has done for me and how she has done it.”
“Shelley gave me the confidence to get back into work after my brain injury. She has helped me in lots of ways such as: giving me tips to deal with interview questions and she went over practice interviews to give me ‘real life’ examples. With Shelley’s help, I have now become a supervisor in the place I work. I couldn’t have done it without her help! Thank you”
“A very educational and worthwhile course that I firmly believe will go a long way towards demystifying and
eliminating the stigma associated with mental health by promoting open dialogue, in not just my workplace but in
my personal life also.”
“I felt that my support from KMA was excellent, my needs were catered for and I only have compliments for my occupational therapist. The KMA team were very proactive in keeping me informed of the process and the following steps, they understood my medical and emotional needs and with their help I have been able to accept the ‘now’ me. KMA went above and beyond to make sure I got what I needed.”
“Thank you for all of your help and advice getting my employee back to work over the past 18 months, it has been invaluable to me from an employers point of view as I have never had experience of a “Return to Work” program before. It goes without saying it has been a very difficult time for my employee since their life changing accident but I’m sure we both would have found it even more challenging without your input. Thank you for everything.”
“Superb facilitation, and exceptional knowledge of the subject matter. Shelley was informative, engaging and very
encouraging of all of us. The online training allowed for all learning styles and the interaction/breakout groups etc
worked really well. Feel that this course has set me up to really make a positive difference in the workplace.”
“After receiving a course of CBT therapy for work place anxiety, I continued to experience extremely high levels of anxiety and I was unable to transfer the recommendations to my life. It was recommended that I receive intervention from an occupational therapist and that’s when I found Kate Meads and thank goodness I did. Kate’s intervention was life changing. She used an approach which considered all aspects of my life (the holistic approach) to identify triggers, warning signs and my reactions to them, and by doing this Kate effectively identified techniques and coping strategies tailored specifically to me which has helped me overcome my work place anxiety. Kate provided excellent one to one support and met with Human Resources and my employer which really helped as we were all on the same page. Thank you, Kate!”
“I wanted to say a massive thank you to Shelley and Kate for delivering a really insightful one-day mental health first aid course at my work place. Without making a conscious effort I seem to have changed my practice and I feel this is because I am much more equipped and knowledgeable. You both delivered the day with patience and where appropriate, humour which kept us all engaged. Thank you very much.”
“Working with KMA was wonderful. Kate was easy to work with and very understanding of what we need from the business side, however, she still supports her clients and our employees in the best way which has been very helpful. I really enjoyed and liked the process as it helped us – as a business, understand more about what the employee was going through.”
“Shelley has a very personal centred approach and immediately made me feel at ease. Her practical strategies and encouragement were instrumental in helping me to build confidence and navigate the complexities of my rehabilitation and returning to the workplace. Shelley was a truly valuable part of my journey and I am incredibly grateful to have had her support throughout.”
