Catherine Hurley

BA (Hons) Humanities, BSc (Hons) Occupational therapy, MRCOT

I am a highly skilled and experienced Specialist Occupational Therapist of 25 years, working within the NHS for many years and within independent health care services and both Tier 3 and 4 mental health and Children and young people’s settings.

My particular skills are in mental health and neurodevelopmental conditions.

I have worked in both ADHD and autism clinical pathways providing both assessment and post diagnostic support and I am trained in providing ADOS and ADIR standardised assessments, undertaking regular clinical refresher training. I started my career in mental health, and later working in children and young people’s mental health services, where I honed my skills and later worked as part of an MDT diagnostic team, providing assessment and tailored post diagnostic support for working age adults. Here, I developed autism specific resources for service users as well as working part of the diagnostic assessment team. I am known for my friendly, accessible and relatable approach and I have had consistent positive feedback from my clients over the years. I am a strong advocate for neurodivergent people.

I have supervised and coached newly qualified Occupational therapists and those returning to practice. My specialist interest is work, education and reasonable adjustments and I have worked collaboratively with people, assisting their return to work and navigating reasonable adjustments both in the NHS and with independent health care providers. I am a qualified practice educator for Occupational Therapy students at Northumbria University. I have worked as a DSA specialist mentor for 10 years and I utilise many of my transferable skills with students to aid their transition to university and beyond.

I have a post graduate qualification in health coaching. I have recently undertaken a level 3 ADHD coaching course, for which I received a distinction. I have EMCC UK membership and I’m part of the specialist interest group in Neurodiversity.

I have Enhanced DBS Certification, Professional Indemnity Insurance and am registered with the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) under the Data Protection Act. I undertake regular clinical supervision with a Consultant Occupational Therapist.