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Articles by: Bridget Townsend

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Reducing repeat calls to police through occupational therapy partnership response

The policing response to mental health

27th December 2022

Bridget Townsend, Occupational Therapy degree student,

FEATURE: Vulnerable members of the community experiencing mental health challenges account for a significant proportion of repeat callers to the police and other services; but Occupational Therapy Degree student Bridget Townsend believes a pilot project in which occupational therapists accompany police officers in response to those repeat callers could improve the service to individuals while reducing the resource burden on policing.

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Bridget Townsend

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Bridget Townsend is in the final year of an Occupational Therapy degree at Bournemouth University. Bridget began her career in the military, but her career changed considerably when she attended art college later in life and earned an HND in Fine Art. By using her skills in community art projects, she was able to provide art therapy to vulnerable adults in her community with funding from local GP surgeries and charities. It was during this time that Bridget decided to develop her talents further through occupational therapy training.