I recently designed and delivered a combined VdTMoCA (Vona du Toit Model of Creative Ability) and OT Grow training session for the Roxeth Ward MDT in Cygnet Harrow, one hour, over 20 staff across nursing, psychology, social worker and support workers. The aim was to bring two frameworks together: VdTMoCA to sharpen staff-to-service-user communication, and OT Grow to strengthen staff-to-staff communication and team cohesion, recognising how closely the two are linked on a ward.

We opened with a sensory ice breaker, then worked in small groups on a card puzzle sequencing VdTMoCA's four levels: Tone, Self-Differentiation, Self-Presentation, and Passive Participation. The paired paper-plate demonstration followed, making the difference between generic and level-matched communication directly visible. We closed with an OT Grow gratitude exercise and structured feedback practice, linking team dynamics back to how we engage with those in our care.

The first time we ran the paper-plate tossing challenge with vague instructions, the room hesitated. Staff hovered, unsure if they'd got it right. We ran it again, this time using VdTMoCA-informed language: clear, meeting people where they were. The shift was immediate. That single comparison demonstrated the Vona du Toit Model of Creative Ability in practise, given the model's roots in exactly this kind of practical, person-centred thinking.

VdTMoCA, being developed by South African Occupational Therapist Vona du Toit, remains deeply relevant to person-centred practice worldwide.

By the debrief, staff weren't reciting theory back to me, they were naming specific service users and identifying which level they'd meet them at. Confidence in identifying a service user's engagement level rose sharply, and the feedback was just as telling: sessions described as "very good," requests to run it "more often," and one comment that summed up the impact plainly, that this is "the secret" behind stronger engagement with service users.

What stayed with me most were the post-it notes left afterwards, thanking me for being warm, welcoming, and a genuine team player, the relational groundwork VdTMoCA and OT Grow are both, ultimately, built on.

By Tabitha Solomontamilselvan, Occupational Therapist, Cygnet Harrow.

Reference:

OT Grow, Founded by Louise Fouche: https://otgrow.co.za

VdTMoCA: Van der Reyden, D., Casteleijn, D., Sherwood, W. & de Witt, P. (2019) The Vona du Toit Model of Creative Ability: Origins, Constructs, Principles and Application in Occupational Therapy. Pretoria: Vona & Marie du Toit Foundation.