This is a photo of two very happy rehabilitation consultants.  Rachel Geraghty and I recently travelled to a regional town to progress a client’s move into paid employment.  Our faces are full of joy, because as you will soon see, this was one of those clients for whom we didn’t think employment would be the outcome. This 34 year old man was referred to Purple Co in February 2015.  He had been on an Income Protection claim since 2012.  He was medically certified as partially fit, however, … [Read more...]

It is hard to ignore LinkedIn these days. It is one social media platform that has served the professional and business community well since its launch in 2002. Like most social media platforms at the time no one really knew what was going to occur and how powerful it would become. In 2005 LinkedIn started offering some services to the business communities offering subscriptions and opportunities to fill positions and seek employment opportunities. By 2010 the company shifts into hyper-growth, … [Read more...]

As a Rehabilitation Professional of some 20 years vintage, I’ve been intrigued how people seem to have a complete personality change of attitude and behaviours not often expressed until an injury occurs at work, and I’m not talking about the injured employee – I’m talking about supervisors, managers and CEO’s as well. Everyone in the chain of command has a price to pay when someone gets injured. We all know this and we all feel it. Over 20 years, while the jargon and language may have … [Read more...]

I’d like to share with you an amazing story about Mary*. Mary was referred to me by an expert vocational rehabilitation counsellor. This rehabilitation counsellor knew the impact the right kind of exercise physiology intervention could have on Mary’s return to work and life. Mary was not getting out of bed. She was anxious with a fluctuating mood. Mary was having nightmares and poor sleep, low confidence and low self-esteem. She had been diagnosed with PTSD, adjustment disorder, and major … [Read more...]

Welcome to the March 2015 edition of the Purple Periodical. The last three months have seen some great results achieved with clients and we are excited by the new customers that we are able to work in partnership with. This edition we have a guest post from Vicky Phillips from Ex Phys.  Vicky and I have personally worked together for a few years now with clients.  I have really enjoyed working with Vicky and her team and have found this commitment to client’s while understanding the needs … [Read more...]

You may be aware that I’ve had a Masters Rehabilitation Counselling student working alongside us at Purple Co. Its been a fantastic experience and I really enjoy imparting into the next generation of rehabilitation professionals. I asked our student to reflect on the Bio Psych Social Model of rehabilitation, to impart what she has learned in theory to what she has observed, witnessed and experience on placement. Her response is really insightful and one that I would recommend anyone interested … [Read more...]

Fatigue is a really big problem.  A really big problem. It’s a problem, because we don’t seem to be talking about it in a way that is useful and helpful to the prevalence of people who live with fatigue each day.  (A conservative estimate puts the number of people in Australia with chronic fatigue disorder at 180,000.) Treating Chronic Fatigue Syndrome presents a significant challenge to people with CFS and their healthcare practitioners. A client will say ‘I can’t because I am too fatigued’, a … [Read more...]

I am often in awe of the client’s we serve at Purple Co. People who have experienced forced change in ways that you and I may never experience, yet there is this desire to move beyond circumstances and into a new future. That new futures is quite often very different to the future they had envisioned prior to injury, illness and disability. I am not writing this piece to expound how inspiring clients are. I am sure many of us who have worked in workplace based rehabilitation have been inspired … [Read more...]