About
Fit For Work is a centre aimed at promoting an individual's success and growth in all areas of life including work, social connections, relaxation/personal time, emotional well being, etc. The centre focuses on individuals suffering from a mental health condition to provide specific expertise and experience with the focus on current evidence based practice techniques and models. The centre is based on the guiding principles of the Occupational Therapy Practice Framework in which engagement in meaningful and purposeful occupations creates a sense of well-being, satisfaction and fulfillment. The longer an individual is not engaging in meaningful work/daily tasks, the increased risk there is of poor mental health, low confidence, loss of skills, reduced social connections and an unbalanced lifestyle. This compounds an individual’s medical symptoms and makes it more difficult to return to the open labour market or to achieve independence in one's daily life tasks.
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The Fit For Work centre seeks to bridge the gap between time spent being inactive due to extended periods of illness, and a return to a fully balanced lifestyle. This has proven to be a relative 'blind spot' in the rehabilitation process yet could arguably be considered one of the more important stages of that same process. An individual who has experienced lengthy periods of inactivity may easily find themselves overwhelmed when they are once again exposed to the full rigors and stresses of modern day professional living.
An attempt to combat this cannot simply be approached from a single direction only, hence the need for a focused centre that is able to offer a truly holistic approach to the journey of becoming an active member of society. An inclusive mentality that focuses on positive reinforcement coupled with internationally recognised processes ensures that participants in the Fit for Work program have a greater chance of success.
Coupled to this primary focus of the centre are the ancillary services that can be seen to go hand in hand with the main task of achieving work and social fitness. These may include anonymous programs for those with addiction problems, functional capacity evaluations, case management, life skills training, sensory modulation and work/site visits wherever these may be appropriate.
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For more information on Fit for Work and the services offered please navigate to the Services page or alternatively contact the team who will gladly assist you with any questions you might have.
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Meet The Team
Kristyn Wolhuter
Amy Volker
Founder & CEO
MSc Occupational Therapy (Wits)
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Kristyn studied at Witwatersrand University where she obtained her masters degree in 2014, specialising in psychiatric conditions and mental health. She worked as a senior Occupational Therapist at Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital before leaving to set up her private practice in 2016.
Her areas of interest include functional capacity evaluations, work hardening programs and cognitive rehabilitation. She consults in these capacities at Akeso Clinic in Parktown.
In 2018 she founded Fit For Work, a practice dedicated to helping people return to work after long periods of absence due to mental illness.
Senior Therapist
BSc Occupational Therapy (Wits)
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Amy completed her Bachelor of Science in Occupational Therapy at the University of the Witwatersrand before completing her community service year at Chris Hani Baragwanath Academic Hospital in Soweto. During her community service year she was involved in neurological rehabilitation and psychiatry.
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Amy then spent two years in Namibia in a private practice, focusing mostly on paediatrics, work assessments and work rehabilitation.
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She has since returned to South Africa to work in paediatrics before turning back to her love for psychiatry and the return-to-work program.
Caroline Kapp
Senior Therapist
MSc Occupational Therapy (Wits)
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Caroline studied at the University of the Witwatersrand and obtained a Bachelor of Science in Occupational Therapy in 2017. She has worked as an Occupational Therapist in the field of mental health since 2019 during which time she has been involved in both inpatient and outpatient services. She is experienced in working with both adults and adolescents.
Caroline's areas of interests include functional capacity evaluations, vocational rehabilitation, sensory processing, as well as cognitive rehabilitation. She has a special interest in group therapy.
She is currently consulting at Akeso Clinic Parktown as well as seeing clients from the Greenside rooms.