This year I celebrate 25 years of professional activity at the Casa de Saúde da Idanha as an occupational therapist. It is undoubtedly a joyful milestone in my life, one that coincides with an equally unique and symbolic year: the Jubilee Year, whose theme is “Pilgrims of Hope.” This theme helps me reflect on my journey over these 25 years, but also encourages me to look ahead to new challenges.
As an occupational therapist with a person-centered approach in the field of mental health, I am confronted daily with situations of occupational dysfunction in complex social contexts. I encounter impoverished, unhealthy occupational routines that do not promote personal or community development and often hinder individuals from fulfilling meaningful and healthy occupational roles in their lives.
We witness life stories marked by deep existential suffering—stories of loneliness, of hopelessness and lack of meaning—which, in my view, seek to strip away the most valuable thing a person possesses: their dignity.
Working in mental health has meant, above all, being present in another’s suffering, restoring lost hope, and helping rediscover the best within each person—what makes them unique and gives them an active voice in the world around them. Ultimately, it is about helping each person find happiness within their own story.
In this Jubilee Year, a symbolic time of hope and renewal, I am called, as a healthcare professional and as a pilgrim in faith, to be a sign of committed hope—expressed through listening, welcoming, and caring—uniting science, humanity, and hope. I am also called to have a renewed perspective on new contexts and therapeutic approaches in service of the people who come to us.
These 25 years of hospitality have been, for me, a true pilgrimage—with steady steps and some more uncertain ones, with challenges and constant learning, and with the certainty that I do not walk alone. It is a path shared with colleagues, sisters, and those we serve—who, for me, are true signs of hope. And something very beautiful happens here: I receive these signs of hope that encourage me each day, and in turn, I also strive to be a sign of hope in daily life. They teach me to hold fast to the truth that mental health concerns everyone—and is for everyone.
Rute Rodrigues Asseiceiro, Terapeuta Ocupacional, Casa de Saúde da Idanha
