Guest editorial
Authors: Van der Reyden Dain 
Published: February 2025

Over the last 15 to 20 years, a whole plethora of new models havebeen developed to guide occupational therapy practice. Thesemodels - mainly developed outside of South Africa - are all vyingfor prominence in our professional domain.Many readers will be familiar with the tenets of the theory ofcreative ability as propounded by Vona du Toit in the 60' and 70's,and may even be familiar with the use of the term 'Creative Participation'in keeping with the regional development of the Model.The proponents of the Vona du Toit Model of Creative Ability(VdTMoCA) felt the need to integrate the many disparate bitsof materials and presentations, and to link this Model to currentresearch and better position the VdTMoCA amongst the manypractice models currently in our domain and educational curricula.Driven by a conviction of the value of the VdTMoCA and the realisationof the dearth of accessible, comprehensive information onthe Model, various researchers and practitioners contributed to thepublication of a textbook on the origins, constructs, principles andapplication of this Model - a publication which presents the modelin full for the very first time1.My involvement in the development of this text made me realiseanew the impact and value of this proudly South African model, andwhy we need to vigorously develop this Model to take its rightfulplace in the national and international arena and to become amodel of choice. In South Africa, we are fortunate enough to havethe resources necessary to do so, as we have approximately 4000occupational therapists who are at least familiar with (if not expertat the application of) the Model, which, by implication, means thatthere are many potential mentors. In order to re-position this Modelit is suggested that we need to:âœ¥ make overt that we are using the Model; which regrettablyis often covert , in everyday practice;âœ¥ be assertive in demonstrating the benefits and integral valueof the VdTMoCA in service delivery to colleagues and personsin leadership positions;âœ¥ study and integrate research done in South Africa andother countries, especially emerging collaborative researchacross countries. We don't have the luxury of allowing researchto remain unseen and unutilised, gathering dust on theproverbial shelf;âœ¥ urgently research the application in the different life stagesand contexts beyond that of illness and disability;âœ¥ delve deeper into its origins, concepts and constructs;âœ¥ search out new areas and contexts for application as itso eloquently formulated by Fasloen Adams in her keynoteaddress at the 6th ICAN Conference2 where she shared herresearch on the application of the Model in community evaluationand intervention;âœ¥ we not only need to expand the Model's application butalso importantly , to delve deeper into its origins, conceptsand constructs;âœ¥ maximise the use of the VdTMoCA on all platforms;âœ¥ investigate and define the use of the VdTMoCA by practitionersother than occupational therapists, including thetraining of occupational therapy assistants and other healthcare professionals, which will open up training and managementpossibilities;âœ¥ reconfigure our undergraduate training in the VdTMoCAin this country, as would be appropriate within the parametersof University Autonomy. That which is currently offered inSouth Africa varies greatly between educational institutionsand it seems to be progressively curtailed due largely to theemergence and credibility of other professional models;âœ¥ offer courses on the Model through ongoing professional developmentcourses and dedicated events such as conferences.I therefore call on my fellow South African colleagues to reconnectwith each other and with the Model; to overtly and activelyimplement and apply the constructs, concepts and principles. Afterall, the Model has its origins in South Africa and has been firmlyrooted in practice for more than 40 years.Regrettably many of us as practitioners have, for several reasons,either incorporated the fundamentals of the theory in our considerationfor intervention, without acknowledging the Model, evento ourselves, or we have simplified or substituted the terminologyused in the Model with more user-friendly terms to increase accessibility,to the extent that at times, we become rather reductionistin our practice.This appeal is for practitioners to "own" the Model with prideand to develop and apply it with vigour and effort.There are several exciting challenges facing us, but it's also morebasic than that: We need a change of attitude about how we use,speak about and promote this unique Model. I believe that we, firstand foremost need much collaborative effort and commitment to:â Online training in the VdTMoCA as this would benefitthe Model, assist novices in its use and act as a refresher foradherents. The United Kingdom has commendably taken thelead in this.â Nuggets of information are still hidden in dusty boxes and files,with much valuable information contained in electronic files,much of which need reviewing and cataloguing.â Underpinning all the above (and hopefully, contributing to itsformation) is the need to grow the user base of the Modelinto a dynamic interactive, community of enthusiasts andadherents of the Model, a few fanatics in the mix will surelyadd some impetus.As a final thought, which has arisen from time to time, it wouldseem that we need to constitute a group of super experts fromSouth Africa and abroad (who probably need to be functioning atthe 'Contribution' level of Creative Ability) to more deeply questionthe constructs and concepts so carefully formulated, and to drivethe evolution of the Model.Dain van der Reyden.A long-standing user of the modelREFERENCES1. Van der Reyden D, Casteleijn D, Sherwood W, & de Witt P. (Eds.).VdTMoCA - The Vona du Toit Model of Creative Ability: Origins,Constructs, Principles and Application in Occupational Therapy.Cape Town: Vona & MariÃ© du Toit Foundation, 2019.2. Adams F. The VdTMoCA: the past, the present and the future.Dain van der Reyden Keynote Address. Delivered at the 6th ICANInternational Vona du Toit Model of Creative ability Conferenceentitled 'Evidence and Relevance'; 2019.