Val Lougheed, a VRA Canada member, has been working in the field of VR since 1978 and ran her own company with 200 VR professionals for 35 years. In 2003, Val Lougheed almost died in a head-on collision, which put her in the unique position of having been on both sides of the rehab fence.
In the accident, Val sustained catastrophic injuries and spent five months in hospitals followed by three years of rehabilitation learning to walk and think again, and now lives with permanent impairments.
Her first book, Be Still, is described as a “bridge between disciplines, professions and persons who live with changed realities”. Val’s second book, Be Strong (pre-publication manuscript), delves deeper into the meaning of recovery and the impact of rehabilitation services and disability benefits systems.
Val is a passionate speaker who not only speaks the language of VR professionals, but also provides new clarity on the impact our services can have on the people we work with.
In the following must-watch talk given at the 2024 International Insights on Workplace Rehabilitation Forum in Sydney Australia, sponsored by the Australian Rehabilitation Providers Association (ARPA; https://www.arpa.org.au/home), Val shares her personal journey. With a mix of authenticity, humour, life experience and research, she reveals the critical connections between the process and the person that facilitate health, resilience and true recovery.
