Meet Your Presenters
The OT Link is delighted to bring you this pain course — especially for OTs, by OTs.
Gillian Coetsee
PG Dip Interdisciplinary Pain Management (UCT) · Advanced Dips: Neurosciences, Hand & Vocational Rehab · Workwell Certified
Gillian is an experienced occupational therapist and academic, passionate about learning and sharing knowledge. She has lectured and externally examined on undergraduate and postgraduate courses and presented numerous workshops. She has been involved with OTASA, INSTOPP, SASHT (past president), IFSHT, OTPMG and PainSA, bringing a wealth of clinical experience and the latest evidence to assessing and treating clients with pain. She currently works in private practice, treating adult clients with neurological conditions, upper limb trauma and hand injuries.
Linda Hiemstra
MSc Clinical Pain Management (Edinburgh) · PG Dip Vocational Rehabilitation (UP) · PG Dip Interdisciplinary Pain Management (UCT)
Linda qualified as an Occupational Therapist from Stellenbosch University in 2002. She is Chief Clinical Officer of the Health Collective, which runs the PAIN Collective — a group of private practitioners across 20 interventional pain management clinics nationally. She manages clinical services across these clinics while carrying an active caseload of patients with complex persistent pain. Linda teaches part-time at UCT on the postgraduate pain management programme and the OT undergraduate curriculum, and is the incoming President of PAINSA.
Helen Roome
PG Dip Interdisciplinary Pain Management (UCT) · Dip Practical Labour Law · MA Practical Theology (Tabor College, Australia)
Helen is an Occupational therapist with over 30 years of broad clinical experience who, over the past decade, has focussed her life and practice on chronic pain care. She has served in leadership roles in the paincare community of SA as past-chairperson of OTPMG and current President-Elect of PainSA. She authored her popular book “Your Pain Playbook: effective daily strategies for life beyond pain” in 2023. Helen has a special interest in Fibromyalgia and established a thriving Fibromyalgia educational support group 10 years ago. She is also a cofounder of the interdisciplinary practice – R&R Pain Solutions.
