Faculty of Health, Sport and Behavioural Sciences
Since graduating at Canterbury with a BSc in Occupational Therapy in 1993, Rachel specialised in Paediatrics, working in the NHS and voluntary sector, in both the UK and in East Africa. With over 33 years of experience of working with children with motor disorders and their families; Rachel has also completed post-graduate training in Hand Therapy and MSc in Advanced OT.
Rachel is passionate about learning and enabling people to reach their full potential. Whilst working part time as a Senior Lecturer, she also works as an Associate for an Independent Paediatric OT Practice.
Rachel teaches across all year groups of the BSc and MSc, with a particular focus on Rehabilitation, Paediatrics and Sensory-based approaches.
Rachel’s research interests include paediatrics, play, trauma-informed practice and inclusive education.
Practice readiness of newly qualified occupational therapists in the United Kingdom: a multi-stakeholder qualitative study. (2026) Brightlin Nithis Dhas, Terence Brown, Jenny Devers, Rachel Murrill, Vimla Sriram, Cristina Devecchi. British Journal of Occupational Therapy. BJO-258-Sep-2025-RP.