About Me

Hello, my name is Monica Iofciu. I’m a UK-based, qualified, registered Occupational Therapist (OT) with over 8 years of professional OT experience and 9 years of hands-on experience as a professional carer.

I created Handlewell Academy to give family carers the tools, confidence, and support they deserve — especially when caring at home feels overwhelming, confusing, or lonely.

 

Why I Started Handlewell: A Daughter’s Story

This is me with my beautiful mum, Valeria — the best mum I could have wished for. 

Caring for her during her cancer treatment and her final days showed me just how exhausting, confusing, and isolating the caring role can feel. Even with professional training, I often wished someone could simply tell me, “Here’s what to do next.”

 That experience changed me. It gave me a deeper understanding of how hard, important, and emotionally demanding family caring truly is. 

It’s the reason I founded Handlewell Academy in 2022 — in my mum’s memory — to make the caring journey easier for family carers and their loved ones. 

Everything I create is built on both professional expertise and lived experience: the same practical, trustworthy support I wished I had when I was in your position.

 

My Professional Background 

I am a qualified, registered Occupational Therapist with experience across the NHS, adult social care, and the private sector. My professional registrations and qualifications include: 

  • MSc in Occupational Therapy 
  • Registered with the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC) 
  • Member of the Royal College of Occupational Therapists (RCOT) 
  • Moving and Handling Train-the-Trainer qualification (RoSPA accredited)
  • Member of National Back Exchange

 I have worked across: 

  • Medical wards, including A&E
  • Intensive Care during the COVID-19 pandemic
  • Rapid response and integrated care teams
  • Rehabilitation and reablement services
  • Complex care, including Moving & Handling and Single-Handed Care projects 

Alongside this clinical experience, I also have 9 years of hands-on moving and handling experience as a professional carer in the private sector. 

This unique combination of professional expertise and real-life caring experience is at the heart of everything I create. It means every resource is not only clinically safe, but also realistic and doable in the home environment.

 

My Mission

Handlewell Academy is my way of giving family carers practical, trustworthy, step-by-step guidance — so you don’t have to figure everything out alone. 

My mission is to help you feel:

  • Competent
  • Confident
  • Calm
  • Supported

… in your family carer role.

Whether you are just starting out or have been caring for your loved one for years, I hope these toolkits give you the peace of mind and practical skills you need. 

You’re not alone in this journey.

 

A Gentle Next Step

If you’d like to explore the toolkits I created to support families like yours, you can do that here.


I'm here if you need me. If you have questions about caring, safety, or which toolkit might support you best, feel free to get in touch.