Skip to main content

The Importance of OT Theory

Theories give OT practitioners a way of knowing why they are using a specific intervention. What I admire about the occupational therapy profession is how clients are always viewed in a holistic way, looking at their individual environment, occupational performance, and personal interests. One model I particularly like is the Kawa Model. The Kawa Model gives the occupational therapist a more concrete way of looking at each individual's life, and the factors that play a role in it. Therapists need to be able to explain why they are doing a certain treatment so that the clients can also have a clear understanding of the intervention. The Kawa Model looks more at the cultural context, making it useful for any client. It makes clear occupational therapy's overall purpose, ways of understanding a client's circumstances, and explaining why a particular intervention will be helpful within their personal context. This model compares life to being a river, flowing through time and space, while being affected by factors such as barriers, relationships, and personal characteristics. I think this is a great way of clarifying how OT works. The implementation of OT theory is vital in carrying out a valid intervention that will hopefully provide a more meaningful, independent life for every client. 

Comments

  1. Dr. LancasterMarch 16, 2017 at 9:50 AM

    "The implementation of OT theory is vital in carrying out a valid intervention that will hopefully provide a more meaningful, independent life for every client. " YES!! Very well articulated, Camille.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Fundamentals of Caring Review

For this assignment, I decided to watch a movie called The Fundamentals of Caring. The title of this movie had caught my eye while scrolling through  Netflix  a few times before, but I had never taken the time to watch it.  This movie is about a retired author named Ben who decides to enroll in a class and become a caregiver. He takes on a full time job caring for a boy named Trevor who has muscular dystrophy. Although Ben has no previous experience as a caregiver, it does not take long for him to gain the respect of Trevor. He decides to get Trevor out of the house and away from his dull daily routine to embark on a road trip together. Trevor saw and experienced things that he would never have had the chance to do before Ben came into his life. Ben made sure that Trevor could check things off of his bucket list without solely focusing on the worry of medicines and treatments for a week. My main takeaway from this movie was how Ben did not treat Trevor differently...
5 comments
Read more

Brain Injuries and Heartbreaks

In today's class we began to learn about traumatic and non-traumatic brain injuries. Brain injuries can be caused by a variety of factors and can affect a victim in numerous ways. It can be very difficult to work with a brain injury patient because oftentimes they do not show physical symptoms, but instead emotional, social, and/or cognitive symptoms. It is fascinating to me how a brain injury can completely change a person's personality, however; this is what also makes this type of injury most traumatic for the loved ones of the victim. When you have a loved one who has suffered from a brain injury, it is possible that he or she is altogether not the same person you have always known. Though physically they may look the same, they are not emotionally or socially the person you loved before. We listened to a podcast before class about a nurse named Dawn who was attacked by a hospital patient, resulting in a TBI. The would lash out in frustrating situations and also had terribl...
Post a Comment
Read more

Leadership Summit Reflection

I met with my fellow classmates Rachel Scarbrough, Emily White, and Caitlyn White for my leadership summit. We discussed our ideas and current plans for group facilitation, as well as the theories that we based our protocols on. Rachel is presenting on budgeting, Emily is presenting on volunteer opportunities, and Caitlyn is presenting on care of pets. I enjoyed getting to hear their ideas since we all are facilitating different group discussions. Brainstorming with my classmates really helped me come up with more ideas for my group protocol. I think it is important to collaborate with fellow colleagues in the school and professional setting in order to not only help you think your own ideas through, but also to receive feedback from others who might be able to add more creativity to your plan. I will absolutely do this when I am a practicing OT. I enjoyed this experience and found it to be very beneficial for this group assignment.
1 comment
Read more