Hi! I’m a freshman in college and recently just declared my major for Exercise and Sports Science with pre-OT and have been researching OT non-stop since. I’ve kind of become a little overwhelmed at the idea of working with patients knowing that I will be directly affecting their life with choices in their everyday tasks. Idk if that really made any sense but I was just wondering if that feeling goes away with time as I start to learn what it’s really like to be an OT? Thanks so much!!
Hey! I love this question; it tells me that you’re already taking your position as a (future) healthcare provider quite seriously. And you’re right, you do carry some influence as a clinician. IMO, things go wrong when a therapist inadvertently sways their client’s life in a particular direction without that person’s consent (yikes). Now, we do talk about shifting power dynamics in school so that the clinician and client experience a more balanced relationship. In the back of your mind (and really, in conversation with your client), there should always be some question along the lines of…
“What does this person want support with?”
“What are their goals/values?”
“Is what we’re doing (in therapy) in keeping with their goals?”
“Is what the client’s doing (in their everyday life) in keeping with their goals?”
I went to a talk recently where the director of forensic psychiatric services at a correctional institution made an interesting point: As clinicians, we should be mindful not to push our idea of recovery onto a client. For a client who may have been in and out of prison, for example, and who suddenly finds themselves working a meaningless job or living in a home unfamiliar to them, they may experience a sense of alienation from, well, themselves. They’re stuck in a life they weren’t involved in planning. How disorienting would that feel?
An occupational therapist’s job is not to occupy someone’s time, period. Instead, it’s to help someone develop (or reinstitute) their own sense of identity and purpose, and to connect them with (or support them in doing) activities that are in alignment with these. This is not to say you don’t encourage your client in difficult moments; if someone’s told you explicitly that they want support developing a more normalized morning routine but consistently stays in bed, it’s okay to help them move towards their overarching goal by encouraging smaller steps along the way. Partnering with your client. That’s your role as the therapist.
