Occupation Based Practice Reflection

Utilizing occupations as a method of treatment, healing, and intervention was one of the
reasons why I was so drawn to occupational therapy. Occupations encompasses everything we do
as human beings to help us live and give our lives meaning. Upon entering the occupational
therapy program in Touro University, I was actually still confused about the field that I was about
to get into because I did not have a clear understand of what occupations were. The broad
definition of the term, occupation; as it is used in occupational therapy had always left me with
wanting a more specific or concrete explanation. That quickly changed as I was delved into
assignments such as the occupational analysis in first semester.
Throughout the clinical reasoning of occupations course (OCCT 506), we learned that
occupations are simply the activities we do in our day to day lives. While writing the
occupational analysis, I was baffled by how broad the term occupations can be; however,
describing the specific tasks within each occupation can be so specific. Although I was simply
watching one of my classmates cooking a meal for the assignment, I had to change my mode of
thinking to acutely observe the several small tasks it takes to complete a whole occupation. This
assignment helped me deeply analyze all the steps of an occupation and determine a persons
quality of performance in doing so.
I also had the opportunity to practice utilizing an occupational analysis on actual person
through the occupational profile and intervention plan assignment in third and fourth semester.
While writing this paper, I was able to understand how a persons background, environment,
occupations, and performance are all interrelated. This assignment helped me view individuals
as a whole person in order to plan meaningful interventions. It also gave me a higher

appreciation of how occupational therapy is both a mix of art and science. I found that
occupation based interventions really pushed me to become creative and think outside of the box.
My values toward utilizing occupation-based practice in my interventions to a small dip
while I was on fieldwork. As I entered actually providing occupational therapy interventions, I
was quickly frustrated by the fact that I did not know any specific techniques or protocols for
treatments. I feel as though I was not competent to perform treatments that were considered
preparatory activities within the didactic coursework. In the pediatric setting, I was not able to
perform techniques such as kinesio-taping to inhibit tone for those with cerebral palsy or oral
motor exercises for feeding. I found that I had a tendency to adopt strategies that I learned from
other physical or speech therapists in my practice. I needed to be reminded by some of my peers
and educators that occupations are the core of our profession. In my occupation based artifact for
fieldwork, I utilized visual board games as an intervention for a teenager who struggled with
visual perception and fine motor skills. By using an occupation based intervention, my client had
more fun during our session and was more motivated to complete a challenging visual activity.
By refocusing more of my interventions toward activities that were more occupation
based, I was able to realize that this approach was more enriching and encompasses more
performance areas than specific exercises. Although both top-down and bottom-up approaches
are necessary to promote successful performance, it is important for me to remember that
occupations is the fundamental practice of our profession in order to grow creatively and
intuitively as an occupational therapist.