For this post I decided to discuss just what a therapeutic relationship is and what it entails. A therapeutic relationship is defined as the interaction between an occupational therapist practitioner and their client. Therapeutic relationships differ from everyday relationships, in that they are key in facilitating the healing and rehabilitation process. They also differ from the typical relationship in that it's not about both people but strictly about the client and meeting their needs. Developing and sustaining therapeutic relationships involves the ability to develop trust, demonstrate empathy, understand verbal and nonverbal communication, and the use of active listening. Trust is one of the most important aspects in any type of relationship to me. Once trust is obtained the client feels more comfortable with sharing personal information which in turn greatly benefits the intervention process. Developing empathy is another huge part of this process, the client must believe that you at least are trying to understand their situation and that you have their best interest at heart. Developing a therapeutic relationship is key to the OT process.
For my second post I will be talking about health as well as mentioning a few theories promoting health. Health can be defined in many different ways, one being “the complete state of physical, mental, and social well-being and not just the absence of disease or infirmity.” The promotion of health is the use of discipline specific techniques to assist people in achieving their health related goals. Occupational therapy directed health promotion is the client centered use of occupations, adaptations to context, or alteration of context to maximize individuals’, families’, communities’, and groups’ pursuit of health and quality of life. Health promotion is a process of maximizing health through structured interventions. Before an appropriate theory can be selected for a health promotion initiative, a clear understanding of the health and occupation needs and desires of those being served is required. One of the first and most widely used models in health promotion is...
Very well said, Cameron!
ReplyDelete