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Client‐centred aspects of clinical reasoning during an initial assessment using the Canadian Occupational Performance Measure
Author(s) -
Mew Melissa M.,
Fossey Ellie
Publication year - 1996
Publication title -
australian occupational therapy journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.595
H-Index - 44
eISSN - 1440-1630
pISSN - 0045-0766
DOI - 10.1111/j.1440-1630.1996.tb01851.x
Subject(s) - occupational therapy , acknowledgement , documentation , feeling , psychology , consistency (knowledge bases) , negotiation , psychotherapist , applied psychology , social psychology , computer science , psychiatry , artificial intelligence , computer security , political science , law , programming language
The client‐centred approach used in occupational therapy is basic to the profession's philosophy and the way in which therapists think about their clients. Documentation of client‐centred clinical reasoning is needed to validate this approach and to identify its place in occupational therapy practice. This qualitative single case study explores the client‐centred aspects of one therapist's clinical reasoning while using the Canadian Occupational Performance Measure, a client‐centred assessment. Recordings of an assessment interview and the therapist's subsequent reflections on her clinical reasoning during the interview were analysed using ethnographic content analysis. Three aspects of client‐centred reasoning are discussed: collaboration to define problems and negotiate therapy goals; the therapist's acknowledgement of the client's feelings; and the therapist's understanding of the client. This study proposes several areas for research, particularly the need to define client‐centred practice in occupational therapy and to examine the extent and consistency of therapists' collaborations with their clients for meaningful and effective therapy.