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Occupational therapists as object users: A critique of Australian practice 1954–1995
Author(s) -
Hocking Clare,
Wilcock Ann
Publication year - 1997
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.1440-1630.1997.tb00771.x
Subject(s) - occupational therapy , identity (music) , object (grammar) , dignity , psychology , centrality , meaning (existential) , occupational science , social psychology , applied psychology , psychotherapist , nursing , medicine , aesthetics , psychiatry , computer science , philosophy , mathematics , combinatorics , artificial intelligence , political science , law
This research sought to identify the conventions and expectations that guide Australian occupational therapists' use of objects, and to critique these against professional beliefs and values. A history of ideas methodology was used to analyse the content of a sample of issues of the Australian Occupational Therapy Journal , spanning 42 years. This revealed that therapists have been strongly influenced by mechanistic thinking, with a resultant focus on biomechanical, neurological and functional aspects of object use, which has excluded consideration of the client's subjective experience of using objects and the symbolic meaning of the objects used. The centrality of assistive devices, splints and formal assessments to occupational therapists' identity and professional development is also identified. Current practices are critiqued as inconsistent with respecting clients' dignity and worth.