USE OF THE MODEL OF HUMAN OCCUPATION - A SURVEY OF THERAPISTS IN PSYCHIATRIC PRACTICE

This study sought to examine how occupational therapists (OTs) who uti lize the Model of Human Occupation as their primary practice model app lied concepts of this model to describe the occupational functioning O f their clients. A telephone survey method was created to elicit quant itative and qualitative data. The findings suggest that therapists val ue the holistic approach of this model and often incorporate parts of other practice models into it, although sometimes they ignore conceptu al differences between the models. Therapists questioned found major c oncepts of the model useful for conceptualizing their clients' occupat ional functioning, but found the further subdivision of major concepts into several variables to be less useful. These preliminary findings and how they relate to the model as a practice theory are examined, an d the parts of the theory that may bear refinement or change are discu ssed.