Millennialot

On Sunday, February 24th, at 7 pm EST, 4 pm PST, the Twitter account for the Society for the Study of Occupation: USA found at the twitter handle @OccSci_USA will be hosting a topic chat that can be found following #OccSciChat. Beginning with Descartes who separated the idea of the mind from the body; the idea of OT originally set out to combine the relationship of mind and body with the concept of function (Serret, 1983). While science has primarily been the study of the material world, OT has emphasized a holistic approach to the study of the human. OT history remains relevant to the study of OT as a science and a practice, yet it can also be interesting!

Professional growth involves ongoing discussion, professional engagement, and informal sources while online platforms can support this professional growth positively (Ranieri, Manca, & Fini, 2012). In another study, Bodell & Hook (2014) found that educating incoming students on professional uses for social media could support “professional networks and facilitate continuing professional development (CPD). The Facebook page OT4OT (occupational therapy 4 occupational therapy) includes nearly 23,000 members with 47 sub-groups of which the member page of MH4OT (mental health 4 occupational therapy) remains the largest at 9,000+ members. Social media and internet sources offer an organic peer-to-peer professional growth, that Greenhalgh, Robert, and Macfarlane (2004), define as “pure-diffusion” or in other-words, a less structured (horizontal) rather than more structured (vertical), growth.

The occupational therapy (OT) spiel is similar to what’s commonly known as an elevator speech, but for OTs. Since that moment, I have thought deeply about what occupational therapy is, to the point of diving into the Archives of Occupational Therapy, edited by Wm. If I were to say what occupational therapy is to me, it would be this: “Occupational therapy is more of a philosophy than a skill set. “Occupational therapy may look different depending on the setting, but it’s goal is the same, to help people be as independent as possible with their day-to-day activities, with stroke that might look like dressing or using the bathroom, or simply getting around your room.

The researchers Epton et al., (2017), in a recent large Meta-analysis of 141 research articles on goal setting re-evaluated the goal setting ideals explaining evidence that goal setting is effective if: Unfortunately, Goal setting as it relates to mental health care falls short in a variety of ways including; the lack of studies including those with low socioeconomic status, in primary care, behavior versus performance, diverse populations, or beyond a year of use (Epton et al., 2017). While occupational therapy, incorporating goal-directed behavior has supported evidence in positive outcomes for providing mental health treatment, it’s likely, S. M.A.R.T goals are ineffective for the day-to-day lives of those struggling to practice positive mental health. While I may not have sources to back up that claim, there are equally, NOT sources available to support the use of S.M.A.R.T. goals or performance goals, or goal setting in general, with the mental health population, and particularly the inpatient setting. While goal setting may be valuable in other areas of occupational therapy practice, the mental health setting, could likely use more effective tools when it comes to supporting clients, patients, or participants in treatment with goal setting; that is, if goal setting is to have long-term behavior changing positive outcomes.