Tuesday, June 5

I was reading some back issues of OT Practice when I found an article written by my second fieldwork advisor from this past fall when I worked at Linden Oaks Hospital. Intrigued by the article, as I know she is a great mental health occupational therapy advocate, I read her article only to find that she had written about one of my case studies.

From Mental Health and the Practice Framework by Lisa Mahaffey (01/22/2007):
". . . Here is a case example. Kevin is a 35-year-old white male who entered an acute care facility involuntarily for bizarre behavior and fragmented thoughts, and noncompliance with his medications. Amy (that's me!), the occupational therapist, began her evaluation by observing him in several situations and environments. Using an Occupational Profile, Amy gathered information about Kevin's interests, goals, and routines and the factors that impeded his ability to meet the responsibilities of his life activities. Amy learned that Kevin had problems in a lot of areas, but particularly in the area of social participation. Using Table 1 helped Amy organize the information she gathered about Kevin and the areas that she could further explore with him, including social participation in the community, with family members (his wife and 2-year-old twin daughters), and peers and friends. Kevin has not participated in any community functions. His relationship with his wife is strained, and he lacks parenting skills. He does not have any close friendships, but he goes out drinking with a group of guys once a month.

Using all the information she gathered about Kevin, Amy determined her interventions based on his priorities, values, and anticipated daily life activities upon discharge. Amy's intervention began with an Interest Checklist to help Kevin identify other activities he might be interested in besides drinking. To increase his social participation, she and Kevin developed a plan for him to attend a baseball game with one of his cousins. They also discussed ways in which he could improve his relationships with his wife and family (e.g., a date night with his wife, a family trip to the park).

Kevin admitted that he didn't like feeling isolated from others, especially his family, but he didn't know how to make changes in this area. Through Amy's intervention, Kevin was able to identify some interests that he could develop, and he's more motivated to do so. Amy believed that the Framework was extremely helpful in assessing and intervening in the area of social participation with Kevin."

posted by Jenny Tuesday, June 05, 2007

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