Becoming Anti-Racist Occupational Therapy Practitioners: A Scoping Study

Abstract

The ongoing racism pandemic in the United States negatively impacts the health, safety, and occupations of Black, Indigenous, and/or People of Color. Although occupational therapy (OT) practitioners have a pressing obligation to actively address racism’s causes and consequences, they lack guidance on what to do. This scoping study sought to identify and synthesize existing knowledge on ways OT practitioners and the profession can engage in anti-racist actions. Six databases were searched for content related to OT and anti-racism. The 31 included articles indicated that OT practitioners should: engage in reflexivity on ways their power and privilege impact therapeutic relationships, use inclusive models, consider how racism can impact client occupations and health care access, and address structural racism through advocacy and occupations as means. Although being anti-racist is a lifelong process, strategies within this study can support OT practitioners and the profession to initiate concrete anti-racist actions.

The impacts of racisms on the occupations of the Black population: reflections for occupational therapy and science

“…Additionally, it is up to professionals to reflect on their conduct outside the services in which they operate, as well as to understand their role as political citizens (Pereira, 2022). We reiterate that this is not an isolated struggle, exclusive to people of color; for a radical transformation of society, all citizens, white and non-white, must be committed to social (Bento, 2002) and occupational justice, as well as to the production of equity (Sterman;Njelesani, 2021). Practitioners should critically examine and problematize pedagogical curricula and foster a critical dialogue with their students so that the students question, challenge, and change the status quo (Sterman;Njelesani, 2021).…”

“…Thus, individualizing mentality, which holds subjects accountable for the situations of vulnerability they are experiencing, is unfair, imprecise, and perpetuates disparities. This view is based on the idea of meritocracy, in which it is assumed that the subject should be rewarded only for their own physical, cognitive, and emotional abilities, without considering the socioeconomic conditions, as well as the weight of structural racisms (Sterman;Njelesani, 2021). Farias, Leite Junior, and Costa (2018) show that racism harms the social participation of Black people, because it restricts the access and permanence of this public to certain services and social spaces.…”

Building Equity Into Transition Practice and Service Delivery: A Call for Systemic Changes in the Field of Transition

“…Fortunately, the field of education is not the only field in which self-reflection and self-evaluation is occurring. While not a comprehensive list, there are efforts from the fields of medicine (e.g., Hassen et al, 2021), child welfare (e.g., Johnson et al, 2009), behavioral health (e.g., Corneau & Stergiopoulos, 2012; Talley et al, 2021), occupational therapy (e.g., Sterman & Njelesani, 2021), and rehabilitation counseling (e.g., Chan et al, 2009) to transform their fields and integrate anti-oppressive frameworks in practice.…”

Autistic Adult Perspectives on Occupational Therapy for Autistic Children and Youth

“…Findings from this research are consistent values of the growing neurodiversity movement (Therapist Neurodiversity Collective International, 2021); however, these changes may be confronting to some occupational therapy practitioners. Similarly to how being anti-racist practitioners requires reflexivity prior to action (Sterman & Njelesani, 2021), providing neurodiversity affirming services should start with self-reflection on ways practitioners may be perpetuating ableist approaches. Occupational therapy is a caring profession, where practitioners want to support what is best for their clients.…”