Experiencing the relationship: the client and the community occupational therapist

Abstract

We try to come to terms with our assumptions not to forget them again, but rather to hold them deliberately at bay and even to turn this knowledge against itself revealing its concealing nature. (Van Manen, 1990, p. 47)

Caring: The moral motivation for good occupational therapy practice

“…However, one member had recently completed a masters thesis exploring the meaning of the client-therapist relationship which seemed to have relevance to the dialogue on caring. [Ann Paddy completed her masters thesis in 2000 on the client and the community occupational therapist Paddy (2000).] As I went on to uncover a small treasure-trove of occupational therapy literature on caring, my thinking was continually drawn back to the ideas first shared by my colleagues and the consistency of their ideas with an ethic of care.…”

“…By the virtue of being human our clients may feel pulled toward or repelled from engaging on the basis of how they experience the therapeutic relationship (Paddy, 2000). As health professionals we have signed on to a professional role that accepts a fundamental responsibility toward meeting the occupational needs of others.…”

“…Maybe it has something to do with all of the above, and more. Although the contemporary professional literature is not yet essentially talking caring, the growth in using qualitative methodologies in occupational therapy research and a growing interest in the phenomenon of the client-therapist relationship (Paddy, 2000) is beginning to reveal the place of caring in our work.…”

“…Necessary in that the nature of occupational therapy practice calls on client's active engagement in the therapy process. By the virtue of being human our clients may feel pulled toward or repelled from engaging on the basis of how they experience the therapeutic relationship (Paddy, 2000). As such our relating to and with clients forms the very cornerstone of our practice.…”