New opportunities for occupational therapy through the occupation of contemporary pilgrimage

Abstract

Twenty-first century pilgrimage is a journey of great personal significance not limited to traditional religiosity. The transformative potential of this diverse and evolving occupation is increasingly evidence based. This opinion piece explores the definition of contemporary pilgrimage and underlines the relevance of this occupation to occupational therapists and their clients. The exceptional accessibility of contemporary pilgrimage is described, suggesting limitless opportunities for the use of pilgrimage as a therapeutic tool. Interdisciplinary examples of promoting wellbeing through contemporary pilgrimage are then presented. This opinion piece seeks to inspire a local response to this global phenomenon.

Spiritual, Religious, and Faith-Based Practices in Chronicity

“…Healing, both somatic and social, is a common term in pilgrimage studies 1 but is seldom defined (Eade 2018;Gesler 1996;Harris 2013), and, increasingly, reference is being made to wellness and well-being (Courtney 2013). Here, we set out to offer a working definition of healing as a journey with a positive trajectory enabled by a whole-person interpretive response to and within a context.…”