The Dr Elizabeth Casson Memorial Lecture 2019: Shifting our focus. Fostering the potential of occupation and occupational therapy in a complex world

Abstract

Challenges to health promoting occupation are experienced by many people in the UK today. It is suggested that the way we currently think about and so organise our practice may make it difficult to address some of these occupational needs. An alternative lens is proposed, drawing on the work of P. Cilliers and his discussions of the implications of thinking in terms of complex systems. Taking on an 'attitude of complexity' allows us to reconsider our work within the systems we are part of and encourages us not only to acknowledge but also to embrace the richness and diversity of our complex world. The discussion will focus on how occupational therapists can become part of, or strengthen their existing part, in change within these systems, developing their contribution as experts in occupation. This lecture is about 'shifting our focus', about fostering the potential of occupational therapy and contributing to individual and social transformation through occupation that will support the health of the population.

Mobilizing Occupation for Social Transformation: Radical Resistance, Disruption, and Re-Configuration: Mobiliser l'occupation pour une transformation sociale : résistance radicale, perturbation et reconfiguration

“…(p. 83). Within the 2019 Casson Memorial Lecture in the United Kingdom, Kantartzis (2019) argued for reconfiguring ways of thinking and doing within occupational therapy to better "embrace the power of occupation to be part of the processes of change and look toward the transformation of our society toward health for all" (p. 562).…”

“…However, calls to mobilize occupation for social transformation are often accompanied by concerns regarding limited progress in turning such calls into a reality (Hammell, 2017;Kantartzis, 2019). Authors have pointed to constraints, noting how dominant neoliberal, biomedical, and managerial approaches within health care and other systems obscure the sociopolitical forces shaping inequities and perpetuate individualistic approaches in occupational therapy (Farias & Laliberte Rudman, 2019).…”

Occupational (Therapy's) Possibilities: A Queer Reflection on the Tangled Threads of Oppression and Our Collective Liberation

“…We live at a time of increasing social inequities ( Public Health Agency of Canada, 2018 ) with root causes linked to the intersecting systems of dominance that limit the occupational possibilities of, in particular, women, Black, Indigenous, and other racialized peoples, disabled persons, queer/gender diverse people, old people, and poor people ( Abramovich et al, 2020 ; Jumreornvong et al, 2020 ; Nixon, 2019 ; Hammell, 2020 ). While I believe that as occupational therapists we need to refine and further exercise our vision of justice and promote occupational participation for all people, it has been well argued, that though it has been 30 years since Townsend's (1993) Muriel Driver invitation to reimagine our social accountabilities, we remain constrained in our capacity to exercise our full potential in addressing the occupational participation rights of marginalized communities ( Farias & Rudman, 2019 ; Gerlach et al., 2018 ; Kantartzis, 2019 ). I contend that the possibilities open to occupational therapy to address these issues of inequity and injustice are bound up in, and limited by, the same systems of domination that impact the communities we aim to support.…”

“…Nous vivons à une époque où les inégalités sociales augmentent (Agence de la santé publique du Canada/ Public Health Agency of Canada, 2018 ) en raison des systèmes de domination croisés qui limitent particulièrement les possibilités occupationnelles des femmes, des personnes noires ou autochtones et des autres personnes racisées, des personnes en situation de handicap, des personnes queers et issues de la diversité de genre, des personnes âgées et de celles en situation de pauvreté ( Abramovich et al, 2020 ; Jumreornvong et al, 2020 ; Nixon, 2019 ; Hammell, 2020 ). Comme ergothérapeutes, je crois que nous devons affiner et exercer davantage notre vision de la justice et promouvoir la participation occupationnelle pour tous et toutes, mais il est bien documenté que, 30 ans après le Discours commémoratif Muriel Driver de Townsend (1993) et son invitation à réimaginer nos responsabilités sociales, nous demeurons limités dans notre capacité à exercer notre plein potentiel en ce qui a trait au droit à la participation occupationnelle des communautés marginalisées ( Farias & Rudman, 2019 ; Gerlach et al, 2018 ; Kantartzis, 2019 ). Je soutiens que les possibilités qui s’ouvrent aux ergothérapeutes pour s’attaquer à ces enjeux d’iniquité et d’injustice sont à la fois liées aux systèmes de domination qui affectent les communautés que nous voulons soutenir, et limitées par ceux-ci.…”

Commentary on: Sy, Bontje, Ohshima & Kiepek. Articulating the form, function, and meaning of drug using in the Philippines from the lens of morality and work ethics

“…Clarke, 2019;Kay & Brewis, 2016;Nhunzvi, Galvaan, & Peters, 2017). The enthusiasm for doing so, to us, can be easily explained: The reality, as Sy and colleagues illustrate, is that people do things that are not always healthy, or that may be perceived to be somewhat dull, uninteresting, complex, risky, damaging, deviant, and even just downright "messy" (Kantartzis, 2019;Twinley, 2017) or "dirty" (Ralph, 2019).…”