Self-Reported Therapeutic Style in Occupational Therapy Students

Introduction: The client-therapist relationship has long been viewed as important for both the process and outcomes of occupational therapy. The recently developed Intentional Relationship Model introduced six therapeutic modes as different ways of relating to clients. Increasing students' awareness of modes, and increasing their skills in using them flexibly, has the potential of improving their subsequent practice as occupational therapists. This article aims to describe occupational therapy students' affiliation with the therapeutic modes in a variety of hypothesized practice situations. In addition, relationships between the students' affiliation with the different modes are explored. Method: The study had a cross-sectional design. Data were collected from 31 occupational therapy students in Norway, using the Self-Assessment of Modes Questionnaire. Descriptive analyses, repeated measures ANOVA tests, and correlation analyses were employed in the analytic procedures. Findings: The students identified the problem-solving mode to be their most preferred way of relating to clients, whereas the advocating mode was the least preferred. High affiliation with the problem-solving mode was significantly associated with low affiliation with the collaborating mode. Conclusion: Several limitations indicate that caution should be taken when comparing this study with previous research. Nonetheless, differences between the results of this study and previous work on the therapeutic modes are of interest. Possible explanations for differences are discussed, as are implications for practice and research.

[1]  L. Mckenna,et al.  Listening and Communication Styles of Undergraduate Occupational Therapy Students: A Cross-Sectional Study , 2011 .

[2]  G. Kielhofner,et al.  Practitioners' Use of Interpersonal Modes within the Therapeutic Relationship: Results from a Nationwide Study , 2011 .

[3]  N. Kanas.  The theory and practice of group psychotherapy. , 2011, International journal of group psychotherapy.

[4]  G. Kielhofner,et al.  Therapeutic use of self: a nationwide survey of practitioners' attitudes and experiences. , 2009, The American journal of occupational therapy : official publication of the American Occupational Therapy Association.

[5]  K. Haertl.  From the Roots of Psychosocial Practice-Therapeutic Use of Self in the Classroom: Practical Applications for Occupational Therapy Faculty , 2008 .

[6]  Renée R Taylor.  The Intentional Relationship: Occupational Therapy and Use of Self , 2008 .

[7]  Gudrun Palmadottir.  Client-Therapist Relationships: Experiences of Occupational Therapy Clients in Rehabilitation , 2006 .

[8]  S. Compton,et al.  Nursing research. Principles and methods: 7th edition , 2005 .

[9]  C. Unsworth,et al.  Clinical Reasoning during Community Health Home Visits: Expert and Novice Differences , 2005 .

[10]  L. Faota,et al.  Therapeutic Relationships Re-Defined , 2003 .

[11]  I. Hallberg,et al.  Psychiatric occupational therapists' verbal interaction with their clients. , 2001, Occupational therapy international.

[12]  Heather Allison,et al.  ‘Verbal Strategies’ Used by Occupational Therapists in Direct Client Encounters , 1994 .

[13]  K. Mackenzie.  Introduction to Time-Limited Group Psychotherapy , 1990 .

[14]  S. Peloquin.  The patient-therapist relationship in occupational therapy: understanding visions and images. , 1990, The American journal of occupational therapy : official publication of the American Occupational Therapy Association.

[15]  K. Baron.  The Model of Human Occupation , 1987 .