Introduction: On Sunday, February 24th, at 7 pm EST, 4 pm PST, the Twitter account for the Society for the Study of Occupation: USA found at the twitter handle @OccSci_USA will be hosting a topic chat that can be found following #OccSciChat. This Chat will be on the topic of occupational therapy (OT) history and its relevancy to OT science and OT practice. The only requirement to join is that you come ready to share your perspective! Pre-Chat Reading Occupational Therapy History: It’s Relevant! William Rush Dunton Jr, one of the six founders of OT in America once quoted Dr. Thomas W. Salmon wh ..read more

I discovered #OTalk2US and #OTalk while completing an article I was writing for another informal OT peer to peer website. I collected and organized roughly 200+ OT Twitter accounts by practice area such as pediatrics, mental health, and general advocacy. Certainly, there are thousands more, however, I focused on accounts that were topic specific or subject related. Since, I have participated in collecting and organizing OT podcasts and YouTube accounts, and most recently, a general (non-academic) OT-book-authors–list using online platforms. These are examples of social media for info ..read more

“What’s your OT spiel?” Is an ongoing discussion for OTs. The occupational therapy (OT) spiel is similar to what’s commonly known as an elevator speech, but for OTs. My purpose in writing this article is as a personal assignment to organize my favorite OT spiels into one place. Introduction Defining OT was one of the first assignments I remember in my introduction to OT class. “Develop your OT spiel” was one of the first pieces of advice I remember from doing clinical work. The OT spiel continues to be an important discussion among OT circles.  I do not believe there is a o ..read more

Do you set goals? If you do, do you actually ever achieve them?  I have never really been a goal setter by its common understanding; such as:  Running marathons  Quitting drugs  Starting businesses  Ending homelessness  Writing a Book  Getting a promotion  When I say I am not much of a goal setter, I mean; I rarely focus on accomplishing a goal or setting a new resolution. Every year we come to the point in which it is time to make New Year’s Resolutions. Some argue it’s a waste of time because they always fail, others continue to try for the same goal ..read more

In this article, I intend to explore my premise of influence on defining mental health. The argument I make regarding mental health practice is fundamentally related to health as its defined extensively in my previous article: Defining health, purpose, and the meaning of life.   These articles are long, due to the process of identifying and addressing the role of philosophy and underlying assumptions throughout; which is unavoidable without giving vague, broad, meaningless, definitions. Vague definitions can be easily be found elsewhere, such as “to help you achieve your full potenti ..read more

(WARNING: This is not a short easy read article, though there will be short ones to come, this one is a part of a lengthy series) The purpose of this article is, to delve in-depth and distinguish a clear path and strong connection from the definition of health and mental health, translated to action, in order to establish its value and meaning. I must point out, that while I explore international definitions of happiness, I emphasize its impact on the US. Most importantly however, I address the practical uses of defining health and its implications for day-to-day life. In this article, I will ..read more

Guest Post by Ms. Waters from  Hyper-Tidy.com [Bio Found at Bottom] When you received your diagnosis of chronic pain, you probably wondered how your life would change. That’s entirely normal, as this diagnosis can be serious. Thankfully, there are ways you can reduce your pain and increase your tolerance so you can maintain your quality of life. But you have to be careful about prescription painkillers, as they have a dark side. Problems With Painkillers Many people who are diagnosed with a chronic pain condition, such as caused by rheumatoid arthritis (RA), are prescribed paink ..read more

Therapeutic Horticulture for Mental Health It has long been recognized, that positive mental health is associated with gardening and plants. This has been termed therapeutic horticulture. Cultures worldwide have made this connection for centuries, yet today, less and less time is being spent outdoors and yet more and more time is becoming sedentary. In the video above, I explore this topic, focusing on the evidence-based and research informed use of horticulture. While therapeutic horticulture is a great coping skill to add to your tool box; it may not be that simply more green equa ..read more

My work as an Occupational Therapist has it’s benefits. I work specifically in mental health with young adults ages 18-24. However, many often associate occupational therapy with pediatric work. In which case, I often hear people describe the idea that my profession gives me the skills to provide my daughter with above and beyond challenges that will give her an advantage in life.   In some ways it does, but not how most would expect.   Her Exceptional Fine Motor Skills It was this Halloween a friend noted how well developed my daughters fine motor skills were for her age ..read more

The above video is a few of the coping tools I keep with me and use. As a mental health occupational therapist, I find it important to practice what I preach. I will go into the purpose and types of coping skills further in this blog post.  The Need for Coping Skills  There is an ever-greater need for mental health services for college students specifically (Watkins et al., 2012). Nearly 1 in 4 experience mental illness in college today (SAMHSA, 2017). Coping skills are in part, an answer to this situation. I explain in the video above, that coping skills are not ..read more