Occupational Therapy Identity

Occupational Therapy is a profession primarily centred around client-therapist interactions. The main objective of an occupational therapist (OT) is to empower and assist their clients in their return to everyday life and activities. Occupational therapists work with their clients for extended periods of time in order to ensure that they are able to participate in their normal daily routines with some degree of ease. OT's achieve this goal through building trust and rapport with their clients by representing themselves with the highest degree of professional identity and following the codes of conduct, to which ensures safety to all involved in the achievement of this goal. As occupational therapists work closely with a number of different

There are two divisions of professional identity, one refers to how a company or organisation conducts their practice while the other refers to how the individual staff portrays themselves under the company's codes. An occupational therapist's professional identity is a crucial element within their practice as it enables them to "function in different practice settings" (Kielhofner, 2009, p.10) and connect to different types of clients that may arise within their practice. Professional identity can also be shaped by the social value of that profession, and thus guides the delivery of their health and human services. As occupational therapy is valued as a leading profession and is highly regarded, professionals in this discipline are required to present themselves in the same highly regarded fashion. This obliges them to dress not only neatly but also interact with their clients in a formal, educated and knowledgeable way, in order to reflect the disciplines professionalism. However, according to Kielhofner (2009), to practice occupational therapy, a professional identity is not enough. Occupational therapists require the knowledge, skills, and patience to understand, interpret and work with their clients to achieve a sense of ownership over their own life and actions. There are three distinct types of knowledge that influence an occupational therapist's

These factors include displaying an appropriate professional identity, equipping yourself with the three different types of knowledge that ensure greater understanding of clients and acknowledging, accepting and abiding by the occupational therapy codes of conduct. It is the therapist's duty to be aware of these codes of conduct, as they are put in place to ensure safety for both therapists and patients, and to guide therapists on the standards that must be upheld when practicing occupational