OT 640 Debriefing Video

OT 640: Level 1 Fieldwork Debriefing 

OT 630: Conflict, Ethics & Legal.. Oh My! (Missed Class 4/23)

One of my personal values and principles is to remain ethical and honest in all situations I encounter throughout my personal and professional life. Through my time as an OT student, I have learned a great deal of valuable information regarding ethics and healthcare. There are many different ethical situations that can arise during my future career as an OT and I believe the lectures and examples we have been presented during our curriculum are helping to prepare us for these situations. I think as healthcare professionals, it is our duty to remain as ethical as possible in order to provide our clients the best possible care. Sometimes being ethical and following the rules can be challenging because if you do the “right” thing, it can create a conflict and disruption between you and a coworker, supervisor, client or even friends and family.  From past experiences, I know that standing up for what is right can be intimidating but it is important to do since there can be professional and even legal repercussions if ethical principles are not followed. One of my personal strengths is harmony so I do not enjoy being in conflicting situations with others because I like to help the group some to a consensus and get along. Over my years in school, work and different organizations, I have come to understand that at times conflict can be healthy and it is better to address situations rather than let them build up or be overlooked. I believe this is important to remember as I transition from student to OT practitioner. By understanding and recognizing how to address conflict and ethical dilemmas, it can help me continue to develop my overall professionalism.

OT 532: Peer-Reviewed Journal Article Reflection

Peer-Reviewed Journal Article: Patients’ experience of groups in outpatient mental health services and its significance for daily occupations

I chose this article because I wanted to learn more about the client’s (or patient) view of occupational therapy group intervention. When I initially read the abstract, it sounded interesting and would allow me to step into the role of the client and understand their perspective. This is important for any OT clinician to remember because in order for our treatment to be effective, we must understand our clients enough to make our interventions client-centered. The focus of this study was to understand and explore outpatients in the mental healthcare realm experience occupational therapy treatment groups and what affect it had on his or her daily occupations.

In the introduction of this article, the researchers point out that there are many ways in which an individual can benefit from group therapy including: a natural learning environment, many possibilities for interaction, energy and creativity that group members may offer to one another, symptom reduction, communication skills, engage in problems related to their daily occupations and learning about one’s concept of their self. As I continue to read the article, I’m interested to see if the participants identify the same benefits or if they are able to identify more or different benefits of group intervention.

This study was conducted by separating participants into four different focus groups. As stated in this article, previous evidence has shown that focus-group studies are suitable in researching client’s experiences of psychiatric treatment. The study was conducted at two different outpatient mental health facilities. The participants were recruited voluntary and should’ve attended at least one of the units for at least 2 months and belong to a group where all of the members had approved participating in the study. In total, fourteen clients participated, their average age was 36 and all but one participant was female.

Two main categories were discussed in the groups: factors for positive change and changes in daily occupations. The factors for positive change included: timing, belonging, involvement, challenge, meaningful occupation and balanced focus on disease. The change in daily occupations was to manage and dare more. The participants expressed that these changes that were facilitated by their group sessions helped to increase their ability to use their “competence and possibilities” which helped to transfer these skills into real life outside of the group sessions.  One factor of positive change that was pointed out in this article that I found interesting was the balanced focus on disease. While it is easy to focus on the negative symptoms of a disease, it’s also important to consider the positive – the healthy aspects of an individual. I think by doing this, it can completely change the mindset of an individual and allow them to open their mind to look at themselves and others in a different way!

Although no general conclusions can be drawn from this study because of it’s qualitative context, it’s important to consider the themes and experiences of the focus groups. One interesting point the researchers make in this article is the timing of occupational therapy group intervention and it’s important it be offered and implemented at an appropriate time for an individual. This study helps us to understand how group participation if used at the right time, for the right person with the right group of individuals can be effective for those with similar diagnosis or conditions. I believe this study is a great reflection to help both myself and other OT students and clinicians about the OT group process from a client’s perspective.

Sundsteigen, B., Eklund, K., & Dahlin-Ivanoff, S. (2009). Patients' experience of groups in outpatient mental health services and its significance for daily occupations. Scandinavian Journal Of Occupational Therapy, 16(3), 172-180. doi: 10.1080/11038120802512433

OT 532: Narcotics Anonymous Reflection

On Sunday night, one of my classmates, Lauren, and I attended a Narcotics Anonymous (NA) meeting. This was the first 12-step meeting I have ever attended. I did not know what to expect for the meeting other than what I've seen in movies or TV in the past. From that perspective, I expected group members to sit around in a circle and recite a few different things and then go one by one and share their experiences. I did not do any research before the meeting because I kind of wanted to go into the meeting without any expectations and to keep an open mind.

The meeting was held at a church and so while I think this can be a very welcoming atmosphere, members also may feel intimidated or un-easy because they do not want to be judged by decisions they have made in the past. From what I observed during the session, each of the group members that shared seemed to feel comfortable in this particular setting. The chairs were set up in a circle and there were also a few rows lined up outside of the circle. Members sat both in the circle and outside of the circle. Where the members sat did not seem to affect whether a member shared or not - both members outside and in the circle shared. 

The facilitator of the meeting assumed a facilitative leadership role. He started off the meeting explaining what would happen during the session and acted as a guide for the session. Before the session began, he handed out some reading to the members. He seemed like he has been a leader for a good amount of time because he was very comfortable in the setting. Lauren and I did not introduce ourselves to the group when he asked the newcomers to introduce themselves. The group was considered "open" but we didn't want the members to feel uncomfortable knowing they were being observed so we decided not to speak up. The leader did mention it was okay if you didn't want to speak up so we felt that was okay. Most of the group members were involved and respectful so the leader didn't have really work to hard to get members to share since many members were actively participating in the session. I believe this group followed a cognitive-behavioral because they were sharing ways they thought about their lifestyles, decisions and how that translated into their overall behaviors. By changing the way they thought about narcotics and sharing this with others, the members are able to change their behaviors. 

Overall, I do believe the session was therapeutic. I observed that members were attentive and respectful when others members were sharing. They also seemed supportive and encouraging towards one another. When a member would share how long they've been clean, other members would clap and show approval towards this statement. I believe this was highly encouraging toward the other members and allowed them to feel more confident that they were moving in the right direction through their attendance and participation in this meeting. At the end of the meeting, I heard one member tell another "Thanks for sharing, I can empathize with you because I'm going through the same thing." I would think receiving this type of confirmation will only encourage members to continue to be open and vulnerable to one another in future meetings. 

Self Reflection – Group Facilitation # 2: Meal Plan & Prep

Yesterday, I lead a group session on meal planning and preparation. Since meal planning, preparing and serving a well-balanced, nutritious meal is an instrumental activity of daily living, I felt as though each of my group members could benefit from learning more about this topic.  I was excited about presenting this topic since I routinely meal plan and prep my meals every week. I have tried different techniques and since every person has different schedules and food/meal preferences, this would be a diverse skill to discuss.

I felt as though I introduced the topic appropriately. I began the session by asking all group members to tell us how they felt at that time and then what their favorite food was. I felt this was a good way to know how everyone was feeling before getting into conversation or discussion as well as getting to know everyone a little more by learning their favorite food. We next transitioned into the activities I had prepared. After each activity, we would have a time of sharing, discussing and processing. I would then try and generalize the similarities and differences I was hearing within the group discussion. I felt as though the activities I presented were graded appropriately for the group and it make each group member really think about their particular habits and roles. I thought it was interesting how most of the group members had meal prepped or planned at some point. I believe it is a great habit to incorporate into ones like in order to alleviate stress, take advantage of time and to save money. Although it doesn’t work the same for everyone, I think each group member was able to walk away from the session and learn something more about themselves.

This group session was a little different from the last one I lead on time management. Although both meal planning, meal prepping and managing time can share some of the same aspects, mainly being planning, they are different and the activities I planned were very different. Last session, I had included a game and a more creative component, which I definitely enjoyed. I think in the future I will try to be a little more creative when planning group sessions, of course, if appropriate for the session topic. Initially, I felt more confident after my last session. I felt as though the group members may have gotten more out of that session. After speaking to a few members, they all stated they thoroughly enjoyed the session. This made me feel better about my performance and reminded me to not be so hard on myself.

From this session I have learned that some topics that may seem easy can potentially be harder to articulate than others topics. I felt as some points I was repeating things the group members were saying but then again, reinforcement can be helpful to some people that need those reminders and to hear ideas more than once. In the future, I plan to keep working on being creative in my sessions and incorporating activities that are engaging and fun so the group members can truly make connections and improve their skills.

OT 532: Leadership Summit

Last week, a few of my classmates and I met to discuss our ideas and thoughts regarding our next group facilitation. I met with Chelsea, Makayla and Annese since we all were scheduled to present on the same day. We were able to bounce ideas off of each other and get feedback to be more prepared for leading this session. We decided to each tell the group about what our current plan and ideas were and then listen as the other group members gave suggestions and brainstormed different ideas. I felt as though this session was helpful since I didn’t have a partner to work with during this session to create my protocol. It was also helpful that each of us had selected different topics to work with so that we were able to provide fresh, different ideas than what we had already thought of for our group session.

We talked about different activities and theories that would work best for each of our sessions and even how to adapt the session for different populations. It was interesting to me to hear about other topics that would be presented to other groups. Since I will not be a participant in their sessions, it was beneficial in order for me to learn about even more group session activities and ideas. This meeting was valuable in order to get different perspectives on our topic in order to help us plan the best session that we could.

Self Reflection – Group Facilitation # 1: Managing My Time

 Yesterday, I co-facilitated my first group with one of my fellow classmates, Rachel.  The name of our group was “Managing My Time” and was focused on creating awareness of how we spend our time, understanding ways in which we can manage our time more effectively. We used three different activities in order to accomplish the overall objective this session including: Minute to Win It, Time Management Survey and creating a Clock Map. During the first few minutes of the group, Rachel clearly explained to the group the purpose and the outline/schedule for the group. This allowed the group members to know what to expect during the session. 

We had all of the supplies needed for each of the activities that we facilitated. During the first activity, Minute to Win It, Rachel clearly explained and demonstrated how to play each of the games. Rachel also explained how to take the survey and how to score the survey. After the group members finished the survey, I explained the clock map activity and showed the group members and example that I had created in order to give the group a visual demonstration of a daily clock map. Each of these activities was completed in an appropriate amount of time with none of the activities feeling rushed or drawn out for a long period of time. We were able to use 3 different types of activities, which provided variety and allowed for different learners to benefit from our session.

As we completed each activity, we asked each group member to share about her experience with that activity. Specifically for the clock map, we asked each group member to share their “clock” and explain what they did on the day that they chose to represent in their “clock”.  We would then transition into a discussion about that particular activity and how it made the group member feel or what may have surprised them from the activity.  I felt as though we were both respectful towards the group members as they were sharing by giving them our undivided attention, making eye contact and nodding.

After the discussion, I would then try and summarize the general consensus or theme from what the group members had shared. For example, after the clock map activity, many of the group members mentioned it made them aware of how they were spending their time. I thought it was great that we clearly met one of our main purposes of the session through this activity and each of the group members was able to take this away from this session. A couple group members felt guilty for how they were spending their time so we focused and discussed this a little deeper. I believe both Rachel and I did a great job working though the sharing, process and generalizing sections of the session.

Throughout the session, each of the members was respectful of one another by sharing their time as well as taking the group session seriously and not just giving one-word answers. I feel as a group, our members were involved and truly shared their feelings and overall understanding of this topic. At the end of the session, we asked each member to share a goal they had to improve upon their time management if they felt as though they should change something. We then encouraged them to create a strategy or plan to start working towards this goal. I believe we acknowledged each of the group members with respect and honored their opinions and goals as they shared. The group session ended on time and as a group leader, I feel as though this group was successful. I believe we were adequately prepared and I felt happy and a sense of accomplishment with the outcome.