August 9, 2025 • 38 mins
Occupational therapy transforms lives through meaningful engagement—a concept Dr. Gus Schlegel embodies with remarkable passion. Drawing from decades of experience and a personal library of over 700 professional texts, Dr. Schlegel reveals how OT extends far beyond clinical treatment into a philosophy that shapes every aspect of life.
The conversation takes us through the fascinating world of doctoral capstone projects, where students develop original research or programs that address real-world needs. Dr. Schlegel's role as a coordinator keeps him at the forefront of emerging knowledge while allowing him to witness the next generation's innovative approaches to practice.
Professional development emerges as a cornerstone of excellence in this field. From specialized certifications in hand therapy to becoming a certified aging in place practitioner, occupational therapists can develop expertise while maintaining their foundational identity. Dr. Schlegel emphasizes how membership in professional organizations creates communities where practitioners share knowledge, discuss best practices, and earn continuing education credits.
Perhaps most compelling is his discussion of cultural humility in practice. Rather than assuming competence in every culture, Dr. Schlegel advocates for an approach that values openness, understanding, and incorporation of each client's unique background into their care plan. The therapeutic use of self—adapting one's approach to meet clients where they are—creates powerful connections that facilitate meaningful change.
Community resources play a vital role in extending OT's impact. Innovative programs like "Wheel it Forward" provide medical equipment to those in need, while memory cafés offer safe spaces where individuals with dementia and their caregivers can engage socially without judgment. These resources, combined with interdisciplinary collaboration, create networks of support that enhance quality of life.
Dr. Schlegel leaves us with a profound definition that captures the essence of his profession: "The goal of occupational therapy is to help individuals participate in activities that give their life meaning and purpose." For those inspired to learn more, he recommends contacting the American Occupational Therapy Association or exploring accredited programs through ACOTE.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Hello everyone.
I'm Dr Beatrice Ippolit andthis is your World.
My next question how do youstay current with best practices
and research in occupationaltherapy?
Speaker 2 (00:23):
So that's a really good question and because I'm
the doctoral capstonecoordinator, I'm involved in
helping the students developtheir research.
Speaker 1 (00:34):
I know that you mentioned the word capstone
before.
Can you explain to?
My viewers what capstone means.
Speaker 2 (00:41):
You're right, we did throw that term around before.
So a capstone project is aculminating project, that it can
be for a master's degree.
So master's students say theyengage in capstones.
And it's really that capstone,it's that stone that it's almost
like a keystone that holds thewhole structure together.
(01:02):
It's a culminating, tangibledelivery, and so it could be
some type of project for thedoctoral capstone projects.
It's individual, originalresearch.
It could be some type ofprogram development and program
(01:22):
evaluation.
It could be some advocacyproject.
It could be some real researchwhere, and so our students learn
research skills so theyunderstand qualitative and
quantitative inquiry, and socrunching numbers on the
computer, numbers on thecomputer SPSS is one of those
(01:52):
programs and then once they gothrough that process of engaging
in the research or programdevelopment, they present it,
and so there's thisdissemination at the end and
that is kind of the culminationof everything.
So they do a posterpresentation and they submit
their manuscript.
Speaker 1 (02:08):
It's a lot of work.
Speaker 2 (02:09):
It's a lot of work.
Speaker 1 (02:10):
My first project was doing the master program at
Adelphi University.
It's fun, so it's rewarded thatyou feel great about yourself,
that you have accomplishedsomething major.
But it can be nerve-wrackingtoo it can, it can definitely,
yeah.
Speaker 2 (02:29):
so that's how I stay on top of my knowledge, is I?
I'm?
I'm right there with thestudents learning about and some
you know I've learned so muchfrom my students too, because
they'll come up with somethingthat that really tickled them or
interested them and they wantto learn more about it.
They're educating me too,because I can't possibly stay up
(02:51):
to date on every single aspectof what occupational therapy
does and is, but they help me dothat, they really do.
There's also professionalorganizations.
I can't reinforce enough howimportant it is to be a member
of your national organization.
I know in social work there's anational organization.
(03:12):
There are state-levelassociations we have in the
metropolitan area.
We have the MetropolitanEducation Council for
Occupational Therapy, theMetropolitan Education Council
for Occupational Therapy, wherefield work coordinators and
capstone coordinators we meet ona regular basis to review best
practices and new knowledgethat's been developed.
(03:36):
So reading journals, havingdiscussions we have a journal
club.
I'm also a member of the NewYork State Occupational Therapy
Association, the Connecticut.
Speaker 1 (03:49):
Occupational Therapy.
Speaker 2 (03:50):
Association, where I'm on the board.
And so we have communities ofpractice where there's one for
mental health we just had amental health where we talked
about um cbt cognitivebehavioral therapy on on
thursday and um.
(04:11):
We have a home care communityof practice, which now in also
includes perspective on aging,so there's a huge audience there
.
There's school-based communityof practice where like-minded
people just get together andhave a chat.
There's there's a sense ofcommunity and and there's also a
(04:34):
learning objective.
It counts towards educationunits too which you need for
licensure.
Speaker 1 (04:41):
Okay, yeah, yeah, okay, so it seemed that you were
on top of your game, yeah plus,plus I I, so I happen to love
books, textbooks and uh I Ithink I don't know if sheila
mentioned this, but but, um,yeah, she she has complained,
but then she she likes that thelibrary is there.
Speaker 2 (05:03):
About five years ago, at the start of when COVID
started, it was harder to get toa library and access to text,
so I started to troll eBay anddifferent sites, thrift books
and on Amazon to find textbooksfor cheaper.
(05:24):
And build your own library.
We have at home now we have alibrary that has over 700.
We have over 700 occupationaltherapy and research texts.
Speaker 1 (05:37):
Wow.
Speaker 2 (05:38):
Yeah, so that's a real passion and that helps me
learn too.
There's never a time that I'mnot looking.
Right now, I'm learning abouttransformative learning.
Speaker 1 (05:52):
Okay.
Speaker 2 (05:57):
It's understood that you have past experiences and
your understanding of thoseexperiences helps shape how
you're going to approach newlearning.
Speaker 1 (06:07):
It's how your past is going to shape your future.
Yep, you know.
Speaker 2 (06:11):
That's awesome, and I know that because a book came
in two days ago on that that Ihad ordered, and sometimes it
takes a month for the book tocome, and that's okay because I
got it really cheap, so I'mwilling to wait, but then it
adds to the library Okay, oh,and that's okay because I got it
really cheap, so I'm willing towait, but then it adds to the
library and um, okay, oh, that's, that's amazing over 700 books
(06:31):
several of the 700 books okay,okay, I'll come check that out
you can come and look.
You can use the library anytimeoh, definitely, definitely I'll
do so people now.
So at the different universities, if someone's giving away a
text or they don't have a usefor me, tell Gus because he'll
(06:53):
take it.
So I have in my car right now.
I have three boxes, three boxesof textbooks, and some of them
are really good textbooks thatI'll go through and most of them
I'll then send on.
So I've sent books to Haiti.
There's a program in PuertoRico that I'm going to be
(07:13):
sending textbooks to, so I'llclean them and then I'll pass
them on.
Speaker 1 (07:19):
I attended York College for undergrad I don't
recall exactly you know duringwhat time of the year on the
social workflow they always havea pile of books.
They will just put in thehallway and so students will
come and just select.
So, whatever that and thosebooks, you know they were heavy
(07:40):
so and I didn't have a car atthat time but will just, you
know, take some of them and hidethem places because they were
behind another book.
Speaker 2 (07:52):
Yeah, you know.
Speaker 1 (07:53):
So sometimes I'll go to the library and I had my
special spot where I will hidethose books and the next time I
come, so I'll just take one ortwo, because when you don't have
a car and those books are heavyand you already have your own
books coming to school, so thereis not that many of them you
(08:15):
can carry.
So, no, no, no, it's veryimportant.
Sometimes people say, oh, thosebooks.
Some people believe books canbe old.
Speaker 2 (08:23):
Me, I don't think books can be old no, and and
that's funny because, um, whatI've gotten into now a little
bit too is is tracking thechanges between.
This might sound really odd,but tracking the changes between
different editions, so you knowsome.
So the books are periodicallyupdated and I still find value
(08:44):
in um a first edition.
Because that's especially if ifI'm looking to um, if you're
looking at seminal articles thatthat um introduced a really
important idea of those articlesfrom a journal.
They might be 20 or 30 yearsold and that person might have
also written a chapter in a textand that textbook might be 20
(09:07):
year old.
I think my oldest book, myoldest text, is 60 years old
such a treasure.
But they might be still.
You know, for the time it wasrelevant and it was the only
research we had, you know, inthat particular area, and so
that becomes really importantand I think that they'll retain
their value and they'll betreasured for, you know, for
(09:30):
generations to come.
Speaker 1 (09:31):
Because one thing that I used to do because I
didn't have that much textbooksare really expensive.
If the school asks for us tobuy the third version or edition
or the fifth edition, I'll buythe third one instead of the
fifth one or the fourth one,because it will cost me less.
Speaker 2 (09:53):
Yes, right, exactly.
Speaker 1 (09:55):
And during the semester, whomever had the new
edition or the one that wasrequired by the school when we
got to that chapter, I'll justask to borrow the book or go to
the library, write whatever thatmy book doesn't have.
Speaker 2 (10:13):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (10:14):
Because financially I was really tight so I had to
find a way to have my books.
But to make things work for me,Because sometimes it's not
really that much of a difference.
Speaker 2 (10:28):
Yeah, they might be adding a new chapter, and that's
the way that I think sometimestoo.
And so if the new text costs 90or $100 and I can get the old
text, which might be five yearsold, for maybe 30 on EB, I might
get that edition.
(10:50):
And then, like you said, I'llwait and a lot of the
publishers'll have, um, likesummer sales, like right now.
One of the big um publishinghouses has a 25 off sale if you
buy two, two books or more.
Yeah, and so I'll wait for that.
(11:12):
I have my list, I'll put ittogether and I'll send it out.
Then five books come at onetime and then I'm really in
trouble.
But yeah, and so then I'll havethose up-to-date editions of
the book.
Speaker 1 (11:28):
Of the book.
Speaker 2 (11:29):
And then I can either give the old one away or keep
it as an archive.
Speaker 1 (11:32):
Okay, yeah, okay.
So what opportunities are therefor professional development
and continuing education in thisfield?
Speaker 2 (11:43):
Because occupational therapists are present as a
profession in so many differentareas.
We work in pediatrics, we workwith neonates there's been
research done on fetalinteractions, so before a child
is born geriatrics, mentalhealth, the condition, you name
(12:05):
it really.
So in all of those differentareas there are specialties that
emerge, and one of the onesthat really comes up is in hand
therapy emerge, and one of theones that really comes up is in
hand therapy.
Just the hand is so complexthat you actually have to study
and really specialize to be ableto treat just the hand.
(12:26):
And so there's we call themcertified hands therapists, chts
for short, and so thatspecialization is open to
physical therapists andoccupational therapists.
So that's one way that you cangain skill is by specialty
certifications.
There's pediatric, differentinterventions like sensory
(12:51):
processing.
There's specialty areas, andthey might be promoted by
national organizations thatfocus just on on on that
particular aspect.
Or it could be our nationalorganization, the american
occupational therapy association.
They they have specialty examsthat you can take to really
(13:13):
become specialized in aparticular area, and so there's
one for home modification, forexample.
One of the things that we didduring COVID again was we became
(13:33):
certified aging in placepractitioners, and so we know
about Sheila and I know aboutbuilding codes, we know about
universal design.
We can make recommendations onhow to make a home accessible.
Different types of equipmentthat you can bring.
(13:56):
Bring in like having a mirrorthat tilts so someone in a
wheelchair can can still groomthemselves, having sinks that
can raise and lower down,different grab bars in
particular areas, ramps or orlike the stair glides yeah,
exactly, so we know about that.
(14:17):
So that's something that that westudied for.
We took a week-long course, um,and it was all online, right,
you can do it in person too, but, um, and, and then you sit for
an exam.
We have our, our CHEScertification, so we are
community health educators, sowe have that certification.
(14:40):
It was a three hour, 300question, multiple choice exam
and there's also microcredentialing too.
So if you, which is part of weneed a certain amount of
continuing education hours tomaintain our licensure, so, um,
(15:01):
national organizations, ourstate organization, um, you get
credit hours for that and and soyou can develop an area of
specialty.
I, I'm a certified dementiapractitioner, so I went through
that training and got thatcertification.
(15:23):
So, really, it really dependson each individual clinician and
you have to have a desire to dothat and someone a mentor long
ago to do that, and someone amentor long ago.
She told me she's one of ourdear friends from Ireland who is
(15:45):
also an occupational therapist.
I told her this was in 1998, Isaid I was working for the
company where she was mysupervisor and I said I'm going
out on my own, I'm going to workfor the Board of Ed in New York
and for some early interventionorganizations, and I'm going to
(16:05):
be a pediatric therapist andshe said, gus, and that's
wonderful, but always rememberthat you're an occupational
therapist and don't ever forgetthat.
And I really didn't know how totake that at the time.
But as I matured as an OT, Irealized that the principles of
(16:30):
occupational therapy being ableto understand occupation, what's
relevant to the client, beingable to understand the relevance
of context and being on a veryunderstanding of of adaptation,
how you can, a person can adaptto to be able to engage
(16:52):
successfully in whateveractivity they're wanting to
engage in those are mostrelevant.
You can apply those concepts inevery different setting, and so
that's what makes usoccupational therapists, not
whether we work with pediatricsor with geriatrics, or if we
(17:14):
specialize and work with withjust trigger finger in in a hand
clinic.
We're occupational therapistsand we're going to approach our,
our, our clients in thatparticular way and that's what
really distinguishes us bravo,yeah, my next one now.
Speaker 1 (17:35):
So how do you adapt your practice to meet the needs
of clients with diversebackground or abilities?
Speaker 2 (17:45):
oh my gosh.
So so that's um, well, thatkind of it really came about.
I mean, I I learned about backthen we called it cultural
competence.
Now the term that I'm hearingmore often is cultural humility,
because just you couldn't becompetent in every single
(18:07):
different culture, right, butyou can demonstrate cultural
humility by being open todifferences and accepting of
differences and incorporatethose differences into the plan
of care, um, so so that's that'sreally really important to me,
so I gain an understanding ofthat um, and I can only do that
(18:32):
when I'm, when I'm gleaninginformation from the client and
understanding what their um,what their take is, uh, on, on a
particular intervention or orwhat's what's important to them.
That's that's super reallyrelevant to me.
So, and that once againtranslates to into any different
(18:52):
setting, the, they might shareinformation that's relevant, if
it's more difficult for me toget the information from the
client themselves.
Here's a good example, andthat's why I like running into
family members too, becausethey'll tell me my mother was a
(19:17):
model when she was younger andor, or my um, my um, I just just
happened, yeah, just recently Iran into a, the, the adult
daughter of, of one of myclients, and she shared with me
that her mom, she, she was areally important publisher for
(19:38):
for a really relevant magazine,and I thought, wow, that's,
that's just amazing.
And so I I learned how toincorporate that into my, into
intervention and into to mydialogue and and so openness,
understanding, appreciation, Ithink those are the really key
(20:02):
terms, and using and just beingaware of that all along, there's
a real important concept thatwe have in occupational therapy
it's called therapeutic use ofself, and it's a real model that
(20:23):
is important to us, and so weuse ourselves as a modality to
elicit change in our clients,and so we can take on different
modes to help the client gothrough the process of
developing.
Maybe they have, they maybe havenot given what we're engaging
them in a lot of thought, youknow and the opportunities are
(20:45):
the tools yeah, right, so sohelping them go through the
process of understanding theirrelevance is similar to the
health belief model to writethat how important is this to
you?
And so we can gauge where theyare in the process and then and
then use ourselves in atherapeutic way to, to, to
elicit change, recognizepotential and if, if if there's
(21:08):
not, then then we recognize thattoo.
Right.
If it's not relevant to theclient, then we shouldn't be
really addressing it, becauseeverything is just for the
well-being of your clients.
Absolutely.
Speaker 1 (21:20):
Absolutely no.
I really like that.
Yeah, my last question whatkind of support and resources
are available for clients andfamilies?
Speaker 2 (21:33):
Yes, so it really depends on the setting.
So I think I mentioned that Ialso work in home care, so I
work for a wonderful agency inFairfield County, connecticut,
and we have so all thetherapists talk Right, and we
(21:54):
have the community of practicethat I, that I mentioned and
that some of the clinicians arepart of, and so we get like
these tips and now we call themhacks I think that's the Gen Z
term hacks for how torequisition or acquire resources
.
There is an organization thatwas modeled on a lending library
(22:21):
that was in Israel and thisperson brought back that concept
and started a lending libraryin Stanford, connecticut.
It's called Wheel it Forward,and they expanded now to also
bridgeport.
And wheel it forward is aunique type of library where you
(22:41):
don't go to get books I know wewere talking about books before
but you get medical equipment,so it could be walkers,
wheelchairs, beds, mattresses,it could be seat cushions,
anything that can be used again,and so gently used equipment.
They go through this process.
They have technicians therethat go through and make sure
(23:04):
that the items are usable andthey clean them, they power wash
them, sterilize them and thenthey're available for loan.
So you can go to their websiteand find equipment and then you
can let the clients know ourpatients, know their family
(23:24):
members.
I've even gone sometimes andpicked up.
If I know that they can't getthere and they really need a
walker, I'm going to go and getit for them.
So that's a huge resource andit depends on the, the
organization too.
Um, now there's, I think whatI'm seeing in organizations and
(23:46):
agencies now is they're reallytrying to tap into a variety of
different um income streams andresource streams.
So there's grants, there'spartnerships with communities,
with community organizations,and there's a reciprocity.
So here's a good example In atown in Connecticut, in Wilton,
(24:11):
connecticut.
My agency and I participate inthis and in fact next week we'll
be doing another one.
It's a memory cafe, and so inthe memory cafe, the library
they have publicized, come inonce a month and it'll be a time
(24:31):
of respite where you and yourloved one living with dementia
can come and just be peopleagain and just um, enjoy the
moment and and forget just forfor a brief time that um you're,
you're living with the, the,the effects of, of, of dementia,
and um that gives the, thecaregivers, because they're
(24:54):
under a tremendous amount ofstress very often.
That's what my dissertation wasabout.
It's like a whisper time for theyeah but respite in the sense
that you're participating,you're engaged with the person,
not that okay.
Well here, the caregiver goesover here and drinks a cup of
coffee while there's somequestion right, so's, you're
working together.
So we had a musician in the lasttime, um, the time before that,
(25:18):
we, um, we had, uh, it was areal fun activity where we
actually we were getting to knoweach other.
So share your story, and sopeople were able to share
different aspects of what'simportant to them or what was
important.
Speaker 1 (25:38):
As a caretaker, while you're providing for that
person, but you also have thatopportunity to socialize.
Speaker 2 (25:46):
Right right, and so we have treats and we have
beverages, and so right now,water is really important too,
and it's been really wellreceived, and I was on a call on
Wednesday where some otheragencies they shared that
they're also doing memory cafesin different parts of the state,
(26:08):
and so it's a really, really,it's a really good model.
Speaker 1 (26:13):
And being in an environment like that where you
can socialize, have some treatsand things like that, that can
really alleviate stress andanxiety, you know, and for both
patients and caretakers.
So that's very important.
Speaker 2 (26:28):
So making that connection with the resources is
important.
Also, just knowing yourenvironment, knowing the people
that you're working with, andthis is so important too
Understanding the skill set andthe specialties of your
colleagues and staff that's soimportant to understanding the
skill set of and the specialtiesof of your your colleagues and
staff.
(26:49):
That's so important.
It's almost like asset basedcommunity development, where you
you understand the skill setand the assets that you have
within, within the communitythat you have, and you leverage
those Right.
So and it only comes about you,you gain understanding just
from discussion of, of beingable to have that opportunity to
(27:12):
sit down with your colleaguesand not for a minute, not talk
about patients, but talk aboutwhat your interests are, what,
what's what's important to you?
Um, maybe, maybe it's that youwant to to learn more about some
some, some um importantparkinson's intervention, but
you've not had the time.
And now, suddenly you know thatanother colleague is interested
(27:34):
in that too.
I found out that um because shewas very much into to driving
simulation.
She has that huge, beautifuldriving simulator at sacred
heart.
Well, um, there is a clinicianum at my agency that um loves
driving simulation, and so I'mconnecting the two and so that's
(27:56):
, that's huge too.
You know, just the sharing ofresources and and and making
aware that comes about just withcollaboration and communication
, and this podcast, too it's.
It's part of that, too, right,it's part of that sharing,
sharing, sharing knowledge, youknow, educate people.
Speaker 1 (28:13):
It's a big network, you know.
Yeah, believe it or not, sowhat you just explained to
everybody, myself included, soit's something that many of us
didn't know prior.
Yeah, maybe for some people, otwas not a real profession, like
many many, many years ago,where social work was not
(28:34):
considered as a profession.
Right, yeah, so it really tooka long time for the profession
to become a profession and forpeople to embrace it.
Now, you know, so it's likeit's.
It's still growing, but thereis not a place.
You know you cannot find asocial worker.
You know the hospital, theschool, they call the prison
(28:59):
jail.
So you name it.
So we did yeah so and that's thebeauty of the profession and I
love though I do have twodifferent professions, but I
love to carry the social workertitle because it's like you
invest, you know, you deal, youknow so and and I think that's
really basically our reward, youknow, as being OT, social
(29:24):
worker or what have you.
So it's like when you seewhatever that you did, you know
kind of like increase thequality of health or the
well-being of your clients.
That's what.
That's my reward personally.
Speaker 2 (29:42):
I know that's my word , because if it was for money,
those fields don't really havemoney no, and and I tell my, my,
my students, that too, saidyou're going to be comfortable
right and so you chose a goodprofession.
But but I know what you really,because we'll, we'll do
introductions.
Why did you become an ot?
That's like a classic question,right, and so I hear a lot.
(30:03):
I want to help people.
Yeah, very seldom do I hearsomeone and it hasn't been for a
while, because I think they'regetting it now and we're doing a
good job of educating the, thestudents.
But I used to hear sometimes oh,I'm in it for the money.
You have to get into OT becauseyou have a passion and you have
(30:26):
to understand the philosophyand that unique angle that we
have, because it's not just aprofession.
Being an occupational therapistis a lifestyle.
You really live and breatheoccupation and adaptation, and
that becomes evident in ourrelationships, in the way that
we raise our our relationships,in the way that we raise our
(30:48):
children, in the way that weinteract with other people with
other people yes, indeed, andit's so important.
Speaker 1 (30:53):
Yeah, yes, indeed, yeah.
So before we close off, sowhat's your last thought?
Speaker 2 (31:00):
my last thought is I'm so appreciative to to be
able to to occupational therapy,so thank you very much for this
.
And if someone watching thepodcast is interested in
occupational therapy, as ifyou're a prospective student,
reach out to the AmericanOccupational Therapy Association
(31:21):
.
Reach out to one of the localschools.
If you type in, if you go toACOTE, just Google them and look
them up, it's our accreditationorganization.
They can show you where all ofthe different accredited schools
are across the country and evenoutside the country, and you
can then choose one of theschools and go for an interview,
(31:45):
learn more about occupationaltherapy and become one of us.
Speaker 1 (31:50):
Okay, so I believe we have a great quote too.
I don't know if you you know,so I would love to you know, to
leave everybody with that quote,because it really stands out
for everything that you justmentioned.
Yeah, so there were threeoptions and I'm going to just go
through.
Will it stand out foreverything that?
Speaker 2 (32:06):
you just mentioned.
Yeah, so there were threeoptions and I'm going to just go
through by the process ofelimination, if we have the time
.
Speaker 1 (32:13):
Okay, so let's do that.
Speaker 2 (32:15):
So here's the first one, which we didn't choose.
Occupational therapy is notjust about fixing a problem.
It's about empoweringindividuals to live the life
they want, and so I think that'sjust a very narrow definition,
and and and empowermentcertainly, but we don't just
(32:36):
work with the individual thathas the problem, which I have, a
.
I have an issue with the termproblem too, because I wouldn't
call it a problem, I would callit, maybe, a difficult situation
or or a challenge challenge, um, but I in in so many of the
conditions that that that thatI've I've worked with the family
(32:58):
is is a huge part of it too,and so it's not just the
individual individuals that areliving with the condition, but
but it's those that are affectedtoo, so that and it doesn't
take into account a lot of thecontext.
Speaker 1 (33:14):
You cannot provide a holistic kind of type of
services to your patients.
Speaker 2 (33:19):
Yeah and so and like there's no context here.
So it's to live the life thatthey want, so all right, so we
scratched that one.
The other one was occupation isa fundamental aspect of human
existence, and occupationaltherapy is about enabling
individuals to engage inoccupations that promote health,
(33:40):
well-being and lifesatisfaction.
Speaker 1 (33:43):
That's my favorite.
Speaker 2 (33:45):
So I like it, except that there's nowhere where we
really explain what occupationis.
Occupation is a construct untoitself, and so it has to be
understood, and it took us ahundred years, and we're still
evolving.
What occupation is?
In the beginning, and I think Isaid the origins of
(34:09):
occupational therapy, occupationbecame it was engaging someone
in something that was busy workthat would keep them busy,
essentially.
And hey, this worked.
There were some goodobservations.
Occupation then became lessfavorable.
(34:51):
It wasn't talked about as wewere adopting the losing touch
with occupational therapy and wewere occupational therapists in
name only In the 80s.
We then started to relook whatoccupation is and we developed a
more deeper understanding ofwhat occupation is and what
adaptation is, and so some ofour really best models and
(35:13):
theories evolved out of that,like the model of human
occupation, and it talks aboutan open system that there's
input and output and that wholecomponent of that processing of
the information to then havethat drive and recognizing your
skill set and what you stillneed to do and how you recognize
(35:35):
yourself in your role as aperson performing the occupation
.
That all evolved out of thatnew understanding and so now
over the past 25, 30 years,we've really been refining that
and and so that's not capturedhere and and so it deserves
really a lecture all all to itsown.
(35:55):
It's a what.
What's?
What I love the most and, if youthink about it, so this is this
was my uh quote of choice thegoal of occupational therapy is
to help individuals participatein the activities that give
their life meaning and purpose.
That considers the person'scontext.
It puts the client first.
(36:19):
It's very clear in thatstatement.
That's most important to us, soI don't go in and impose okay,
well, you're at this level.
This is what you need to bedoing now, as we should not
right, so it it takes.
Okay.
What do you, given theyunderstand the steps?
(36:39):
Where do you want to be and andwhere do you um?
How do you progress the best?
What works best for you?
Speaker 1 (36:48):
Like they say, in social work we meet clients
where they're at.
Speaker 2 (36:52):
Right, right, exactly , yeah, and so that's why I like
this one.
The goal of occupationaltherapy is to help individuals
participate in the activitiesthat give their life meaning and
purpose.
Speaker 1 (37:03):
That was the second one or the third one.
Speaker 2 (37:05):
That's the second one , okay, okay.
So, dr Schlegel, life meaningand purpose.
Speaker 1 (37:08):
That was the second one or the third one?
That's the second one.
Okay, yeah, okay.
Speaker 2 (37:11):
So Dr Schlegel, schlegel yeah.
Speaker 1 (37:22):
I don't have enough words to thank you.
You know to commute fromanother state to come to New
York to offer this knowledge tomyself and my viewers, you know.
So it's priceless and I thankyou so much.
I remember the last time yourwife, sheila Schlegel, was here,
and after we recorded oursession and she stated oh, my
(37:45):
husband have to be on the showtoo.
Sheila basically booked you andI was so happy that Dr Sheila
Schlegel did so.
Yeah, oh, thank you it wasamazing to have you today.
Yeah, thank you.
Thank you so much.
Speaker 2 (38:03):
Thank you so much.
That's one of the pleasures ofbeing married to another
occupational therapist.
We have the most wonderfulconversations and we think alike
.
That's wonderful, and weinclude the other, so we're
partners in crime.
So, thank you.
Speaker 1 (38:23):
So you know, today may be your first time time, but
it should not be your last.
Oh, I'd love to come back okay,so of that said, it was with
you, dr bitches, and dr schlegelwith your war.
Hello everyone.
I'm Dr Beatrice Ippolit andthis is your World.
My next question how do youstay current with best practices
and research in occupationaltherapy?
Speaker 2 (00:23):
So that's a really good question and because I'm
the doctoral capstonecoordinator, I'm involved in
helping the students developtheir research.
Speaker 1 (00:34):
I know that you mentioned the word capstone
before.
Can you explain to?
My viewers what capstone means.
Speaker 2 (00:41):
You're right, we did throw that term around before.
So a capstone project is aculminating project, that it can
be for a master's degree.
So master's students say theyengage in capstones.
And it's really that capstone,it's that stone that it's almost
like a keystone that holds thewhole structure together.
(01:02):
It's a culminating, tangibledelivery, and so it could be
some type of project for thedoctoral capstone projects.
It's individual, originalresearch.
It could be some type ofprogram development and program
(01:22):
evaluation.
It could be some advocacyproject.
It could be some real researchwhere, and so our students learn
research skills so theyunderstand qualitative and
quantitative inquiry, and socrunching numbers on the
computer, numbers on thecomputer SPSS is one of those
(01:52):
programs and then once they gothrough that process of engaging
in the research or programdevelopment, they present it,
and so there's thisdissemination at the end and
that is kind of the culminationof everything.
So they do a posterpresentation and they submit
their manuscript.
Speaker 1 (02:08):
It's a lot of work.
Speaker 2 (02:09):
It's a lot of work.
Speaker 1 (02:10):
My first project was doing the master program at
Adelphi University.
It's fun, so it's rewarded thatyou feel great about yourself,
that you have accomplishedsomething major.
But it can be nerve-wrackingtoo it can, it can definitely,
yeah.
Speaker 2 (02:29):
so that's how I stay on top of my knowledge, is I?
I'm?
I'm right there with thestudents learning about and some
you know I've learned so muchfrom my students too, because
they'll come up with somethingthat that really tickled them or
interested them and they wantto learn more about it.
They're educating me too,because I can't possibly stay up
(02:51):
to date on every single aspectof what occupational therapy
does and is, but they help me dothat, they really do.
There's also professionalorganizations.
I can't reinforce enough howimportant it is to be a member
of your national organization.
I know in social work there's anational organization.
(03:12):
There are state-levelassociations we have in the
metropolitan area.
We have the MetropolitanEducation Council for
Occupational Therapy, theMetropolitan Education Council
for Occupational Therapy, wherefield work coordinators and
capstone coordinators we meet ona regular basis to review best
practices and new knowledgethat's been developed.
(03:36):
So reading journals, havingdiscussions we have a journal
club.
I'm also a member of the NewYork State Occupational Therapy
Association, the Connecticut.
Speaker 1 (03:49):
Occupational Therapy.
Speaker 2 (03:50):
Association, where I'm on the board.
And so we have communities ofpractice where there's one for
mental health we just had amental health where we talked
about um cbt cognitivebehavioral therapy on on
thursday and um.
(04:11):
We have a home care communityof practice, which now in also
includes perspective on aging,so there's a huge audience there
.
There's school-based communityof practice where like-minded
people just get together andhave a chat.
There's there's a sense ofcommunity and and there's also a
(04:34):
learning objective.
It counts towards educationunits too which you need for
licensure.
Speaker 1 (04:41):
Okay, yeah, yeah, okay, so it seemed that you were
on top of your game, yeah plus,plus I I, so I happen to love
books, textbooks and uh I Ithink I don't know if sheila
mentioned this, but but, um,yeah, she she has complained,
but then she she likes that thelibrary is there.
Speaker 2 (05:03):
About five years ago, at the start of when COVID
started, it was harder to get toa library and access to text,
so I started to troll eBay anddifferent sites, thrift books
and on Amazon to find textbooksfor cheaper.
(05:24):
And build your own library.
We have at home now we have alibrary that has over 700.
We have over 700 occupationaltherapy and research texts.
Speaker 1 (05:37):
Wow.
Speaker 2 (05:38):
Yeah, so that's a real passion and that helps me
learn too.
There's never a time that I'mnot looking.
Right now, I'm learning abouttransformative learning.
Speaker 1 (05:52):
Okay.
Speaker 2 (05:57):
It's understood that you have past experiences and
your understanding of thoseexperiences helps shape how
you're going to approach newlearning.
Speaker 1 (06:07):
It's how your past is going to shape your future.
Yep, you know.
Speaker 2 (06:11):
That's awesome, and I know that because a book came
in two days ago on that that Ihad ordered, and sometimes it
takes a month for the book tocome, and that's okay because I
got it really cheap, so I'mwilling to wait, but then it
adds to the library Okay, oh,and that's okay because I got it
really cheap, so I'm willing towait, but then it adds to the
library and um, okay, oh, that's, that's amazing over 700 books
(06:31):
several of the 700 books okay,okay, I'll come check that out
you can come and look.
You can use the library anytimeoh, definitely, definitely I'll
do so people now.
So at the different universities, if someone's giving away a
text or they don't have a usefor me, tell Gus because he'll
(06:53):
take it.
So I have in my car right now.
I have three boxes, three boxesof textbooks, and some of them
are really good textbooks thatI'll go through and most of them
I'll then send on.
So I've sent books to Haiti.
There's a program in PuertoRico that I'm going to be
(07:13):
sending textbooks to, so I'llclean them and then I'll pass
them on.
Speaker 1 (07:19):
I attended York College for undergrad I don't
recall exactly you know duringwhat time of the year on the
social workflow they always havea pile of books.
They will just put in thehallway and so students will
come and just select.
So, whatever that and thosebooks, you know they were heavy
(07:40):
so and I didn't have a car atthat time but will just, you
know, take some of them and hidethem places because they were
behind another book.
Speaker 2 (07:52):
Yeah, you know.
Speaker 1 (07:53):
So sometimes I'll go to the library and I had my
special spot where I will hidethose books and the next time I
come, so I'll just take one ortwo, because when you don't have
a car and those books are heavyand you already have your own
books coming to school, so thereis not that many of them you
(08:15):
can carry.
So, no, no, no, it's veryimportant.
Sometimes people say, oh, thosebooks.
Some people believe books canbe old.
Speaker 2 (08:23):
Me, I don't think books can be old no, and and
that's funny because, um, whatI've gotten into now a little
bit too is is tracking thechanges between.
This might sound really odd,but tracking the changes between
different editions, so you knowsome.
So the books are periodicallyupdated and I still find value
(08:44):
in um a first edition.
Because that's especially if ifI'm looking to um, if you're
looking at seminal articles thatthat um introduced a really
important idea of those articlesfrom a journal.
They might be 20 or 30 yearsold and that person might have
also written a chapter in a textand that textbook might be 20
(09:07):
year old.
I think my oldest book, myoldest text, is 60 years old
such a treasure.
But they might be still.
You know, for the time it wasrelevant and it was the only
research we had, you know, inthat particular area, and so
that becomes really importantand I think that they'll retain
their value and they'll betreasured for, you know, for
(09:30):
generations to come.
Speaker 1 (09:31):
Because one thing that I used to do because I
didn't have that much textbooksare really expensive.
If the school asks for us tobuy the third version or edition
or the fifth edition, I'll buythe third one instead of the
fifth one or the fourth one,because it will cost me less.
Speaker 2 (09:53):
Yes, right, exactly.
Speaker 1 (09:55):
And during the semester, whomever had the new
edition or the one that wasrequired by the school when we
got to that chapter, I'll justask to borrow the book or go to
the library, write whatever thatmy book doesn't have.
Speaker 2 (10:13):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (10:14):
Because financially I was really tight so I had to
find a way to have my books.
But to make things work for me,Because sometimes it's not
really that much of a difference.
Speaker 2 (10:28):
Yeah, they might be adding a new chapter, and that's
the way that I think sometimestoo.
And so if the new text costs 90or $100 and I can get the old
text, which might be five yearsold, for maybe 30 on EB, I might
get that edition.
(10:50):
And then, like you said, I'llwait and a lot of the
publishers'll have, um, likesummer sales, like right now.
One of the big um publishinghouses has a 25 off sale if you
buy two, two books or more.
Yeah, and so I'll wait for that.
(11:12):
I have my list, I'll put ittogether and I'll send it out.
Then five books come at onetime and then I'm really in
trouble.
But yeah, and so then I'll havethose up-to-date editions of
the book.
Speaker 1 (11:28):
Of the book.
Speaker 2 (11:29):
And then I can either give the old one away or keep
it as an archive.
Speaker 1 (11:32):
Okay, yeah, okay.
So what opportunities are therefor professional development
and continuing education in thisfield?
Speaker 2 (11:43):
Because occupational therapists are present as a
profession in so many differentareas.
We work in pediatrics, we workwith neonates there's been
research done on fetalinteractions, so before a child
is born geriatrics, mentalhealth, the condition, you name
(12:05):
it really.
So in all of those differentareas there are specialties that
emerge, and one of the onesthat really comes up is in hand
therapy emerge, and one of theones that really comes up is in
hand therapy.
Just the hand is so complexthat you actually have to study
and really specialize to be ableto treat just the hand.
(12:26):
And so there's we call themcertified hands therapists, chts
for short, and so thatspecialization is open to
physical therapists andoccupational therapists.
So that's one way that you cangain skill is by specialty
certifications.
There's pediatric, differentinterventions like sensory
(12:51):
processing.
There's specialty areas, andthey might be promoted by
national organizations thatfocus just on on on that
particular aspect.
Or it could be our nationalorganization, the american
occupational therapy association.
They they have specialty examsthat you can take to really
(13:13):
become specialized in aparticular area, and so there's
one for home modification, forexample.
One of the things that we didduring COVID again was we became
(13:33):
certified aging in placepractitioners, and so we know
about Sheila and I know aboutbuilding codes, we know about
universal design.
We can make recommendations onhow to make a home accessible.
Different types of equipmentthat you can bring.
(13:56):
Bring in like having a mirrorthat tilts so someone in a
wheelchair can can still groomthemselves, having sinks that
can raise and lower down,different grab bars in
particular areas, ramps or orlike the stair glides yeah,
exactly, so we know about that.
(14:17):
So that's something that that westudied for.
We took a week-long course, um,and it was all online, right,
you can do it in person too, but, um, and, and then you sit for
an exam.
We have our, our CHEScertification, so we are
community health educators, sowe have that certification.
(14:40):
It was a three hour, 300question, multiple choice exam
and there's also microcredentialing too.
So if you, which is part of weneed a certain amount of
continuing education hours tomaintain our licensure, so, um,
(15:01):
national organizations, ourstate organization, um, you get
credit hours for that and and soyou can develop an area of
specialty.
I, I'm a certified dementiapractitioner, so I went through
that training and got thatcertification.
(15:23):
So, really, it really dependson each individual clinician and
you have to have a desire to dothat and someone a mentor long
ago to do that, and someone amentor long ago.
She told me she's one of ourdear friends from Ireland who is
(15:45):
also an occupational therapist.
I told her this was in 1998, Isaid I was working for the
company where she was mysupervisor and I said I'm going
out on my own, I'm going to workfor the Board of Ed in New York
and for some early interventionorganizations, and I'm going to
(16:05):
be a pediatric therapist andshe said, gus, and that's
wonderful, but always rememberthat you're an occupational
therapist and don't ever forgetthat.
And I really didn't know how totake that at the time.
But as I matured as an OT, Irealized that the principles of
(16:30):
occupational therapy being ableto understand occupation, what's
relevant to the client, beingable to understand the relevance
of context and being on a veryunderstanding of of adaptation,
how you can, a person can adaptto to be able to engage
(16:52):
successfully in whateveractivity they're wanting to
engage in those are mostrelevant.
You can apply those concepts inevery different setting, and so
that's what makes usoccupational therapists, not
whether we work with pediatricsor with geriatrics, or if we
(17:14):
specialize and work with withjust trigger finger in in a hand
clinic.
We're occupational therapistsand we're going to approach our,
our, our clients in thatparticular way and that's what
really distinguishes us bravo,yeah, my next one now.
Speaker 1 (17:35):
So how do you adapt your practice to meet the needs
of clients with diversebackground or abilities?
Speaker 2 (17:45):
oh my gosh.
So so that's um, well, thatkind of it really came about.
I mean, I I learned about backthen we called it cultural
competence.
Now the term that I'm hearingmore often is cultural humility,
because just you couldn't becompetent in every single
(18:07):
different culture, right, butyou can demonstrate cultural
humility by being open todifferences and accepting of
differences and incorporatethose differences into the plan
of care, um, so so that's that'sreally really important to me,
so I gain an understanding ofthat um, and I can only do that
(18:32):
when I'm, when I'm gleaninginformation from the client and
understanding what their um,what their take is, uh, on, on a
particular intervention or orwhat's what's important to them.
That's that's super reallyrelevant to me.
So, and that once againtranslates to into any different
(18:52):
setting, the, they might shareinformation that's relevant, if
it's more difficult for me toget the information from the
client themselves.
Here's a good example, andthat's why I like running into
family members too, becausethey'll tell me my mother was a
(19:17):
model when she was younger andor, or my um, my um, I just just
happened, yeah, just recently Iran into a, the, the adult
daughter of, of one of myclients, and she shared with me
that her mom, she, she was areally important publisher for
(19:38):
for a really relevant magazine,and I thought, wow, that's,
that's just amazing.
And so I I learned how toincorporate that into my, into
intervention and into to mydialogue and and so openness,
understanding, appreciation, Ithink those are the really key
(20:02):
terms, and using and just beingaware of that all along, there's
a real important concept thatwe have in occupational therapy
it's called therapeutic use ofself, and it's a real model that
(20:23):
is important to us, and so weuse ourselves as a modality to
elicit change in our clients,and so we can take on different
modes to help the client gothrough the process of
developing.
Maybe they have, they maybe havenot given what we're engaging
them in a lot of thought, youknow and the opportunities are
(20:45):
the tools yeah, right, so sohelping them go through the
process of understanding theirrelevance is similar to the
health belief model to writethat how important is this to
you?
And so we can gauge where theyare in the process and then and
then use ourselves in atherapeutic way to, to, to
elicit change, recognizepotential and if, if if there's
(21:08):
not, then then we recognize thattoo.
Right.
If it's not relevant to theclient, then we shouldn't be
really addressing it, becauseeverything is just for the
well-being of your clients.
Absolutely.
Speaker 1 (21:20):
Absolutely no.
I really like that.
Yeah, my last question whatkind of support and resources
are available for clients andfamilies?
Speaker 2 (21:33):
Yes, so it really depends on the setting.
So I think I mentioned that Ialso work in home care, so I
work for a wonderful agency inFairfield County, connecticut,
and we have so all thetherapists talk Right, and we
(21:54):
have the community of practicethat I, that I mentioned and
that some of the clinicians arepart of, and so we get like
these tips and now we call themhacks I think that's the Gen Z
term hacks for how torequisition or acquire resources
.
There is an organization thatwas modeled on a lending library
(22:21):
that was in Israel and thisperson brought back that concept
and started a lending libraryin Stanford, connecticut.
It's called Wheel it Forward,and they expanded now to also
bridgeport.
And wheel it forward is aunique type of library where you
(22:41):
don't go to get books I know wewere talking about books before
but you get medical equipment,so it could be walkers,
wheelchairs, beds, mattresses,it could be seat cushions,
anything that can be used again,and so gently used equipment.
They go through this process.
They have technicians therethat go through and make sure
(23:04):
that the items are usable andthey clean them, they power wash
them, sterilize them and thenthey're available for loan.
So you can go to their websiteand find equipment and then you
can let the clients know ourpatients, know their family
(23:24):
members.
I've even gone sometimes andpicked up.
If I know that they can't getthere and they really need a
walker, I'm going to go and getit for them.
So that's a huge resource andit depends on the, the
organization too.
Um, now there's, I think whatI'm seeing in organizations and
(23:46):
agencies now is they're reallytrying to tap into a variety of
different um income streams andresource streams.
So there's grants, there'spartnerships with communities,
with community organizations,and there's a reciprocity.
So here's a good example In atown in Connecticut, in Wilton,
(24:11):
connecticut.
My agency and I participate inthis and in fact next week we'll
be doing another one.
It's a memory cafe, and so inthe memory cafe, the library
they have publicized, come inonce a month and it'll be a time
(24:31):
of respite where you and yourloved one living with dementia
can come and just be peopleagain and just um, enjoy the
moment and and forget just forfor a brief time that um you're,
you're living with the, the,the effects of, of, of dementia,
and um that gives the, thecaregivers, because they're
(24:54):
under a tremendous amount ofstress very often.
That's what my dissertation wasabout.
It's like a whisper time for theyeah but respite in the sense
that you're participating,you're engaged with the person,
not that okay.
Well here, the caregiver goesover here and drinks a cup of
coffee while there's somequestion right, so's, you're
working together.
So we had a musician in the lasttime, um, the time before that,
(25:18):
we, um, we had, uh, it was areal fun activity where we
actually we were getting to knoweach other.
So share your story, and sopeople were able to share
different aspects of what'simportant to them or what was
important.
Speaker 1 (25:38):
As a caretaker, while you're providing for that
person, but you also have thatopportunity to socialize.
Speaker 2 (25:46):
Right right, and so we have treats and we have
beverages, and so right now,water is really important too,
and it's been really wellreceived, and I was on a call on
Wednesday where some otheragencies they shared that
they're also doing memory cafesin different parts of the state,
(26:08):
and so it's a really, really,it's a really good model.
Speaker 1 (26:13):
And being in an environment like that where you
can socialize, have some treatsand things like that, that can
really alleviate stress andanxiety, you know, and for both
patients and caretakers.
So that's very important.
Speaker 2 (26:28):
So making that connection with the resources is
important.
Also, just knowing yourenvironment, knowing the people
that you're working with, andthis is so important too
Understanding the skill set andthe specialties of your
colleagues and staff that's soimportant to understanding the
skill set of and the specialtiesof of your your colleagues and
staff.
(26:49):
That's so important.
It's almost like asset basedcommunity development, where you
you understand the skill setand the assets that you have
within, within the communitythat you have, and you leverage
those Right.
So and it only comes about you,you gain understanding just
from discussion of, of beingable to have that opportunity to
(27:12):
sit down with your colleaguesand not for a minute, not talk
about patients, but talk aboutwhat your interests are, what,
what's what's important to you?
Um, maybe, maybe it's that youwant to to learn more about some
some, some um importantparkinson's intervention, but
you've not had the time.
And now, suddenly you know thatanother colleague is interested
(27:34):
in that too.
I found out that um because shewas very much into to driving
simulation.
She has that huge, beautifuldriving simulator at sacred
heart.
Well, um, there is a clinicianum at my agency that um loves
driving simulation, and so I'mconnecting the two and so that's
(27:56):
, that's huge too.
You know, just the sharing ofresources and and and making
aware that comes about just withcollaboration and communication
, and this podcast, too it's.
It's part of that, too, right,it's part of that sharing,
sharing, sharing knowledge, youknow, educate people.
Speaker 1 (28:13):
It's a big network, you know.
Yeah, believe it or not, sowhat you just explained to
everybody, myself included, soit's something that many of us
didn't know prior.
Yeah, maybe for some people, otwas not a real profession, like
many many, many years ago,where social work was not
(28:34):
considered as a profession.
Right, yeah, so it really tooka long time for the profession
to become a profession and forpeople to embrace it.
Now, you know, so it's likeit's.
It's still growing, but thereis not a place.
You know you cannot find asocial worker.
You know the hospital, theschool, they call the prison
(28:59):
jail.
So you name it.
So we did yeah so and that's thebeauty of the profession and I
love though I do have twodifferent professions, but I
love to carry the social workertitle because it's like you
invest, you know, you deal, youknow so and and I think that's
really basically our reward, youknow, as being OT, social
(29:24):
worker or what have you.
So it's like when you seewhatever that you did, you know
kind of like increase thequality of health or the
well-being of your clients.
That's what.
That's my reward personally.
Speaker 2 (29:42):
I know that's my word , because if it was for money,
those fields don't really havemoney no, and and I tell my, my,
my students, that too, saidyou're going to be comfortable
right and so you chose a goodprofession.
But but I know what you really,because we'll, we'll do
introductions.
Why did you become an ot?
That's like a classic question,right, and so I hear a lot.
(30:03):
I want to help people.
Yeah, very seldom do I hearsomeone and it hasn't been for a
while, because I think they'regetting it now and we're doing a
good job of educating the, thestudents.
But I used to hear sometimes oh,I'm in it for the money.
You have to get into OT becauseyou have a passion and you have
(30:26):
to understand the philosophyand that unique angle that we
have, because it's not just aprofession.
Being an occupational therapistis a lifestyle.
You really live and breatheoccupation and adaptation, and
that becomes evident in ourrelationships, in the way that
we raise our our relationships,in the way that we raise our
(30:48):
children, in the way that weinteract with other people with
other people yes, indeed, andit's so important.
Speaker 1 (30:53):
Yeah, yes, indeed, yeah.
So before we close off, sowhat's your last thought?
Speaker 2 (31:00):
my last thought is I'm so appreciative to to be
able to to occupational therapy,so thank you very much for this
.
And if someone watching thepodcast is interested in
occupational therapy, as ifyou're a prospective student,
reach out to the AmericanOccupational Therapy Association
(31:21):
.
Reach out to one of the localschools.
If you type in, if you go toACOTE, just Google them and look
them up, it's our accreditationorganization.
They can show you where all ofthe different accredited schools
are across the country and evenoutside the country, and you
can then choose one of theschools and go for an interview,
(31:45):
learn more about occupationaltherapy and become one of us.
Speaker 1 (31:50):
Okay, so I believe we have a great quote too.
I don't know if you you know,so I would love to you know, to
leave everybody with that quote,because it really stands out
for everything that you justmentioned.
Yeah, so there were threeoptions and I'm going to just go
through.
Will it stand out foreverything that?
Speaker 2 (32:06):
you just mentioned.
Yeah, so there were threeoptions and I'm going to just go
through by the process ofelimination, if we have the time
.
Speaker 1 (32:13):
Okay, so let's do that.
Speaker 2 (32:15):
So here's the first one, which we didn't choose.
Occupational therapy is notjust about fixing a problem.
It's about empoweringindividuals to live the life
they want, and so I think that'sjust a very narrow definition,
and and and empowermentcertainly, but we don't just
(32:36):
work with the individual thathas the problem, which I have, a
.
I have an issue with the termproblem too, because I wouldn't
call it a problem, I would callit, maybe, a difficult situation
or or a challenge challenge, um, but I in in so many of the
conditions that that that thatI've I've worked with the family
(32:58):
is is a huge part of it too,and so it's not just the
individual individuals that areliving with the condition, but
but it's those that are affectedtoo, so that and it doesn't
take into account a lot of thecontext.
Speaker 1 (33:14):
You cannot provide a holistic kind of type of
services to your patients.
Speaker 2 (33:19):
Yeah and so and like there's no context here.
So it's to live the life thatthey want, so all right, so we
scratched that one.
The other one was occupation isa fundamental aspect of human
existence, and occupationaltherapy is about enabling
individuals to engage inoccupations that promote health,
(33:40):
well-being and lifesatisfaction.
Speaker 1 (33:43):
That's my favorite.
Speaker 2 (33:45):
So I like it, except that there's nowhere where we
really explain what occupationis.
Occupation is a construct untoitself, and so it has to be
understood, and it took us ahundred years, and we're still
evolving.
What occupation is?
In the beginning, and I think Isaid the origins of
(34:09):
occupational therapy, occupationbecame it was engaging someone
in something that was busy workthat would keep them busy,
essentially.
And hey, this worked.
There were some goodobservations.
Occupation then became lessfavorable.
(34:51):
It wasn't talked about as wewere adopting the losing touch
with occupational therapy and wewere occupational therapists in
name only In the 80s.
We then started to relook whatoccupation is and we developed a
more deeper understanding ofwhat occupation is and what
adaptation is, and so some ofour really best models and
(35:13):
theories evolved out of that,like the model of human
occupation, and it talks aboutan open system that there's
input and output and that wholecomponent of that processing of
the information to then havethat drive and recognizing your
skill set and what you stillneed to do and how you recognize
(35:35):
yourself in your role as aperson performing the occupation
.
That all evolved out of thatnew understanding and so now
over the past 25, 30 years,we've really been refining that
and and so that's not capturedhere and and so it deserves
really a lecture all all to itsown.
(35:55):
It's a what.
What's?
What I love the most and, if youthink about it, so this is this
was my uh quote of choice thegoal of occupational therapy is
to help individuals participatein the activities that give
their life meaning and purpose.
That considers the person'scontext.
It puts the client first.
(36:19):
It's very clear in thatstatement.
That's most important to us, soI don't go in and impose okay,
well, you're at this level.
This is what you need to bedoing now, as we should not
right, so it it takes.
Okay.
What do you, given theyunderstand the steps?
(36:39):
Where do you want to be and andwhere do you um?
How do you progress the best?
What works best for you?
Speaker 1 (36:48):
Like they say, in social work we meet clients
where they're at.
Speaker 2 (36:52):
Right, right, exactly , yeah, and so that's why I like
this one.
The goal of occupationaltherapy is to help individuals
participate in the activitiesthat give their life meaning and
purpose.
Speaker 1 (37:03):
That was the second one or the third one.
Speaker 2 (37:05):
That's the second one , okay, okay.
So, dr Schlegel, life meaningand purpose.
Speaker 1 (37:08):
That was the second one or the third one?
That's the second one.
Okay, yeah, okay.
Speaker 2 (37:11):
So Dr Schlegel, schlegel yeah.
Speaker 1 (37:22):
I don't have enough words to thank you.
You know to commute fromanother state to come to New
York to offer this knowledge tomyself and my viewers, you know.
So it's priceless and I thankyou so much.
I remember the last time yourwife, sheila Schlegel, was here,
and after we recorded oursession and she stated oh, my
(37:45):
husband have to be on the showtoo.
Sheila basically booked you andI was so happy that Dr Sheila
Schlegel did so.
Yeah, oh, thank you it wasamazing to have you today.
Yeah, thank you.
Thank you so much.
Speaker 2 (38:03):
Thank you so much.
That's one of the pleasures ofbeing married to another
occupational therapist.
We have the most wonderfulconversations and we think alike
.
That's wonderful, and weinclude the other, so we're
partners in crime.
So, thank you.
Speaker 1 (38:23):
So you know, today may be your first time time, but
it should not be your last.
Oh, I'd love to come back okay,so of that said, it was with
you, dr bitches, and dr schlegelwith your war.
Popular Podcasts
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com
New Heights with Jason & Travis Kelce
Football’s funniest family duo — Jason Kelce of the Philadelphia Eagles and Travis Kelce of the Kansas City Chiefs — team up to provide next-level access to life in the league as it unfolds. The two brothers and Super Bowl champions drop weekly insights about the weekly slate of games and share their INSIDE perspectives on trending NFL news and sports headlines. They also endlessly rag on each other as brothers do, chat the latest in pop culture and welcome some very popular and well-known friends to chat with them. Check out new episodes every Wednesday. Follow New Heights on the Wondery App, YouTube or wherever you get your podcasts. You can listen to new episodes early and ad-free, and get exclusive content on Wondery+. Join Wondery+ in the Wondery App, Apple Podcasts or Spotify. And join our new membership for a unique fan experience by going to the New Heights YouTube channel now!