Unit 1: Clinical Reasoning

Question 1

Client/Therapist

Answer 1

At the center of the occupational therapy process is the client and therapist in a collaborative relationship. In this collaborative process the occupational therapy practitioner must consider:

• The service delivery model in which they are operating
• The development of a therapeutic relationship with their client through therapeutic use of self
• Their ability to clinically reason through multiple, complex, considerations that impact client occupational performance and care
• Their ability to analyze activities to understand the specific demands the client must meet to engage in occupations.

Question 2

Evaluation

Answer 2

Consists of the occupational profile and the analysis of occupational performance which are synthesized to inform the intervention process

• These two components of the evaluation process are intertwined.
• The focus in on determining what the client wants and needs to do in their everyday life, and what areas they may not be able to perform in because of limitations due to disability, injury, or disease.
• The process helps to identify both the supports and barriers to occupational performance. This is not a one-time process but an ongoing act that occurs throughout therapy.
• The evaluation process is influenced by the practice setting and the theoretical basis the therapist is applying to the client.

Question 3

Occupational Profile (Evaluation)

Answer 3

A summary of a client’s (person’s, groups, or populations) occupational history and experiences, patterns of daily living, interests, values, and needs and relevant contexts.

• This document helps the therapist to understand the occupations that give meaning to the client and the can be used to guide intervention and evaluation planning.
• Interviews and observation are utilized to compile a broad and complex picture of the whole person.
• The information obtained helps the therapist clinically reason to develop a theory about the persons performance and how to best help them achieve their goals.

Question 4

Analysis of Occupational Performance

Answer 4

The practitioner identifies the client’s ability to effectively complete desired occupations.

• The client’s assets and limitations or potential problems are more specifically determined through assessment tools designed to analyze, measure, and inquire about factors that support or hinder occupational performance
• Includes multiple steps such as selecting areas of focus, measuring performance, identifying appropriate outcome measures, interpreting assessment information, developing a theory about the client’s abilities and potential for performance, creating goals, and selecting evidence-based approaches to intervention to achieve those goals.
• A multi-step process that occurs at the initial evaluation and throughout the therapeutic relationship to continue to assess and refine the client’s needs and goals.

Question 5

The occupational profile and analysis of occupational performance are both…

Answer 5

Important steps in the evaluation process.

• Provide unique but complementary information about the client that is essential to developing goals, establishing a therapeutic relationship, and selecting intervention strategies.
• The occupational therapist uses the synthesis of information from the occupational profile and the analysis of occupational performance to guide the intervention process.