Mission

The department of occupational therapy supports the mission of UTPA by preparing graduate level professionals capable of meeting the challenges of health care and community environments, and the unique needs of growing international and multi-cultural populations of the south Texas region. Faculty and students engage in and promote scholarly inquiry and service which support the health and wellness of the community. The preservation, transmission, and creation of knowledge result in exemplary and caring practice. Graduates are prepared to assume the roles of life-long learners, innovators and leaders in the state, nation, and world communities.

Philosophy

Human occupation is defined as “doing culturally meaningful work, play or daily living tasks in the stream of time and in the contexts of one’s physical and social world” (Kielhofner, 1995, p.3). The individual is served as an occupational being throughout the life space and within the context of culture. The individual is a whole being, integrating mind, body, and spirit, who is inherently healthy, and lives on a continuum from wellness to disability. Occupation is essential to health and life itself.

One’s perceptions of health, illness, and occupation are shaped by culture. Adaptation is fundamental to a culture’s survival and adaptation through occupation is fundamental to an individual’s survival. Although individuals are shaped by the culture(s) in which they were socialized, they are able to adapt to new and different cultures. The culture of individuals and communities are constantly blending, changing and evolving to create new and different environments for human beings to interact and engage in occupation.

Occupation, “making lives, making worlds” (Peloquin, 1997), is our primary conceptual framework. Occupation gives organization to life, provides life meaning, and influences health. Occupational performance engages the whole person, is reflective of mind, body, and spirit, and impacts relationships, culture and society. Life transitions may be illness, disability, retirement, moving from school to work, disasters, or simply living through life events. Occupational Therapy addresses the complexity of human occupation when normal or satisfying occupational patterns have been disrupted. Therapist and client collaborate together in setting goals that will bring meaning to everyday life for that individual and help to establish meaningful occupation. Learning to manage daily tasks such as work, play and leisure are highly individual goals meaning not only task completion, but also requiring the remaking of one’s life following the transition. Thus, the individual’s desired roles in life (the ability to make a living, make a home, make a family, make friends, and to make a life) should become the first and primary concern of any graduate of this program. Demonstration of abilities and performance of actions, tasks, and occupations are seen as the vehicles for fulfilling these roles (Christiansen & Baum, 1997).

The health of individuals within communities, such as in family-centered and client-centered care, also shapes the community. Focusing on the health issues of the community, and groups within a community will lead to health and life satisfaction through engagement in occupation. Occupation facilitates organization of systems toward improved health for individuals and communities. Occupational Therapy can help to shape community systems in such a way that the quality of life is improved for the community as a whole. For example, addressing the issue of unemployment as a common basis for homelessness, might address deficits in local policies as well as issues of social justice. “The idea of occupation as explicated by the curriculum would enable patient-agents and others to receive essential services, relevant to important human issues such as survival, contribution, competence, health, and the quality of daily life experiences.” (Yerxa, 1998, p. 370-371). Engagement in occupations influences an individual’s health and “the experience of individual occupations and their blend shapes, in part, a person’s perception of the quality of life” (Yerxa, 1998, p. 367).

References

Christiansen, C. & Baum, C. (1997). Person-environment occupational performance. In C. Christiansen & C. Baum (Eds.) Occupational performance- Enabling function and well-being. (pp. 46-70). Thorofare, NJ: SLACK Incorporated.

KKielhofner, G. (1995). A model of human occupation (second edition). Baltimore, MD: Williams & Wilkins.

Peloquin, S.M. (1997). Nationally speaking-the spiritual depth of occupation: Making worlds and making lives. American Journal of Occupational Therapy, 51, 167-169.

Yerxa, E.J. (1998). Occupation: The keystone of a curriculum for a self-defined profession. American Journal of Occupational Therapy, 52, 365-372.