The Importance Of An Occupational Interview

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The experience I had interviewing for the first time was extremely daunting but at the same time, eye-opening as it made me realise how essential a skill like this is to have and practice as an occupational therapist. It is a skill that requires time to develop and to craft, but is vital in building a therapeutic alliance between the client and the therapist. I carried out two different interviews, The Occupational Circumstances Assessment Interview Rating Scale (OCAIRS) and Canadian Occupational Performance Model (COPM), as the interviewer and also acted as the interviewee so I could gain insight into what such an experience would be like from the client’s perspective. The aim of both interviews was to assess the client and assessment proves to be a critical part of the OT process. The …show more content…

This is designed as an evaluation of a client’s occupational adaption. It consists of a semi-structured interview, in contrast to the COPM which is quite unstructured, a rating scale and a summary form. Kielhofner, (2008) stated that the OCAIRS is conceptually based on the model of human occupation, and, accordingly, the areas it covers corresponds to concepts from the model. It provides a structure for gathering, analysing and reporting data on the extent and nature of a person’s occupational participation, as opposed to ‘occupational performance’ in the COPM. (Fox, J. 2014) According to Bryant, Fieldhouse and Bannigan (2014, p.431) this assessment provides insight into an individual’s level of motivation and how empowered they feel to be an active participant in their treatment pathways. From my experience of interviewing using this model, I realise that it concentrates mainly on the occupational participation of people in their roles, habits, personal causation, values and contexts, meaning that it elicits more personal information than the COPM. I was mindful of this before starting the

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