Occupational Therapy: Accupational Therapy In Relation To Anxiety

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My grandmother was always a very optimistic woman whose determined can-do attitude is one I try to embody myself. Towards the end of her life she struggled with Parkinson’s, causing her to start having trouble taking care of herself. As a result, she started to receive in-home occupational therapy. Around this time I was entering college and trying to decide on a career path. I was not sure what occupational therapy entailed until I was able to watch the therapist work with my grandmother. After that the therapist explained that occupational therapy is about working with patients who have difficulty performing activities of daily life or ADLs and figuring out ways to make things easier and more efficient for them. Although I did not realize it at the time, this sparked my interest in a career that I am now so passionate about pursuing. Since then my career choice has been reinforced by everything from reading articles on the profession to talking to those who have personally benefited from occupational therapy. Over the summer I was a mother’s helper for an amazing family whose son had …show more content…

I have taken a recent interest in this side of the field after learning more about it when researching potential topics for my application essay. At Kean University I would love to use the research component of the program to further explore occupational therapy in relation to anxiety and other mental illnesses. The scholarly research already conducted by the department really interests me, especially Dr. Knis-Matthews who has done a great deal of research and presentations on mental illnesses. I believe I could benefit greatly from studying under her as well as working with Ms. Petrocelli, the academic fieldwork coordinator, to broaden my knowledge of the mental health side of occupational therapy through academic

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