Affiliations: Rehabilitation Department, Chicago Read Mental Health
Center, Illinois Department of Human Services, Chicago, USA | Department of Occupational Therapy, College of
Associated Health Professions, University of Illinois at Chicago, USA
Note: [] Associate Director of Rehabilitation, Chicago Read Mental Health
Center, 4200 North Oak Park Ave., Chicago, IL 60634, USA. Tel.: +1 773 794 3760
Note: [] Also at Karolinska Institute, Stockholm, Sweden
Abstract: The revised theory of the model of human occupation expands the
concept of volition to include volitional narrative. This paper focuses on the
application of this theory of volition to a client's experience in a work
program. This ethnographic case study describes the volitional narrative and
life world of one client who attended the occupational therapy work based
program. For fifteen months the client was the subject of narrative interviews,
participant observation, videotapes and telephone contacts. The findings will
illustrate how knowledge of a client's volitional narrative and life world can
shed critical light on understanding treatment conflicts. Finally, the
discussion will underscore how important it is for work based programs to be
designed to encourage therapists to adapt their treatment approaches to
maximize the opportunities to seek out the client's volitional narratives and
to create meaningful experiences that are consistent with the client's life
world.
