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Public Service:
Learning & Communities
Learning about the community context begins with a site visit to the agency for an orientation and assessment of the needs of the agency and the population it serves. The agency's mission, its' members, and the issues that they may need help with are discussed. Information is gathered about the population the agency serves in terms of age, culture, interests, and abilities. The agency's facilities and resources are explored. The occupational therapy approach to leading a group is tailored to reflect the different variables of each agency and its members.
General group themes
The occupational therapy group work involves doing activities or projects that the individuals in the group perceive as purposeful or meaningful to their lives. Discussions occur among the leaders and members to identify what works, where difficulties arise, and how to effectively address those problems.
Through the relationships made in the group and the leader and member interactions, psychosocial skills such as values, self-concept, self-esteem, self-expression, self-control, and coping are also addresses. The group tasks also provide a natural medium through which cognitive skills such as attention, memory, problem solving, initiation, organization, and task completion might be improved.
View a listing of general
group themes (PDF).
Learn about our Community Based
Practice Program Guide (PDF).
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