The helping encounter--occupational therapists' perception of therapeutic relationships

The present paper deals with the art of occupational therapy in terms of therapeutic, helping relationships. The aim was to get a picture of how occupational therapists perceive the therapeutic encounter with their patients. Sixteen qualified occupational therapists, from various occupational areas, were interviewed and a qualitative approach was employed to analyze their description of therapeutic encounters in clinical settings. The qualitative analyses were performed with sensitization as the principle objective and a tentative theoretical model was formed, developed by three content categories; 1) Basic Professional-Oriented Helping; 2) Understanding-Oriented Helping; and 3) Action-Oriented Helping. The relationships between these categories constitute a dynamic complex pattern. One conclusion drawn from this model was that the therapists might have problems finding a balance between their aspiration for becoming professionalized and their belief in egalitarian patient-therapist relationships in the rehabilitation treatment sessions.