“Still there is beauty”: one man's resilient adaptation to stroke

Abstract

The study was designed to generate understanding of the phenomenon of resiliency following stroke, its role in supporting continuity of identity and ways in which occupational therapists might foster resiliency. The authors used a qualitative case study design to collect data during two face-to-face interviews. These were transcribed verbatim and analyzed using thematic analysis, narrative analysis, narrative smoothing, and content analysis using resiliency theory. The participant's narrative revealed resilient characteristics throughout his adaptive process including drawing upon positive social support, accessing spirituality, having an internal locus of control, building on past successes and a commitment to succeed, and having an action-oriented approach and positive personal goals for the future. Occupational therapists frequently interact with people following disability and have the opportunity to promote adaptation by identifying and fostering clients' resilient characteristics through narrative reconfiguration and other intervention approaches. Further research is needed to study facilitation of resiliency as a part of intervention to promote occupational engagement.

Key words::

• adjustment to disability; narratives; occupational therapy

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to acknowledge Jeanette Koski, MS OTR/L, and Teilhard Chardin Pasteur (pseudonym). This paper was original presented at the University of Utah's Division of Occupational Therapy 7^th Annual Research Symposium on 3 November 2007.

Declaration of interest: The authors report no conflicts of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of the paper.

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