Developing an Occupation-Centred Framework for Trauma Intervention

Abstract

Experiencing work-related trauma can negatively impact coping abilities and daily life participation. Occupational therapists (OTs) often provide health services to workers who have experienced trauma, including military members, veterans, and public safety personnel. The Occupational Therapy Trauma Intervention Framework (OTTIF) is a novel clinical reasoning framework that matches a client’s level of readiness to engage with a spectrum of evidence-based OT approaches. Using surveys at two time points, evaluation of therapist experiences of using the OTTIF elicited positive feedback that suggests the OTTIF provides a useful occupation-centred framework for evidence-informed occupational therapy practice with clients who have experienced trauma.

Keywords:

• Occupational therapy
• trauma
• posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
• operational stress injury (OSI)
• post-traumatic stress (PTS)
• evidence-based practice
• clinical reasoning
• return to work

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).