Marjorie E. Scaffa

The Nature of Emerging Practice in Occupational Therapy: A Pilot Study

The profession of occupational therapy is responding to changes in the health care system by expanding the contexts and models for service provision, typically referred to as emerging practice. As a pilot study, a survey was completed by 174 occupational therapists to gather information and opinions about emerging practice. Results indicated occupational therapists hold diverse perceptions about emerging practice settings and services as well as the role and significance of emerging practice within the profession. Occupational therapists engaged in emerging practice described numerous rewards and challenges inherent within the process of developing and delivering services. The findings indicate continued professional dialogue and research are needed to support the development and efficacy of occupational therapy services in emerging settings and roles.

Occupational therapy education and the centennial vision.

“Our practice is education!” Thus did our senior editor advocate throughout her tenure as Chair of the Educational Special Interest Section from 1995 to 1998. Continuing to uphold, value, and strengthen the practice of education, we are pleased to present this fourth volume of Occupational Therapy in Health Care dedicated to the growing scholarship of education in occupational therapy. Our first volume in 2001, subtitled Strategies for the New Millennium, was followed by the second volume in 2004, Best Practices in Occupational Therapy Education, and then the third volume, New Directions in Occupational Therapy Education, in 2007. In this fourth special issue, Occupational Therapy Education and the Centennial Vision, we align each contribution to one or more of the major themes within the 2017 American Occupational Therapy Association’s (AOTA) Centennial Vision for the profession:

Character Strengths and First-Year College Students’ Academic Persistence Attitudes: An Integrative Model:

Higher education scholars produce the majority of research on student persistence. However, counseling psychologists may be uniquely situated to help students persist toward graduation by enhancing strengths. The present study integrated counseling and higher education models to examine college students’ character strengths (i.e., hope and gratitude) as predictors of student persistence variables (i.e., academic integration and institutional commitment). Drawing on higher education theories of persistence, we examined the mediating effects of academic integration on the associations between character strengths and institutional commitment among first-year undergraduate students (N = 653). Controlling for social support, greater academic integration mediated the associations between character strengths and institutional commitment in a structural equation model. Consistent with higher education theories emphasizing academic integration as a precursor to institutional commitment, character strengths may be important for understanding academic integration and persistence. Implications for prevention and the integration of counseling psychology and higher education perspectives are discussed.

Effecting Successful Community Re-Entry: Systems of Care Community Based Mental Health Services

ABSTRACT The need for system reform for child and adolescent mental health services, long recognized as a vital issue, continues to challenge mental health professionals. While past legislation has not adequately addressed the issues, the 2003 Presidents New Freedom Commission may begin to reorient mental health systems toward recovery. Supported by this legislation, the “systems of care” movement promotes interagency mental health delivery systems with a family focus. Occupational therapists, though perhaps often overlooked as treatment teams are developed, can be valuable interdisciplinary team members in systems of care programs. Increased communication and collaboration are needed to achieve a coordinated, collaborative interdisciplinary approach. This is particularly critical to effect successful community reintegration of children and adolescents who are returning from residential treatment.

Reflections on a transitional transformation.

Describes personal reflections on changing professional paths in academe and the losses and gains in the transition.