Caitlyns cruisin' through OT school!

My time working as a therapy tech at HealthSouth I was able to get a grasp on the importance of therapeutic relationships between the client and therapist, and talking about therapeutic use of self really brought the topic full circle for me. During my time working as a tech I was able to witness great examples of positive therapeutic relationships. I would see therapist with strong empathy and great active listening. Other times I would see therapists using humor as a way to help encourage patients to participate and even distract them from their pain and discomfort. Unfortunately I also witnessed bad examples as well. I was often the person clients would complain to about certain therapists, and their concerns were usually the same. It always came down to the fact that they did not feel heard, and that their therapy sessions did not seem like a two way street where they could have input and make decisions . From the experiences I have gained, and discussing the importance in class I

Dr. Keisling's presentation on the history of disability was very eye opening on how those with intellectual disabilities have been treated over the years. When you think about the unfair treatment of some individuals and the lack of civil rights being represented, you don't usually assume that this was happening in our own backyards. What is necessary to understand is that it is important to learn about the harsh history of disability and how it has changed over the years. You must discuss the history to be able to move forward as a competent practitioner and also an ethical human being. Dr. Keisling was able to connect the dots from the era presentations and how this applied in the real world. He discussed the importance of legislation and put the time frame into perspective. I appreciated the discussion on President Kennedy and his activism. Although the era presentations taught me that the Kennedy era was crucial for activism within the intellectually disabled community,