To travel is to live!
- Hans Christian
It's back to university and the start of the Psychosocial module but before the seriousness of life begins again I would like to share with you a little about myself and my adventurous vacation! I was extremely fortunate to go on a tour through Europe with a vibrant bunch of people from all corners of the world who were just as keen as me to explore and get to know the world a little better! I loooove exploring, observing and analysing life and everything in it, so this trip was an absolute dream come true! We got to see the most amazing tourist attractions in London, France, Spain, Switzerland, Monaco and Italy! What however interested me more than anything else were the cultures and traditions which so uniquely defined every country! This, I will try to express through the eyes of an OT.
I thought that I would leave everything that had to do with OT behind in South Africa (just for these 18 days) but how is that possible if what you are studying has become a huge part of how you act, think and respond to everything in life!?!
The PEO model
You see here we go already!...The PEO model must be one of the most pleasant frameworks that we have looked at recently! I will introduce it by describing some of the things that stood out for me during my trip through Europe. (Please note it is not scientifically correct - just me trying to be a little creative!)
The person
The person is defined by "an integrated whole who incorporates spirituality, social and cultural experiences". (CAOT,1997) The spiritual aspect of the Europeans was evident in most of the countries as they possessed some of the most magnificent churches, basilicas and cathedrals! Many decorated with paintings and sculptures done by famous artists. I know I know, just because they have so many places of worship does not automatically mean that everyone is religious there. It was just fascinating to see, to what extremes some of the older generations went in order to honour their spirituality! Then there is the culture which we all know plays an important role in many peoples lives. In Spain we got to witness their cultural music and dance which gave away the intricately woven history of the people in the country....every country had its own cultural trade mark. Many had festivals like the annual Mask Festival in Venice which emphasises the rich history of the city. It is remarkable how so many different factors can shape a person into a unique being. Just shows how beautifully complicated we are all made. Makes our jobs as OTs highly interesting!
The environment
The tour opened my eyes to so many different types of institutional, physical and social environments that I am completely overwhelmed! What really stood out to me however was the community life in France. We arrived in Paris during the late afternoon and drove along the Seine River. Many people were sitting along the banks of the river catching up with their friends and family over a glass of wine. I found this a really special way of ending a working day! What also stuck out to me was how clean the streets were in most of the countries. Some countries also showed a great deal of patriotism like in London. The English flag could be seen flying in every street or on every building.
The occupation
We came across many different types of occupations in Europe. The most exciting one for me was the sky diver who took some of our tour members for a dive from the helicopter in Lauterbrunnen, Switzerland. He was a world renowned sky diver! A huge responsibility lay on his shoulders every time he took the leap together with a person strapped to his chest which he mastered with great cognitive and physical capacity!
I am looking forward to using this model as a framework for the psychosocial module as it describes the dynamic relationship between these three elements with which we will be able to analyse our clients occupational performance!
A new module, a whole new world to discover
As you may have gathered from the PEO model that I was referring to earlier on, we will be entering the world of Psychosocial therapy this semester. The topic of mental health is an unfairly stereotyped topic by many! As an OT student I would like to help minimize these preconceived thoughts and ideas about the mentally ill! Occupational therapists play an important role in this domain as they possess the tools to help clients recover from mental illnesses or substance abuse by focusing on what is important to the person. When planning for a clients recovery it is vital to include the clients goals and dreams, not forgetting his or her personal skills, gifts and strengths that can be put to use. The therapist should accompany the clients recovery process with embracing occupations within their lived environment. I have a feeling that this module will bring with it major challenges and stress (duh) that we will hopefully embrace with a positive attitude so that the experiences will turn us into strong therapists!
To me the best way of preparing for a module like this, is to read up on the conditions that we will encounter as well as to familiarize ourselves with the frameworks that we will be using to base our findings on. Then it is also important to read about peoples personal experiences so that we can get a little glimpse into the world of the mentally ill.
This semester will be a tough journey with heaps of self discovery experiences that I am looking forward to....and as Henry Miller once said:
" One's destination is never a place but a new way of seeing things "
