Creativity, hope and collective emancipatory experimentation: Tools for Social Transformation through Occupational Therapy

This chapter discusses a growing body of theoretical and practical work by occupational therapists interested in developing practices around social transformation. A corresponding interest is also developing around the concept of collective occupations. Our intended audience is students and entry-level professionals in occupational therapy who will most likely find themselves in mainly corporatized health care systems. The chapter introduces Occupational Reconstruction Theory to students and practitioners of occupational therapy. Occupational Reconstruction Theory grows out of interdisciplinary scholarship in occupational science, social anthropology, 20th-century pragmatism, narrative studies, social movement studies, and occupational therapy. The purpose of Occupational Reconstruction Theory is to identify the key underlying principles guiding social transformation practice in occupational therapy. The chapter also discusses why practitioners need some familiarity with philosophical frameworks of thought to justify changes they may wish to make to theory and practice, as well as to adequately evaluate and critique changes proposed or enacted by others. Finally, the chapter discusses the Occupational Reconstruction Theory, which identifies a set of elements that appear to be common among documented instances of transformative social action. It also discusses how an occupational therapist could use Occupational Reconstruction Theory as a practical framework for social transformation practice.