Service user involvement in occupational therapy education: an evolving involvement
The Journal of Mental Health Training, Education and Practice
ISSN: 1755-6228
Article publication date: 29 March 2013
Abstract
Purpose
Service user involvement in higher education is now an expectation, with university learning and teaching strategies ensuring it is a priority. Service users have highlighted the importance of collaborative working and the sharing of their experience. The purpose of this paper is to illustrate an example of how lived experience of mental illness can be used to increase students' awareness of the impact of this and to offer indicators of how they can respond more effectively by following the professional philosophy of client‐centred practice. By involving a service user on an occupational therapy programme, it was expected that students would benefit from the narrative of a service user's experience of mental illness.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper illustrates the experience of collaborative working between a service user and university lecturer, which progressed beyond the telling of the narrative to include more active involvement and the opportunity to influence students' thinking.
Findings
The reported benefits for the service user included feeling valued and a sense of empowerment.
Originality/value
The paper concludes that collaborative working can increase involvement, which promotes recovery for service users and allows learning to be more directly influenced by what service users want from health care professionals.
Keywords
Citation
Cleminson, S. and Moesby, A. (2013), "Service user involvement in occupational therapy education: an evolving involvement", The Journal of Mental Health Training, Education and Practice, Vol. 8 No. 1, pp. 5-14. https://doi.org/10.1108/17556221311307989
Publisher
:Emerald Group Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2013, Emerald Group Publishing Limited