Journal
SCANDINAVIAN JOURNAL OF OCCUPATIONAL THERAPY
Volume 18, Issue 2, Pages 109-121Publisher
TAYLOR & FRANCIS LTD
DOI: 10.3109/11038121003649789
Keywords
Cultural diversity; culturally congruent occupational therapy; Middle Eastern immigrants; multicultural therapeutic relationship
Categories
Funding
- Skane County Council
- Malmo University
- Lindhaga Foundation
- Vardal Institute
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Sweden's cultural diversity generates considerable challenges for occupational therapists. The aim of this study was to explore experiences and perceptions of occupational therapists working with immigrant psychiatric clients from the Middle East region. The study included interviews with eight occupational therapists employed in mental health care and working in a variety of settings. The data collection and analysis were carried out in accordance with the grounded theory approach. One core category, the challenges of the multicultural therapeutic journey--a journey on a winding road was identified. The core category included three categories: dilemmas in clinical practice, feelings and thoughts, and building cultural bridges, in turn comprising sub-categories and components. The results showed that the many dilemmas influencing effective multicultural occupational therapy were cultural, societal, and professional in nature. The dilemmas influenced feelings and thoughts, in turn influencing both motivation for seeking cultural knowledge and choice of adequate strategies in which the multicultural therapeutic relationship could develop. The results imply that culturally congruent occupational therapy practice needs to be further developed and more research is needed on how cultural issues can be met in occupational therapy practice.
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