Elizabeth Casson Memorial Lecture 2024: The time is now, building a social movement to demonstrate the value of occupation

TL;DR

The paper discusses how occupational therapists can use social movements and leadership to promote the value of occupation in people's lives.

Contribution

The paper proposes leveraging social movements and social leadership to enhance the recognition of occupational therapy.

Findings

Occupational therapy's value is not always recognized, but there are successful examples to build upon.

Social movements and leadership can help occupational therapists share their stories and promote occupation's importance.

Elizabeth Casson's legacy and lectures inspire collective action in the profession.

Abstract

There is a pervading feeling of dissonance within the occupational therapy profession: a sense that occupational therapy, and the work of occupational therapists, is not always recognised. Alongside this, there are examples of occupational therapists whose work is recognised at the highest levels and who are realising Elizabeth Casson’s legacy. The social age, which we now live in, provides the means to capitalise on examples such as these, to change this narrative, through social movements and social leadership. By committing to a social movement, a form of collective action that enables occupational therapists to tell their own stories through their own networks, and exercising social leadership, which is not dependent on hierarchy or position, occupational therapists can promote the centrality of occupation in the lives of people. Collective action is contingent on individuals making a commitment to act, even if this requires overcoming any barriers they may experience. Elizabeth Casson’s contribution to the profession and the collective wisdom of the Elizabeth Casson lectures provide inspiration for anyone unsure of where to begin.

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