title: The helping encounter--occupational therapists' perception of therapeutic relationships.
abstract: The present paper deals with the art of occupational therapy in terms of therapeutic, helping relationships. The aim was to get a picture of how occupational therapists perceive the therapeutic encounter with their patients. Sixteen qualified occupational therapists, from various occupational areas, were interviewed and a qualitative approach was employed to analyze their description of therapeutic encounters in clinical settings. The qualitative analyses were performed with sensitization as the principle objective and a tentative theoretical model was formed, developed by three content categories; 1) Basic Professional-Oriented Helping; 2) Understanding-Oriented Helping; and 3) Action-Oriented Helping. The relationships between these categories constitute a dynamic complex pattern. One conclusion drawn from this model was that the therapists might have problems finding a balance between their aspiration for becoming professionalized and their belief in egalitarian patient-therapist relationships in the rehabilitation treatment sessions.
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Norrby
authors.forename: A L
authors.initials: AL
authors.lastname: Bellner
mesh_terms: D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D006379:Helping Behavior; D006801:Humans; D008962:Models, Theoretical; D015404:Nursing Methodology Research; D009788:Occupational Therapy; D011369:Professional-Patient Relations