Hi Biraj Thanks for your thoughtful response To describe the fact that OTs can > work in mental health as being the most significant difference between the > professions of OT and PT is, with due respect, at best a somewhat > superficial distinction.
I'm not sure that I wrote that it was the most significant difference and I certainly don't believe that. What I was thinking about when I wrote that was that PTs are primarily concerned with physical function and dysfunction - I know PTs work in mental health (I worked with a fantastic PT) and thoroughly support that but it's still a physical focus and rarer. So my concern was really that on a joint course it might draw the focus towards looking at people in physical terms rather than the holistic view which makes it possible for us to generalise what we do to anyone with occupational function needs and therefore allows us to work with people with mental health diagnoses as well. It's hard enough now with students on an OT specific course who think that mental health and physical OT are very different professions. The reality in clinical practice is that there often seems to be a big divide between physical and mental health practice and students see that. Our core beliefs, our knowledge base, > our focus, the methodologies we use, our philosophical perspective deriving > from the concept of occupation and oh there is so much more....it is these > aspects of our profession that essentially and truly distinguish OT from > PT. I agree entirely and that's exactly what I would be trying to protect - having said that I am speaking from a point of view of no knowledge - for all I know having a joint course makes it easier to mark out the differences between OT and PT. I'm only hypothesing here. Rayya Ghul ---------------------- [EMAIL PROTECTED] *********��*********** Unsubscribe? Send a message to [EMAIL PROTECTED] In the message's *body*, put the following text: unsubscribe OTlist ** List messages are archived at: http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected] *********��***********
