UNHEARD VOICES: EXPLORING PARTICIPATORY ACTION RESEARCH AND PROFESSIONAL IDENTITY IN EMERGING OCCUPATIONAL THERAPY PRACTICE WITH MEN TRANSITIONING TO THE COMMUNITY POST-INCARCERATION

Abstract

There is a call for occupational therapists to extend their practice from correctional institutions to community settings with people who have been incarcerated; an emerging area of occupational therapy (OT) practice. However, with no published studies from the perspective of therapists in emerging settings, understanding the nature of emerging OT practice with people who have been incarcerated becomes problematic. Limited information about community integration makes it difficult to fill practice gaps and adhere to principles of evidence-based practice (EBP). Simultaneously, men with a criminal record experience stigma and exclusion from participation in everyday life extending well-beyond the completion of their sentence. Often denied a voice by people who control the media, correctional policies or political discussion about crime in the community, overcoming stereotypes of deviant, violent or aggressive criminals is difficult. The results of a participatory action research (PAR) project completed by men with a criminal record and a critical, first-person account about emerging OT practice from the perspective of a registered occupational therapist are presented. Through Photovoice, co-researchers collected and analyzed photographs during group sessions that were audio recorded, transcribed, analyzed and summarized by the primary author. Summaries contributed to critical dialogue with the co-researchers throughout the collection, analysis and, writing stages. ‘The cards you are dealt’ emerged as a metaphor depicting everyday life as a strategic game played with cards specific to a person’s social location. Co-researchers shared their individual and collective narratives through various knowledge dissemination methods. Documenting narratives from the perspective of men with a criminal record counteracts status quo understandings of community re-entry, creating space for marginalized populations to share stories that might otherwise be lost. Autoethnography, a post-modern, interpretive approach to research explores the meaning of emerging OT practice with criminalized men. Data were collected through reflective journaling and clinical process notes that upon review, guided systematic reflections required to write and re-write an analytical narrative of key experiences. Role-emerging placements were found to influence the chosen emerging setting. Preliminary insights about the role of evidence-based practice and advocacy work in supporting emerging OT practice is presented. Where occupation-focused research and regulatory body support remains limited, autoethnography contributes to professional development and the identification of knowledge gaps. Together, this thesis contributes to knowledge about: (1) emerging OT practice with men transitioning to the community post-incarceration; (2) daily life/community integration from the perspective of criminalized men in the community; (3) tensions in emerging OT practice; and (4) insights about the nature of anti-oppressive OT practice.