Therapy Methods Associated With the Book Review

Interestingly, Nagel identified these selves based on "because" and "in order to" motivations, which actually translate to two different selves or images: the present self or image of the individual ("because"), and the future self or image -- what the individual aspires/wants to be ("in order to") (243-4). From this typology, it becomes clear that phenomenology uncovered these two selves, which led to the author's understanding that purchase decision-making is influenced by advertising based on how relevant or close the images presented in the ad are to the individual's present and future (aspired) selves.

The social construction of reality based on the qualitative method of phenomenology is just as helpful in the medical field, specifically, occupational therapy. Technically defined, occupational therapy is (WFOT, 2004):

A profession concerned with promoting health and well being through occupation. The primary goal of occupational therapy is to enable people to participate in the activities of everyday life. Occupational therapists achieve this outcome by enabling people to do things that will enhance their ability to participate or by modifying the environment to better support participation.

A scan of cases concerning occupational therapy and the application of phenomenology to these cases provides context in understanding how this qualitative method can help occupational therapists understand their profession more, and be able to provide improved and better services and care to their patients.

One of these cases is Lequerica et. al.'s study in 2009, wherein his team conducted a survey to determine physical and occupational therapists' impressions of their engagement with patients in rehabilitation therapy. In the survey, one of the important findings uncovered was that key to removing barriers to patient engagement is to make "therapy tasks meaningful and explicitly related to personal goals of the patient" (753). This finding echoes the need for occupational and physical therapists to know their patients' personal challenges/experiences in rehabilitation, including other areas in his/her life affected by it. Phenomenology comes in during this process, and it is only through the phenomenological process that therapists can have a greater and deeper understanding of their patients.Ultimately, this understanding will be utilized to provide patients with improved, better therapy services, that is, addressing patients' difficulties that could prevent them from being fully rehabilitated.

While this finding was culled out through the quantitative approach, it presents an opportunity for researchers, and even occupational therapists, to uncover new perspectives or dimensions from which patient engagement can be understood fully, or at least determine areas wherein therapists and rehabilitation can provide greater impact on the improvement of patients' conditions. This flexibility of phenomenology as a qualitative methodology makes it suitable prior or as a follow-up study on occupational therapy-related (or -- themed) issues. That is, phenomenology can be used as a method to generate as many dimensions as possible about a specific occupational therapy issue before a quantitative or full-scale qualitative study will be implemented.

Phenomenology can also be a follow-up of a previously completed study, such as Lequerica et. al.'s. To provide an in-depth understanding of the authors' findings, it is best to know its different dimensions through phenomenology. This will enable the authors/researchers to make their recommendations more specific and useful to occupational and physical therapists and patients undergoing rehabilitations. Experiences of both respondent groups will be generated and analyzed to provide a comprehensive scan of all extant interpretations that will best explain and understand patient engagement in the rehabilitation process, both from patients' and therapists' points-of-view.

References

Carroll, M. And E. Tafoya. (Eds.). (2000). Phenomenological approaches to popular culture. Bowling Green: Bowling Green State University Popular Press.

Lequerica, A., C. Donnell and D. Tate. (2009). "Patient engagement in rehabilitation therapy: physical and occupational therapist impressions." Disability and Rehabilitation, Vol. 31, No. 9.

"Occupational therapy, 2004 definition." World Federation of Occupational Therapists Official Website. Available at: http://www.wfot.com/office_files/final%20definitioncm20042.pdf......