Recovery and Occupational Justica: The Power Of Doing

We need to do! Humans have a biological need for occupation (meaningful activity) in order to develop competence, identity, and resilience. Research suggests that although occupational engagement is important for quality of life, people with mental illnesses spend less time engaged in meaningful activities. What is the effect of that? A small research study in our PRS program explored the relationships among meaningful activities, recovery, and quality of life. This talk shares that study, and introduces participants to “occupational justice”—the idea that because engaging in meaningful activities is part of being human, occupation is a matter of social justice.