By Jill Pease
A Doctor of Occupational Therapy course led by Becky Piazza, O.T.D., OTR/L, a clinical assistant professor of occupational therapy in the University of Florida College of Public Health and Health Professions, uses a creative approach to explore policy change while simultaneously giving students the opportunity to gain from all the health benefits that participating in art can provide.
Piazza recently revised the curriculum of her Advocacy and Interprofessional Skills course to teach policy and advocacy in health care and occupational therapy through arts participation.
“I’m using an arts perspective to showcase how various art mediums, such as music, fashion, paintings, sculptures, literary work and more, have been utilized throughout history to communicate social and political activism and advocacy for policy change,” Piazza said.
Students completed a module in which they created “zines” for a policy analysis and advocacy plan project. They identified a critical issue, researched underlying policy and communicated a direct action advocacy plan. Guest artist Rebecca Welch, a graduate of the School of the Museum of Fine Arts at Tufts University, a Gainesville-based interdisciplinary artist and a preschool art teacher, guided students through the creative process.
“I was pleasantly surprised by the general excitement, after maybe a bit of nervous anticipation, around getting to create something,” Welch said. “Students dove right into paging through magazines, scribbling their thoughts and project points out on zine drafts and creatively working through some of their tougher questions regarding iconography, use of image worldwide versus within a controlled space and how to put themselves, little by little, into this really interesting avenue!”
The experience also reinforced the roots of the occupational therapy profession, Piazza said.
“As occupational therapists, we understand the significance of participation and doing, and that our profession was birthed in the arts and crafts movement of utilizing art participation, such as wood working, leather making, ceramics, painting and gardening, to rehabilitate the mind, body and spirit of soldiers wounded in WWI,” Piazza said.
For student Gianna Martello, the zine-making experience offered lessons in understanding how people interpret art differently and how art can provide a communication bridge for occupational therapists working with clients who may not be able to express themselves verbally.
“Dr. Piazza is a wonderful role model who inspires all of her students to be creative in our work,” Martello said. “Her teaching us how to communicate with and treat clients through different art mediums is the perfect example of how she instills passion in our OT journey every day!”
Photos by Nathaniel Guidry.
“Art provides occupational therapy practitioners with additional options to facilitate client-centered interventions that promote occupational participation at the individual, group and communal levels,” said Cameron Hall (back row, second from right). “This is important, as art adds to the holistic, well-rounded lens that occupational therapists see their clients and the world around them through. It is what makes our profession unique from other rehabilitative services.”
“Art provides occupational therapy practitioners with additional options to facilitate client-centered interventions that promote occupational participation at the individual, group and communal levels,” said Cameron Hall (back row, second from right). “This is important, as art adds to the holistic, well-rounded lens that occupational therapists see their clients and the world around them through. It is what makes our profession unique from other rehabilitative services.”
“Art provides occupational therapy practitioners with additional options to facilitate client-centered interventions that promote occupational participation at the individual, group and communal levels,” said Cameron Hall (back row, second from right). “This is important, as art adds to the holistic, well-rounded lens that occupational therapists see their clients and the world around them through. It is what makes our profession unique from other rehabilitative services.”
“Art provides occupational therapy practitioners with additional options to facilitate client-centered interventions that promote occupational participation at the individual, group and communal levels,” said Cameron Hall (back row, second from right). “This is important, as art adds to the holistic, well-rounded lens that occupational therapists see their clients and the world around them through. It is what makes our profession unique from other rehabilitative services.”
“Art provides occupational therapy practitioners with additional options to facilitate client-centered interventions that promote occupational participation at the individual, group and communal levels,” said Cameron Hall (back row, second from right). “This is important, as art adds to the holistic, well-rounded lens that occupational therapists see their clients and the world around them through. It is what makes our profession unique from other rehabilitative services.”
“Art provides occupational therapy practitioners with additional options to facilitate client-centered interventions that promote occupational participation at the individual, group and communal levels,” said Cameron Hall (back row, second from right). “This is important, as art adds to the holistic, well-rounded lens that occupational therapists see their clients and the world around them through. It is what makes our profession unique from other rehabilitative services.”
