Therapeutic relationships

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I learned that therapeutic relationship is an essential part of being an effective occupational therapist. I already knew the certain characteristics that go into a successful therapeutic relationship such as - empathy and active listening but what I didn't realize was all the other factors that also go into it. The things you say and don't say and how you act are all also important factors. During my observations, internship, and work experience I was able to see a lot of good examples of therapeutic relationships. For example, in my internship the occupational therapist that I worked with did a good balance of not sharing too much of her personal life but just enough to make her clients feel comfortable working with her. To me, a therapeutic relationship is one of the most important things in OT because without one, it's hard to be an effective practitioner.

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