A novel student-led service providing occupational performance coaching (OPC), spearheaded by Professor Mary Egan of the Faculty of Health Sciences, holds promise in helping students reach academic and personal goals, while reducing symptoms of depression, anxiety and stress.
OPC focuses on “helping people do the things they want to do and need to do in the contexts that are of value to them,” says Egan.
The service began during the pandemic, when social distancing protocols greatly reduced field placement opportunities for occupational therapy students. Egan, a researcher and registered occupational therapist who had just been appointed director of the School of Rehabilitation Sciences, got the idea for an in-house placement in which students would gain clinical practice experience offering occupational performance coaching online to fellow uOttawa students. The first clinic was offered in the 2021 winter term, with six student therapists coaching 35 student clients.
Since then, more than 150 clients from all faculties and levels, undergraduate to postdoctoral, have benefited from OPC, which originated in New Zealand in the early 2000s.
Asking the right questions
Occupational performance coaching doesn’t identify and work on “what’s wrong” with the student, says Egan. Instead, therapists work with clients to help them “identify, prioritize and structure their unique goals” by envisioning what things look like when they’re going well. Students form goals related to a wide variety of academic and personal issues, such as getting better sleep, tackling readings and assignments, or making new friends.
“The student therapist helps the client think about what might work for them,” Egan says. “It’s not giving suggestions. It’s just asking the right questions so the client can reflect on what’s going to work best for them.” In short, the approach appeals to the client’s strengths, relying on their experience and knowledge of themselves to find a solution to their situation.
The student therapist helps the student client draw up a plan to reach the client’s self-identified goals, which they test and gradually refine. They meet weekly online over five to eight weeks. Using a tool called the Canadian Occupational Performance Measure, they evaluate changes in the student client’s performance before and after OPC. So far, the results are encouraging.
Notable decline in depression and anxiety
“Student clients make very good progress meeting their goals,” says Egan, “and we found significant improvement in symptoms of depression and anxiety. On average, student clients reported moderate levels of depression and anxiety before receiving OPC, and mild levels of both after the sessions.”
Following the coaching sessions, a graduate student commented that “the thing that’s cool about OPC is that you pick your own strategies, realizing that if a strategy doesn’t work, that doesn’t mean there’s something wrong with you. You just need to adjust the strategy.”
For their part, student therapists gain valuable experience in managing a caseload of clients, working independently under the supervision of a registered occupational therapist. They develop useful interview and relationship-building skills, and expertise in listening and helping clients reflect, without imposing their own ideas or values, says Egan.
A valuable addition to mental health services
Egan was recently awarded a three-year grant from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council to further study theoretical and practical aspects of providing OPC to postsecondary students. The research team includes professors Katherine Moreau (Faculty of Education) and Kathryn Prince (Faculty of Arts), as well as Andrée-Anne Maranda from the Student Health and Wellness Centre.
From a research perspective, Egan says she would ultimately like to conduct a randomized controlled trial to demonstrate empirically how occupational performance coaching helps students meet their goals, engage in meaningful activities and improve mental health. On the clinical front, she hopes the Student Health and Wellness Centre team will eventually include at least one occupational therapist to ensure service provision throughout the academic year. In short, Egan sees OPC as a valuable addition to other student mental health services offered on campus, one that draws on empowerment to forge a path to well-being.
Learn more about OPC services by uOttawa occupational therapy students.