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Looking Back: U of T’s Influence on Occupational Therapy in Canada

Looking Back: U of T’s Influence on Occupational Therapy in Canada. Judith Friedland, PhD Professor Emerita 2012. After 85 years, OT at U of T has. Had a very broad and deep influence on the development of OT in Canada Produced the largest number of grads

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Looking Back: U of T’s Influence on Occupational Therapy in Canada

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  1. Looking Back:U of T’s Influence on Occupational Therapy in Canada Judith Friedland, PhD Professor Emerita 2012

  2. After 85 years, OT at U of T has • Had a very broad and deep influence on the development of OT in Canada • Produced the largest number of grads • Nurtured many “stars” in practice and research • Made strong voluntary contributions – to our professional organizations and to society • Continued to hold its values close while pushing the boundaries in its work Department of Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy

  3. Doing Good from the Start • No social safety net in the early 1900s • Religious, artistic, and philanthropic groups helped those less fortunate • Diverse efforts (voluntary and paid) were made by early “OTs” who used occupations to • improve the health and well-being of marginalized groups (e.g., the poor, native groups, immigrants, and those with mental illness) • build healthy communities Department of Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy

  4. U of T in the early 1900s • Had few professional schools other than medicine, law, and engineering • Had few female students • With the appointment in 1907 of Sir Robert Falconer as the 5th President of U of T, the “helping professions” – and women – began to find a place in academia Department of Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy

  5. Sir Robert Falconer ( 1867-1943) • Believed in the Social Gospel, and doing good here on earth • Thought universities should help solve social problems at a practical as well as an academic level • Expected knowledge and a desire for service from students in the professions Department of Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy

  6. The area around the U of T campus • was home to successive waves of immigration • attracted those who were moving to the city from rural areas to find work • included many slums with many unemployed people • bred illness and disease as a result of overcrowding and unsanitary conditions Department of Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy

  7. Slum area near U of T campus, c. 1913

  8. Settlement Houses • in the UK, US, and Canada offered a solution to social problems • located in poverty-stricken areas, these community centres offered a chance for residents to socialize and learn new skills • much of the work was expected to be done voluntarily by university students Department of Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy

  9. The University Settlement House • was founded in 1910 in Toronto • attracted community workers (who would later be social workers and OTs) • taught Activities of Daily Living along with the English language, music, and various crafts • immigrant craft skills were celebrated Department of Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy

  10. University Settlement House Founders, 1910, Sir Robert Falconer, front right.

  11. Sewing Class, University Settlement House, c. 1920

  12. Settlement Houses and Occupational Therapy • Direct link between Octavia Hill’s work in social housing in poor areas of London in late 1800s and • Dorset House, the first school of OT in the UK, established in 1930 by Dr Elizabeth Casson, who had been one of Hill’s volunteers Octavia Hill, 1838-1912 Department of Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy

  13. Before WWI, would-be OTs were • were working in psychiatric hospitals like the Toronto Asylum on Queen Street • providing occupations for patients who were unable to do work on the hospital grounds • wanted by medical superintendents who found that if patients were occupied their behaviour was more manageable Department of Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy

  14. Toronto Asylum, “Queen Street, ” 1868

  15. World War I • Was a turning point for occupational therapists • Injured soldiers who were unable to return to the front were sent back to Canada for treatment • Canada is ill-prepared for the huge numbers of injured soldiers it receives • Great concern for the economic burden these men would be for their families and for society • A plan to re-establishthe men is developed by the federal government Department of Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy

  16. The Canadian Plan • helped soldiers deal with the long convalescence that lay ahead • prepared soldiers to return to former jobs or train for new ones • involved “ward aides” (later to be known as OTs) working with the injured soldiers

  17. (Volunteer) Ward Aides • Provided “occupations” in military hospitals and convalescent homes to • raise morale • build self-esteem • teach skills • Occupations (mainly in the form of crafts) were used to restore the soldiers’ spirit Department of Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy

  18. Special looms for occupations at bedside

  19. Occupations on the ward

  20. Occupations in the workshop

  21. More (and better) ward aides needed • Brief training courses provided at U of T in 1918/1919 to improve ward aides’ skills and expand their numbers • Prof. H.E.T. Haultain, Faculty of Applied Science and Engineering, oversaw the course • Department of Soldiers’ Civil Re-establishment (SCR) employed the OTs • Graduates wore green uniforms with “SCR” on pocket. They soon became known as “the Girls in Green”. Department of Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy

  22. Ward Aides Class The Mining Building, U of T, 1918

  23. “The Girls in Green” Graduate Ward Aides with Professor Haultain Department of Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy

  24. Insignia worn on uniform The clenched fist holding hammer and resting on a bar signifies the nobility of work. The rising sun suggests that work can light up the mind, body, and spirit as represented in the triangular shape of the insignia.

  25. U of OT Course often in the news Mar 26, 1919 February 1, 1919 May 16, 1919

  26. U of T Ward Aides Course Was very popular and drew women from across Canada. Jean Blanchard came from Nova Scotia for the course at U of T in September 1918. Arriving at the time of Spanish flu epidemic, she helped care for those who were ill until her classes, which had all been cancelled, resumed.

  27. After the war • OTs continued to work in veterans’ facilities and psychiatric hospitals • Gradually the work expanded and by the early 1920s, OTs were • working in some general hospitals, • running curative workshops (for those who could not be competitively employed) • making home visits • OTs were well-known to the public Department of Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy

  28. The Globe, April 18, 1921

  29. Ontario Society for Occupational Therapy (OSOT) and U of T • In the 1920s - OTs across the province worry about their future as work with veterans decreases • OSOT established; advocates for expanded OT roles with civilians, and for health promotion • Raises funds to demonstrate new roles • Uses its powerful Advisory Board, that included the Lt. Gov. of Ontario, Pres. Falconer, and the Dean of Medicine, to help lobby for and establish a diploma program for Occupational Therapy at U of T Department of Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy

  30. OT – A new (women’s) profession at U of T • Domestic Science - 1907 • Social Work 1914 • Public Health Nursing 1920 • Occupational Therapy 1926 • Library Science 1928 • Physical Therapy 1929 Department of Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy

  31. OT at U of T • Only school in Canada from 1926 to 1950 • U of T graduates help expand the work across the country • When new educational programs start, they draw on U of T grads for their faculty • OT is involved in campus life at U of T, participating in sports and other activities including volunteering at University Settlement House Department of Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy

  32. OT Float in Parade outside Convocation Hall, 1927

  33. First Diploma Class, 1928 Helen LeVesconte, bottom right

  34. Helen Primrose LeVesconte • Works in psychiatric hospitals after graduation • Directs OT program from 1933-1967 • Active in OSOT, CAOT, and WFOT and liaises with American OTs • Develops educational program that is accredited by the American Medical Association in 1935 as one of just 5 such recognized programs in all of North America • Seen as a leader in the profession Department of Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy

  35. LeVesconte believed in broad scope for OT practice • said she was “…not in accord with those who believe that we can set boundaries to the field of occupational therapy, or who maintain that vocational training is not occupational therapy – for many it is the best therapy, because it means continued satisfactory adjustment to community life.” Department of Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy

  36. OT at U of T changes with (and often ahead of) the times • 1918-1919: 6-month ward aides courses • 1926: 2-yr diploma • 1946: 3-yr diploma • 1950: 3-yr diploma combined with PT (P&OT) • Joins the Faculty of Medicine as part of the Department of Rehabilitation Medicine • 1971: BScOT degree • 1974: Degree Completion course • 1994: Departmental status for OT Department of Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy

  37. Academic Growth • 1995: MSc (in GDRS) • 2000: MScOT • 2004: PhD (in GDRS) • Full Accreditation by CAOT each year, the most recent being 2010-2017 • OS&OT faculty leads the country in research output • Approximately 400 Status/Adjunct faculty members drawn from 29 formally affiliated facilities and over 50 other clinical partners. Department of Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy

  38. Today, OS&OT at U of T • Draws top-applicants from across Canada • Provides a curriculum that addresses the key determinants of health and grows our sense of social responsibility • Advocates expansion of the medical model for the health and well-being of all • Offers the widest variety of fieldwork placements in the country Department of Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy

  39. This powerpoint • Has been adapted from a presentation to the Annual Faculty Assembly of the department of OS&OT given on November 23, 2011. • Is based primarily on material from the book Restoring the Spirit: the Beginnings of Occupational Therapy in Canada, 1890-1930, by Judith Friedland, which was published by McGill-Queen’s University Press in 2011. Department of Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy

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