Don Gordon PhD, OTR/L
Associate Professor of Clinical Occupational Therapy
Keck Hospital
(323) 442-8824
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Don Gordon completed his undergraduate education at the University of California, Santa Cruz, where he studied animal behavior and earned bachelor’s degrees in biology and English literature. He received his master’s degree in occupational therapy from USC in 1994 and his PhD in occupational science at USC in 2002. His doctoral work involved a close analysis of the scientific foundations of occupational therapy practice.
Dr. Gordon currently works in acute care, specializing in neurobehavioral diagnoses, including the treatment of individuals with epileptic and non-epileptic seizures. He has been practicing in both psychiatry and physical disabilities throughout most of his career, and has instructed a wide array of classes in the USC Chan Division of Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy. He has also been a life advisor at the California Wellbeing Institute, complementing his ongoing professional interests in the neuroscience of human behavior, positive psychology, and prevention and wellness.
Education
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
in Occupational Science
2002 | University of Southern California
Master of Arts (MA)
in Occupational Therapy
1994 | University of Southern California
Bachelor of Arts (BA)
in English Literature
1989 | University California, Santa Cruz
Bachelor of Arts (BA)
in Biology
1984 | University California, Santa Cruz
Selected Publications
Gordon, D. M. (2009). The history of occupational therapy. In E. B. Crepeau, B. Schell, & E. Cohn (Eds.), Willard and Spackman’s occupational therapy (11th ed., pp. 202-215). Philadelphia, PA: Lippincott, Williams, and Wilkins.
Clark, F. A., Gordon, D. M., Mandel, D., McDannel, R., McDonald, A., Meltzer, P., Scroggins, B., Spitzer, S. L., & Young, B. (1996). Occupational science. In P. A. H. Crist & C. B. Royeen (Eds.), Infusing occupation into practice: Comparison of three clinical approaches in occupational therapy [Workshop proceedings of the AOTA Education Special Interest Section, Chicago, IL] (pp. 13-17, 30-34, 40-43, 51-52, 57-59, 101-11). Bethesda, MD: American Occupational Therapy Association.
Awards
Occupational Therapy Practice Award | 2025
Occupational Therapy Association of California
In Chan News
October 22, 2013
85 Trojan alumni and faculty will be presenting at the 2013 Conference of the Occupational Therapy Association of California, Oct. 24-27 at the Sacramento (Calif.) Convention Center. On the evening of Friday Oct. 25, be sure to join your USC Trojan Family at the conference's alumni cocktail mixer.…
October 1, 2012
46 USC faculty, alumni, and students are scheduled to present lectures and/or posters during the Occupational Therapy Association of California 2012 Conference, October 4-7 in Pasadena. Click below to view the full list of USC presenters, to plan your conference accordingly, and remember to reunite…
October 11, 2011
The Occupational Therapy Association of California's 35th annual Conference begins this Thursday! Click below for the full list of Trojan alumni, faculty, staff and students who will be there presenting, and remember that the USC Alumni and Student Reception is the evening of Friday, October 14. See…
