Home ⟩The People of USC Chan ⟩Meet Our Trojan Family ⟩Entry-Level Doctorate (OTD)

Catie Lingelbach MA ’19

What brought you to occupational therapy?
After interning at an early intervention clinic for children with various types of delays while I was an undergraduate student, I realized that this profession felt like home.

What area of practice am I interested in?
I am currently most interested in working in inpatient acute or inpatient rehab settings with adults with neurological conditions. After doing my first level 2 fieldwork at an inpatient rehab facility with people who had acquired spinal cord injuries, I felt driven to work with and learn from this population.

Describe your background before coming to occupational therapy.
Before I decided to pursue a career in occupational therapy, I was studying psychology in undergraduate schooling. I was convinced that I wanted to pursue a career in forensic psychology. But, once I did a forensic science internship after graduation from my undergraduate college, I realized it was not the field for me. I quickly left that internship and got a job working at a traumatic brain injury day program as an one-on-one aide back in my hometown of Washington, D.C. A lot of what I was doing was related to occupational therapy and I was hooked. I applied to graduate programs in occupational therapy and thankfully got into USC!

If your childhood had a smell, what would it be?
I would definitely say it would be the smell of sidewalks after a summer thunderstorm. D.C. has hot summers with regular thunderstorms that leave the outdoors smelling like the hot cement after a heavy rain.

What are small things that make your day better?
I love candles and essential oil diffusers, basically calming smells. Also, if I’m feeling stressed, I know a good blasting of a song in the car can cheer me up.

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USC Chan Division of Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy
1540 Alcazar Street, CHP 133, Los Angeles, CA 90089-9003

ACOTE accreditation | NBCOT certification

The USC entry-level master’s degree program (cost of attendance) is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Occupational Therapy Education® (ACOTE®) of the American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA). The USC entry-level doctorate in occupational therapy (OTD) degree program (cost of attendance) is accredited by ACOTE®. View our program’s ACOTE® standards public data. ACOTE® c/o the American Occupational Therapy Association, Inc.®, 7501 Wisconsin Avenue, Suite 510E, Bethesda, MD 20814, (301) 652-AOTA, www.acoteonline.org.

Professional program graduates are eligible to apply for the national certification examination administered by the National Board for Certification in Occupational Therapy, Inc.® (NBCOT®), nbcot.org. All states require licensure to practice; a felony conviction may affect a graduate’s ability to sit for the NBCOT® OTR certification examination or attain state licensure. Program results from the NBCOT® can be found online at www.nbcot.org/Educators-Folder/SchoolPerformance.