Lifestyle Redesign®: From Theory to Reality

February 1, 2020
by Japeth

Classes

One of the many reasons why I came to USC is because of the Lifestyle Redesign® course elective. As an occupational therapy practitioner in my home country, I felt as though my role in targeting health and wellness promotion is still quite unclear. I knew that OTs have a huge role in such area, but to me, I just did not know where, when, and how I can advocate for myself in this field.

I learned about Lifestyle Redesign® — an approach in occupational therapy that allows clients to achieve health, behavior, or lifestyle changes — through a friend who also took this course years ago. Finally, this semester, I am taking this elective course and all I can say is it is just amazing! Dr. Dieterle teaches with so much passion and she makes sure that the class is interactive. The class flows this way:

1. On the first day of this class, we started with a little introduction about ourselves and our reason for taking this course; during the second session and onwards, we start the class with a recap of last week’s session.
2. Dr. Camille Dieterle will discuss the topic for the day. It could be about how to use different assessment tools or how to utilize specific strategies and intervention.
3. We also get to practice this approach with our classmates. We are grouped into a triad and let’s name the students as A, B, and C. So, student A will be the therapist of student B; student B will be the therapist of student C; and student C will be the therapist of student A.

My therapist and I are now on our third week of session. During the first session, she interviewed me to create an occupational profile that was very holistic. During that session, I informed her about my adjustment with the new semester. I find this semester quite overwhelming, but still very manageable. We are working on a goal about rest and sleep, which includes creating a night routine.

I appreciate how my therapist gives so much attention to me and to my goal. She makes sure that every session that we have is interactive and client-led. She gives me worksheets about rest, sleep, and even drafting a routine. Last session, she gave a sleep checklist that I can fill up at night before I sleep and the morning after — this is to keep me in check!

Here’s to achieving a healthier mind and body this 2020!! Fight on!

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