Voluntarism as Occupation

Abstract

An exploratory, single-case design was conducted to explore and describe the personal experience of a voluntarism occupation for one individual with schizophrenia who resides within the community. Non-participant observation and in-depth interviewing were utilized to explore the voluntarism experience of this individual. The findings suggest that voluntarism is both a meaningful and purposeful occupation for this individual. Volunteering is perceived to be a valued and socially acceptable occupation which allows for the individual to contribute to, and be a productive member of society. In addition, John (a pseudonym) perceived that his participation in a voluntarism occupation helped him to construct a socially acceptable identity and to maintain his preferred view of himself, as a competent individual, not as a mental health consumer. These findings suggest that participation in a voluntarism occupation may benefit some consumers of mental health services. While these findings were based upon the experiences of one person, occupational therapists are encouraged to consider voluntarism as therapy and as a means of enabling the occupational performance of their clients. Implications for further research are suggested.