Model of Human Occupation
Georgina Wrack, Zarli Treskow and Joel Byrnes
Introduction
Model Application
Brief description of model.... The Model of Human Occupation was
first published in 1980 by Gary Kielhofner.....
Volition:) At present Martina sees herself as a bad mother, as she is
unable to provide ben with the support and patience he requires
due to her depression. This has made Martina loose her self-worth
and feel unable to cope with her sons condition and everyday
living. Normally Martina prides herself on being a good mother
whom is able to juggle her work schedule, her sons needs and look
after her own health. Martina usually values a good self image and
enjoys forfilling the role of being a mother and provider. Martina’s
interests include painting and drawing, and attending Zumba
sessions at her local gym. However Since the return of her
depression, Martina has discontinued her involvement in these
occupations.
Habituation: Martina has a routine that she follows daily, she
gets her son dressed, fed and ready for school, walks him to
school, comes home and does the cleaning and is then free to
enjoy her zumba and art interests, until she picks ben up and
then spends time with him doing homework, she gets ben bathed
and fed and they sit down together to watch their favourite
programs on tv, she reads to ben before putting him to bed.
Martina is employed as a checkout operator at Target three days a
week during school hour and fits her Zumba classes in on the days
she is not working martina paints on weekends. She also takes her
son to soccer training and a game every Saturday morning.
However since the relapse of her depression martina has been
struggling to keep up with her routine, as she has been lacking
motivation to do her zumba and art and has been knocking back
work shifts due to feeling unwell with her depression. She would
prefer to sleep when ben is at school and drink day and night for
comfort.
Performance Capacity: Martina is quite a healthy capable
woman. She has good co-ordination, muscle strength, cognitive
functioning, sequencing and endurance skills. This makes her
very capable of carrying out her worker role, her zumba classes,
her role as a mother and her artistic hobbies. But due to her
depression martina has had no energy and a lack of interest in
doing any of her usual activities.
Environment: Martina lives in a two bedroom townhouse, which is
within walking distance of ben’s school, shops and public transport.
Her father lives two block’s down the road. Martina has quite a
good social environment. She has a good work environment, her
boss is approachable and she has a few friends that are staff. Her
gym has a very supportive environment. Her father living two
block’s away provides martina with a shoulder to lean on when she
The Model of Human Occupation was applied to Martina, a 31
year-old woman with a history of chronic depression and
substance abuse. Her 7 year-old son Ben has recently been
diagnosed with a mild case of autism. Ben was conceived to a man
in a one-off sexual encounter while Martina was intoxicated (at a
time when she was severely depressed and using alcohol as a
support). Ben’s father is therefore not present in his life.
Her mother recently died, leading to the return of her depression.
Martina’s father lives 2 blocks away but is currently grieving the
loss of his wife. Martina’s older sister lives interstate and visits
once a month, but is currently living with their father to assist him
with the grieving process.
Model Description
Within MOHO, humans are conceptualised as being made up of
three interrelated components: volition (the motivation for
occupation); habituation (the process by which occupation is
organised into patterns or routines); and performance capacity
(the physical and mental abilities that underlie skilled occupational
performance) (MOHO Clearinghouse, 2011).
MOHO views therapy as a process in which people are helped to
do things in order to shape their occupational abilities and
identities, helping to maintain, restore and reorganise their
occupational lives (Forsyth, & Kielhofner, 2001).
MOHO explores the importance of understanding physical and
social environments in which occupational performance takes
place (MOHO Clearinghouse, 2011).
Long Term Objectives
•Back to full work capacity. During her depressed state, Martina has been
unreliable, unpunctual and not motivated to go to work. After intervention,
Martina would like to be motivated and restore her occupational performance in
her role as a worker.
•Engaging in meaningful occupations (art, Zumba). Through these occupations,
Martina hopes to restore her occupational life balance. Through attending
classes, Martina can also meet new people and build her support network.
Zumba will improve her self efficacy, and contribute to restoration of endorphins
in the brain, increasing her mental wellbeing. Martina is very passionate about
art, and sees it as a therapeutic tool, which will help Martina incorporate leisure
occupations in her life (balancing the occupations that she currently engages in).
•Martina would like to improve her role as a mother. Her occupational therapist
feels that involvement in a support group for her son’s condition would be
beneficial to her recovery and understanding her son’s autism (providing
support, advice and skills).
•Currently Martina sees a psychologist irregularly , and when she is feeling
overwhelmed or overly depressed, she cancels appointments so that she does
not have to deal with her problems. Her occupational therapist has suggested
constant involvement with a psychologist to determine why Martina relapses
into depressive states. The psychologist will also provide grief counselling after
the death of Martina’s mother (which was the cause of her relapse into
depression this time). Martina has also agreed to attend Alcoholics Anonymous
meetings as she feels more severely depressed when intoxicated, and also unable
to think rationally or give her son the support he needs.
ENABLERS: Lives close to school, town, shops. Owns own car. Has a licence. Sister
willing to babysit. Seeing a psychologist. Gotten past depression before.
Medication. Enjoys art/ Zumba. Support group (help with son). Son at school
during the day, giving her time to help herself).
BARRIERS: Son’s learning difficulty. Mother’s passing. Low motivation levels, low
self esteem. Son’s soccer training etc. Work roster. Anxiety levels. Low support
network after mother dying (father is mourning). Irrational thought patterns. Lack
of sleep. No consistency with medication. Unreliable car (and she lives 20 mins
from work).
Conclusion
The MOHO was designed to be applicable throughout the lifespan, making it relevant
to Martina, who has experienced depression at multiple times, at different stages
and with different results. Her depression was affecting her involvement in
meaningful occupations.
References
MOHO Clearinghouse, 2011.
Forsyth, K., & Kielhofner, G. (2001) Foundations for Practice in
Occupational Therapy. Chapter 6., p. 69-107. Elsevier Limited, 2006. Churchill,