Building Responsibility for Self Through Meaningful Roles

Abstract

This article describes the development of an occupational therapy sheltered workshop program, Opportunities Promoting Self-Responsibility (O.P.S.), for criminal offenders with mental illness. The program promotes the patient's social participation with regard to community that could perhaps reduce re-incarceration. The most significant of these participatory functions is the ability to fulfill meaningful occupational roles with regard to community and work. The program was created to provide criminal offender patients with therapeutically directed opportunities to develop increased self-responsibility. The definition of role responsibilities, assessment, and treatment approaches are illustrated through case examples of eleven actual workshop participants. The workshop was found to promote patients' technical skills, performance behavior, social skills, and independent functioning within the occupational role of worker.