Industrial And Organizational Psychology Research Articles

Understanding the Multidimensional Roles of Industrial Psychologists in Performance Efficacy

Understanding the Multidimensional Roles of Industrial Psychologists in Performance Efficacy

THE EFFECT OF WORKPLACE CARE ON COUNTERPRODUCTIVE BEHAVIOR: MEDIATED BY WORKPLACE ISOLATION

To explore the impact of workplace care on negative workplace isolation and counterproductive behavior, a research model was constructed based on the Social Exchange Theory and Social Identity Theory. Employing a questionnaire survey method, a total of 537 employees were surveyed. Structural equation modeling and regression analysis were employed for analysis. The findings revealed that workplace care negatively affects employee counterproductive behavior, workplace care negatively affects workplace isolation, workplace isolation positively influences employee counterproductive behavior, and workplace isolation serves as a mediator between workplace care and counterproductive behavior. This study contributes by delving into the relationship between workplace care and counterproductive behavior, unveiling the mediating role of workplace isolation. This research expands the theoretical framework of workplace psychology and offers organizations more specific and effective management strategies. In addressing workplace care, organizations should emphasize employees' emotional needs to reduce feelings of workplace isolation.

Impacto do Isolamento Social na Saúde Mental de Trabalhadores num Instituto de Oncologia durante a Pandemia COVID-19

ABSTRACT Introduction The COVID-19 pandemic had a major impact on the mental health of workers, in particular healthcare professionals. The social isolation used as a mitigation measure against infection contributed to a reduction in sleep quality, and an increase in depressive symptoms, anxiety, and burnout. Objectives The aims of this study are to assess the impact of isolation and quarantine on the mental health and sleep quality of healthcare professionals in a Portuguese Oncology Institute. Material and Methods An online form was distributed to all healthcare professionals who were in isolation or quarantine during the year 2020 in the IPO-Porto, consisting of three instruments- sociodemographic survey, Mental Health Inventory (MHI) and Basic Insomnia and Sleep Quality Scale (BaSIQS). Data were collected in two moments, from July 25 to December 25, 2020, and in December 2021. Results A total of 359 healthcare professionals were identified (151 by isolation and 208 by quarantine). In the 2020 analysis, 115 responses were obtained (54 by isolation and 61 by quarantine), resulting in a response rate of 32.0%. In the 2021 analysis, 76 responses were obtained with a response rate of 21.1%. Regarding the healthcare professionals in our study, the dimensions that make up the psychological stress of the MHI, show an improvement after the first year of the pandemic, as well as an improvement in the mean total MHI value from 2020 to 2021. Sleep quality (assessed by the BaSIQS) is in the poor-to-intermediate category in the 2020 assessment. Although the 2021 assessment shows a slightly better mean, there is no statistically significant difference between the two. In this sample of health professionals, mental health and sleep quality correlated for the instruments used. Discussion and conclusions Insomnia and sleep quality are a modifiable factor of mental health, with an impact on the quality of life and productivity of healthcare professionals. Social isolation as a disruptor of sleep, daily routine and healthy interaction in work teams may be a factor that aggravates psychological distress. The investment in mental health promotion programs, as well as the coordination of multidisciplinary teams composed of Psychology, Medicine and Occupational Nursing are essential in the monitoring and surveillance of these workers’ health. KEY WORDS: Mental Health, Healthcare Professionals, Occupational Psychology, COVID-19, Occupational Medicine, Occupational Health.

Workplace Arrogance, Need for Power, and Counterproductive Work Behaviors in Corporate Managers: The Mediating Role of Humility

The study investigated the relationship between workplace arrogance, the need for power, and Counterproductive Work Behavior (CWB) in corporate managers. The study was carried out by following the correlational research design. The sample of N = 260 corporate managers (males = 181, females = 79), with an age range from 30 years to 55 years (M = 41.03, SD = 7.06), was recruited through the purposive sampling strategy from the different cities of Pakistan. In the first step, the authors established a factor structure of the workplace arrogance scale and retained 22 items with well-fitted indices of the one-factor solution model. The results of correlation analysis exhibited significant (p < .05) positive relationships between workplace arrogance, the personalized need for power (P nPower). The CWB was negatively associated with the socialized need for power (S nPower), humility, and agreeableness in corporate managers. The independent sample t-test indicated that male and female corporate managers had similar scores in terms of all study variables (p > .05). In addition, results of multiple linear regression analysis revealed that workplace arrogance and personalized need for power with 25% of the variance were found to be significant (p < .01) predictors of the CWB. Moreover, the path analysis through Structure Equational Modeling (SEM) also suggested that personalized need for power, workplace arrogance, and humility were significant predictors of CWB. Lastly, SEM demonstrated that humility significantly mediated the relationship between workplace arrogance, the need for power, and CWB in corporate managers. Moreover, two demographic variables (i.e., work experience and the corporate sectors) also impact their CWB and the overall model fit indices. The study provides researchers with a validated workplace arrogance scale on the corporate sample. It helps the researchers to expand their understanding of the significance of these constructs in the field of industrial-organizational psychology. In addition, the study seeks to benefit many employees and employers to comprehend the nature and the association of CWB with other undesirable variables in the workplace (i.e., workplace arrogance and personalized need for power).

A long journey to long COVID

“I know it's most likely I got COVID-19 from my 2-year-old daughter”, says Fallen Mendes, a 37-year-old industrial psychologist from Cape Town, South Africa, who works for the Department of the Premier in the Western Cape, looking after leadership development and culture.

Effectiveness of strengths use interventions in organizations: A pre‐registered meta‐analysis of controlled trials

AbstractThis meta‐analysis aims to clarify where we stand and where we are heading regarding the effectiveness of employee strengths use interventions. The systematic literature search yielded 21 independent controlled trials. Random‐effects meta‐analyses revealed a weak but significant effect for increasing individual strategies at post‐intervention (d = .37, 95% confidence interval [CI] [.07, .67]) and a non‐significant one at follow‐up (d = .15, 95% CI [−.11, .40]); personal resources demonstrated a moderate post‐intervention increase (d = .53, 95% CI [.25, .81]) and a small one at follow‐up (d = .33, 95% CI [.18, .49]); and small and significant improvements were also observed for workplace well‐being (post‐intervention: d = .31, 95% CI [.21, .41]; follow‐up: d = .27, 95% CI [.10, .43]), general well‐being (post‐intervention: d = .24, 95% CI [.10, .38]; follow‐up: d = .18, 95% CI [.07, .30]), and post‐intervention performance (d = .28, 95% CI [.11, .45]). Follow‐up performance ceased to be significant (d = .22, 95% CI [−.15, .59]). Lengthier interventions were associated with stronger long‐term gains in personal resources and workplace well‐being; younger participants had stronger immediate boosts to personal resources. Strengths use interventions are a promising new approach in the evidence‐based practice of organizational and occupational health psychologists, highlighting the benefits of building on human potential for employees and organizations alike.

Examining the role of employability as a mediator in the relationship between psychological capital and objective career success amongst occupational psychology professionals.

Employability is core to our understanding of career sustainability, and at an individual level, identifying the personal resources that support employability in the achievement of career success is warranted. This study builds on the conservation of resources theory, examining the role of employability as a mediator in the relationship between psychological capital and objective career success. To test our hypotheses, we utilised a context-specific practitioner sample of 135 individuals with UK-accredited occupational psychology qualifications. Employability was conceptualised using the competence-based model, underpinned by occupational expertise. Psychological capital and employability were measured using self-report questionnaires, whilst career success was determined via gross annual salary and practitioner status, ensuring objective measures of this outcome variable. Structural equation modelling identified that the relationship between psychological capital and objective career success was fully mediated by employability. These novel findings have important theoretical and practical implications for the role of psychological capital as a personal resource in achieving career success via its influence on employability.

Increasing the Effectiveness of Military Selection in the Early Days of Applied Psychology

The study reviews the early days of the scientific application of psychology, the theoretical foundations of which can still be used as a basis for military selection. The framework within which the studies were initiated and conducted in the early 20th century shall be reviewed, and the major differences in the perceptions of the two (American and German) nations and how they were disseminated in Hungary shall be discussed. As with many other sciences, the development of psychological testing methods has been boosted by war. The Army Alpha and Beta, the widely known group intelligence tests was a national issue for effective placement in the United States of America. One of the slogans of psychotechnology in occupational psychology reads: “The right man on the right place”; the notion that everything should be done to employ people in jobs according to their character and abilities. In the Hungarian context, I reviewed the available literature from the organisational work started in the Monarchy, through the rise of psychotechnology, to the establishment of the Central Institute of Aptitude Testing at the Royal Hungarian Army and the studies conducted there.

Preliminary psychometric scale development using the mixed methods Delphi technique

This study implemented a Delphi Method; a systematic technique which relies on a panel of experts to achieve consensus, to evaluate which questionnaire items would be the most relevant for developing a new Propensity to Trust scale. Following an initial research team moderation phase, two surveys were administered to academic lecturers, professors and Ph.D. candidates specialising in the fields of either individual differences, human-robot interaction, or occupational psychology. Results from 28 experts produced 33 final questionnaire items that were deemed relevant for evaluating trust. We discuss the importance of content validity when implementing scales, while emphasising the need for more documented scale development processes in psychology. Furthermore, we propose that the Delphi technique could be utilised as an effective and economical method for achieving content validity, while also providing greater scale creation transparency.

Peculiarities of cognition the prelogical thinking in the process of psychoanalysis of visual presenters of the subject’s psyche

The article describes the peculiarities and possibilities of cognition of the pralogical thinking of the psyche in the process of dialogue-psychoanalytical interaction of a psychologist with a respondent in groups of active social-psychological cognition (ASPC). The fact of the preservation of informational equi­valents of the psyche under the conditions of its transcoding into thematically visualized forms of drawn and objectified self-representations is asserted. The paper summarizes the results of over forty years of analytical and professional training of psychologists for practical work. The purpose of the paper is to identify deviations of “Self” from the reality that are not controlled by the psyche, which reliably signal the subject’s personal problems. The objectification of the drawn self-representation process in ASPC groups contributes to the observation and research (in the dialogue interaction of the psychologist with the respondent), which has a mediated nature related to the objectivity of the psyche. This determines the accessibility and equality of opportunities for each ASPP group member in participation, in processing the results of self-representation, which helps to objectify the destruction of the psyche, which signal about their personal problems (deviations from reality for the sake of the interests of the “Idealized Self”). The main research method is the active social-psychological cognition (or rather, its transcripts), which is based on psychodynamic methodology. The general prerequisite for the implementation of the specified method is the process of objectification by the ASPC participants of their own psyche, followed by the analysis in the form of a dialogue between the psychologist and the respondent, with periodic intermediate and generalizing interpretative conclusions. The result of the study is the expansion and deepening of self-awareness by the ASPC participants, which catalyzes the leveling of the destruction of their psyche, generated by an internal stabilized contradiction (personal problem), which is subject to in-depth cognition on the objectified and accessible visual material, which results in psychocorrection. Conclusions. The effectiveness of a person’s participation in ASPC groups is based on awakening the self-preservation instinct due to strengthening the rationality of the logical thinking. Therefore, diagnostic and corrective cognition of the psyche by a future psychologist is extremely important for the development of their professional skills when helping other people.

Reckoning with racialized police violence: The role of I-O psychology

AbstractThe country has been gripped by the events that have unfolded in the wake of the police killings of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor. In response to these new examples of long-standing police violence, there have been calls to substantially reimage policing to reduce the number of violent incidents that occur between officers and the public and to combat officers’ disproportionate use of force with Black Americans. In this article, we call on industrial-organizational (I-O) psychologists to leverage their expertise to help actuate meaningful change within law enforcement. To help guide our collective efforts as a field, we provide a review of the current state of affairs as they relate to recruitment, selection, training, performance management, occupational stress, and organizational culture in law enforcement and then offer recommendations for ways to change current practices to encourage more equitable and responsible policing. We also highlight areas in which further investigation is needed and urge I-O psychologists to invest in building the knowledge necessary to inform future practices. We hope this article can facilitate a discussion about how our field can contribute to achieving evidence-based and lasting change that benefits officers and the members of the communities they serve.

International Spinal Cord Injury Data Sets in clinical practice and research

<h3>Research Objectives</h3> To give an update on the International Spinal Cord Injury (SCI) Data Sets. <h3>Design</h3> International consensus. <h3>Setting</h3> The International SCI Data Sets Committee approved by the International Spinal Cord Society and the American Spinal Injury Association. <h3>Participants</h3> Individuals with spinal cord injury of traumatic and non-traumatic etiology. <h3>Interventions</h3> Utilization of the International SCI Data Sets. <h3>Main Outcome Measures</h3> Application of the International SCI Data Sets in registries, electronic medical records, daily clinical practice, and research. <h3>Results</h3> Since the first version of the International SCI Core Data Set was published in 2006, 23 International SCI Basic Data Sets, and 6 International SCI Extended Data Sets are developed: https://www.iscos.org.uk/international-sci-data-sets. The Data Sets are developed and used by nurses, physio- and occupational therapists, psychologists, doctors, and researchers depending on the content. 24 of the Data Sets are included in the National Institute of Health (NIH), National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS), Common Data Elements (CDE): https://www.commondataelements.ninds.nih.gov/Spinal%20Cord%20Injury. Electronic Medical Records like Epic and Cerner have implemented several of the Data Sets. Likewise, International SCI Data Sets or elements from them are used in SCI-registries worldwide, e.g. US National SCI Model Systems Database, Rick Hansen SCI Registry in Canada, Austrian SCI Study – Registry, Nordic SCI Registry, Registry for all SCI centers in the Netherlands, prevention registry covering India, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Malaysia, and Thailand, Iranian SCI Registry, Australia and more. Translations exist in Chinese, Dutch, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, French, 5 Nordic languages, Persian, Korean, Hindi, etc. of one or more International SCI Data Sets, and several validity and reliability studies were performed. <h3>Conclusions</h3> Because the International SCI Data Sets are continuously updated and developed according to current evidence using an open and transparent process, where all interested parties are encouraged to participate these standardized and easy to use Data Sets have gained wide international acceptance in clinical practice and research. <h3>Author(s) Disclosures</h3> No Financial Or Non-Financial Interests To Disclose.

Functional Outcomes Following a Telehealth Interdisciplinary Program During COVID

<h3>Research Objectives</h3> To investigate the effectiveness of a telehealth (TH) program on the physical function of patients with chronic pain, and to compare TH to historical in-person treatment outcomes. <h3>Design</h3> A retrospective chart review of outcome data obtained pre-post week treatment duration. <h3>Setting</h3> Academic rehabilitation hospital, outpatient pain management center. <h3>Participants</h3> A sample of 51 consecutive adult patients with chronic pain (n=51) who participated in the TH program and historical data was obtained from a similar group of patients (n=51) who previously completed a comparable in-person pain program. <h3>Interventions</h3> The TH treatment included 1-2 weekly sessions from occupational therapists, psychologists and physical therapists, physical therapy group, for 6 weeks. The in-person program included individual occupational and physical therapy, individual psychology, and group sessions in each discipline, for 6 weeks. <h3>Main Outcome Measures</h3> The following pain region specific outcomes measures were used: Disabilities of the Arm, Shoulder and Hand (DASH), Oswestry Disability Index (ODI), Neck Disability Index (NDI), Lower Extremity Function Scale (LEFS), Tampa Scale for Kinesiophobia (TSK), and Patient Specific Functional Scale (PSFS). All measures were administered at the start of the program and again at discharge. <h3>Results</h3> Paired-samples t-tests showed significant changes on all outcome measures (t's = 2.320 - 12.082, P's = .001 - .045). Cohen's d indicated medium effects for the LEFS, TSK, ODI, NDI, and DASH (d's = .35 - .61), and a large effect for the PSFS (d = 1.79). Independent-samples t-tests were used to compare outcomes (difference scores) between those receiving the TH invention and those who participated in an in-person program. There were no statistically significant group differences on any of the outcomes: LEFS (Mdiff= -0.03, 95%CI [-5.95,5.89], t(53)= -0.010, p=.992), TSK (Mdiff= -1.77, CI [1.54,-4.85], t(70)= -1.161, p=.250), ODI (Mdiff=0.72, CI [-2.80,4.25], t(45)=0.413, p=.681), NDI (Mdiff= -0.40, CI [-6.73,5.93], t(13)= -.136, p=.894), DASH (Mdiff=3.98, CI [-6.38,14.34], t(28)=0.786, p=.438), and PSFS (Mdiff= -0.62, 95%CI [-1.33,0.10], t(91)= -1.714, p=.090). <h3>Conclusions</h3> Findings show preliminary support for the effectiveness of an interdisciplinary pain management telehealth intervention. <h3>Author(s) Disclosures</h3> None

Probabilistic linguistic fuzzy cognitive maps: applications to the critical factors affecting the health of rural older adults

BackgroundAchieving healthy ageing has become the only way for China to alleviate the pressure of ageing, especially in rural areas. However, the factors affecting the health of rural older adults are numerous and complex. It is important to identify the critical factors that affecting the health of older adults in rural areas and provide decision-making support for targeted health interventions.MethodsTo overcome some limitations of existing works, an extended probabilistic linguistic fuzzy cognitive map model is proposed in this paper as a useful tool for modeling the cause-effect relationship between factors. The proposed model integrates the advantages of probabilistic linguistic term sets and fuzzy cognitive maps. In the end, to rank and identify the critical factors affecting the health, a novel similarity measure based on Euclidean distance and Z-mapping function is proposed.ResultsThe proposed model can effectively deal with the uncertainty of experts and reflect different opinions of groups well. In terms of representing uncertainty and ambiguity, the proposed method outperforms other models in modeling complex systems. In the real-world case analysis, we find that education is the most important factor affecting the health of rural older adults, followed by previous occupational experiences, psychology, and physical exercise, among other things. Intergenerational relationship has become another important factor affecting the health of rural older adults in China as the development of Chinese society.ConclusionsFrom a macro perspective, social economic status, living environment, lifestyle, and health management, are the variables that have the greatest impact on the health of rural older adults. As a result, providing more precise health interventions with the characteristics of factors influencing health is a crucial guarantee for preserving and improving the health of rural older adults in China.

Psychological health, wellbeing and COVID-19: Comparing previously infected and non-infected South African employees.

Most COVID-19 and work-related well-being research is centred around the adverse effects on employees' psychological well-being and is not focused on the work-related well-being of those infected by SARS-CoV-2. Furthermore, COVID-19 and work-related well-being research is generally aimed at healthcare workers. The current study focused on investigating the difference in the level of burnout, anxiety, depression and stress between previously infected and uninfected participants. This study used a cross-sectional survey design and non-probability quota sampling to collect data. A retrospective pre-post design was used to determine the difference between the level of burnout of the participants before and after infection. Working adults in South Africa were targeted and divided into those previously infected (n = 245) and those not yet infected with COVID-19 (n = 221). Participants completed questionnaires relating to burnout, depression, anxiety, and stress. A comparison of means revealed a significant increase in burnout after being infected. Infected participants had significantly higher burnout, anxiety, depression, and stress levels than their non-infected counterparts. Emotional exhaustion, withdrawal, and stress were the most prevalent psychological ill-health problems. The results of this study indicated that a SARS-CoV-2 infection has a detrimental impact on participants' psychological well-being and mental health compared to their own initially reported levels of burnout before infection, as well as compared to the levels of burnout, depression, anxiety and depression of the non-infected participants. Based on the findings, specific recommendations to industrial psychologists were made to manage the psychological impact of COVID-19 on employees.

Industrial psychologist intern: Professional purpose, skills and practice confidence

Orientation: Internships are a practical way for students to operationalise their professional purpose, acquire key occupation-related skills and practise their professional capability in real-world work settings.Research purpose: This study explored industrial and organisational psychology (IOP) interns’ views of their professional purpose and their perceptions of the applied skills they developed as a result of the internship programme, including their confidence about setting up an independent practice.Motivation for the study: There is currently a dearth of South African research on IOP interns’ views about the internship programme.Research approach/design and method: The study utilised a qualitative research approach. An open-ended question survey was conducted among 17 South Africa-based IOP interns. Thematic analysis was used to analyse the collected data.Main findings: Data analysis revealed the intrinsic motivational self-determination of the interns as an influencing force for their personal purpose and vision as practising industrial psychologists (IPs). Views about the skills developed were aligned with HPCSA minimum competency requirements as manifested within the digital-era work space. Interns felt more confident about practising within an organisational setting rather than a private practice.Practical/managerial implications: Understanding the psychological self-determination needs that motivate the IOP intern may help to improve coursework training and supervision support practices for the IOP intern.Contribution/value-add: The study extends the internship research literature and revealed the dire need for enhancing the confidence of the IOP intern about setting up and successfully managing an independent professional IP practice.

Machine Learning-Assisted Competency Modeling for Human Resource Management Jobs

The competency model has an important role in human resource management (HRM) as a scientific and objective talent assessment theory. With the widespread use of machine learning methods, machine learning assistance for HRM job competency assessment and determination provides a new way of thinking for talent assessment and management. The establishment of HR competency models based on machine learning methods can quickly and accurately help companies gain a competitive advantage. Based on this paper, we take Company C as the research object and establish the HR management job, competency model, based on a genetic algorithm optimized BP neural network (GA-BP). The results show that the model can be better applied to the analysis of the HR management job competency model of Company C. The prediction accuracy reaches 91.16% classification accuracy, which has a certain reference significance, and it has a certain reference and value for the HRM job industry.

Changes in otolaryngology application requirements and match outcomes: Are we doing any better?

Otolaryngology-specific requirements were piloted to minimize applicant and program burdens. We investigated the impact of introducing and then removing these requirements on Match outcomes. 2014-2021 National Resident Matching Program® data were examined. The primary outcome was the impact of Otolaryngology Resident Talent Assessment (ORTA; prematch 2017, postmatch 2019) and Program-Specific Paragraph (PSP; implemented 2016, optional 2018) on applicant numbers and match rates. Secondary survey analysis assessed candidate perceptions of PSP/ORTA. Applicant numbers declined significantly during PSP/ORTA (18.9%; p = 0.001). With the optional PSP and postmatch ORTA, applicant numbers increased significantly (39.0%;p = 0.002). Examined individually, mandatory PSP was associated with a significant decline in applicants (p = 0.007), whereas postmatch ORTA was associated with significant increases in applicants (p = 0.010). ORTA and PSP negatively impacted the decision to apply to otolaryngology in 59.8% and 51.3% of applicants, respectively. Conversely, match rate success improved significantly from 74.8% to 91.2% during PSP/ORTA (p = 0.014), followed by a significant decline to 73.1% after PSP was made optional and ORTA moved to postmatch (p = 0.002). ORTA and PSP correlated with decreased applicant numbers and increased match rate success. As programs seek ways to remove barriers to applying to otolaryngology, the potential consequences of an increasing pool of unmatched candidates must also be considered.

Ethical incidents reported by industrial-organizational psychologists: A ten-year follow-up.

This article reports the results of an ethics survey of professional members of the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology (SIOP/APA-Div. 14) conducted in 2019, and compares its findings with those of a similar survey conducted in 2009. In 2019, but not 2009, international members and associates were included. A total of 680 survey responses were received in 2019, with 157 of them describing a narrative incident of a recently experienced ethical situation. In 2009, 228 of 661 respondents described a total of 292 incidents. Respondents were asked to categorize and rate their incidents on a variety of attributes. Demographic subgroup analyses showed more similarities than differences in the nature and outcomes of ethical issues reported. However, differences were observed as a function of work domain (academe, internal practice, external practice), membership status (member/fellow/associate), career stage (years since highest degree), and field of highest degree (I-O psychology, other psychology area, and business), suggesting caution if generalizing to the entire field. Respondents who actually faced the ethical issue described viewed it as somewhat less serious than those who occupied some other (observer) role in the situation, and also reported more successful resolutions. Comparing 2019 with 2009 data revealed overall consistency in the relative incidence of different forms of ethical challenges and the work activity areas in which they arise. However, in 2019 there were more covert incidents (e.g., role conflicts, values conflicts, conflicts of interest) and fewer overt incidents (e.g., coercion, corruption). Implications for improving ethics education and training are discussed. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).

‘I’m recovered from the unhappiness of being unwell’ Using interdisciplinary work and group therapy to foster recovery and inclusion of Older Adults

The Original Authentic knowledgeable Souls (OAKS) group was born in response to a clear need for group therapy within older adult’s service. Compared with working adult populations, older adults may experience higher levels of loneliness and isolation, which has been further exacerbated due to the Covid-19 pandemic (Age UK, 2021). Involvement in group therapy can mitigate these discrepancies by regenerating a sense of independence, mutual support and decrease loneliness (Poole et al., 2009). The OAKS group is an intersection of occupational therapy and psychology which uses narrative therapy, meaningful activity, and the recovery model to boost the confidence and identity of older people. The themes of the recovery model scaffold the structure and sessions of the group. Narrative therapy acts as a vehicle to explore these themes and strengthen preferred self-narratives (White, 2005). Meaningful occupational activity is used to embed these themes and alternative narratives. Being based within the community, the group encourages inclusion of older adults in society by promoting their engagement and presence within communities. The therapeutic use of self, transfer of energy and knowledge between disciplines, and orientation towards recovery are the essence of the OAKS group.