When My OT Sessions Go Sideways...

Do not kid yourself into thinking that just because I have a pretty IG page that all my sessions look like pretty reels!

Some of my sessions b-o-m-b. Oof. 

Like when I have a tangential patient who skips from topic to topic to topic, and my own attention is down the tubes that day. And I can’t seem to figure out how to therapeutically interrupt or redirect them. I walk out of the session going, “holy smokes, did we do anything therapeutic in that session?!?!”

Does this ever happen to you? 

If you’re an OT, the chances are something like 99.99% that it does. 

And that is normal. 

What do I do after leaving a session that leaves me feeling embarrassed or doubt my ability to OT? 

Reflect. Vent. And Seek Support. 

Reflect. I’ll reflect back on what didn’t go well. And now that I have time to think and process, can I identify what I could do differently next time? 

For this one tangential patient, I had had several of these sessions and it did not feel good. I decided next time I would write the goals of our session on individual notecards: One said “shoe-tying” and another said “getting a drink from the cafeteria line.” 

And then when she brought up 101 other concerns and goals mid-session, I would quickly jot them each on a sticky note and add them to the “To Get To” pile. Then I put them underneath the notecard of our current goal. This way she felt heard, and we could both stay on track. 

Vent. If you’ve ever been in the back office of a rehab unit, you know venting is how we keep going. We blow off a little steam. This literally helps us complete the stress cycle. Then we get back out there.

Seek Support. I turn to my fellow OTs (at my table, my best OT friend on WhatsApp, or in online OT groups) and ask if they’ve ever had this happen to them. The best thing is the answer is probably yes. And they will lead with empathy. “Ohhhhh my goodness, that absolutely happened to me last week with my patient and I felt like I wasn’t being a very good OT.” 

And sometimes, because OTs are natural helpers and amazing problem solvers, they will offer gentle ideas or suggestions for the next time you see that patient. 

This is the power of OTs supporting OTs. 

Empathy + Experience. 

I 💚 OTs.