Leisure in Occupational Therapy

Abstract

Despite leisure's central position within occupational therapy models of practice, theoretical development from within occupational therapy remains limited. Historically occupational therapy has viewed leisure as an occupational performance area, quantifiable and discretionary time, and as activity used to achieve clients' targeted outcomes. Using social sciences literature and Primeau's (1996) ideas about the relationship between work and leisure, an argument is made for further theoretical development of leisure concepts and their application to occupational therapy. A brief review of standardized leisure assessments reveals their emphasis on leisure as time or activity. In contrast, interdisciplinary advances in leisure studies pertinent to occupational therapy focus on understanding leisure as a subjective experience. Acknowledgement of the importance of leisure as a state of mind underscores the importance of creating meaning within occupations. Finally, the stages of the Occupational Performance Process (CAOT, 1997; Fearing, Law & Clark, 1997) provide a framework for demonstrating how leisure concepts and assessments guide occupational therapy practice.