Reclaiming the Vision of Reaching for Heart as Well as Hands

Abstract

Abstract Although infrequently discussed in the professional literature, visionary language and visual imagery are identifiable elements within occupational therapy’s culture. They seem part of the profession’s desire to characterize, affirm, and renew itself. One early vision of practice, that of reaching for heart as well as hands, is the subject of this inquiry that extends a prior discussion of visions in occupational therapy. Central to the inquiry are the early vision’s (a) origin, exemplification, and clarity of meaning within one autobiographical text and (b) merits for the profession’s characterization, affirmation, and renewal. The early vision of reaching for heart as well as hands may benefit the profession today by characterizing the ethos of occupational therapy as integrative, affirming its practice as occupational, and inspiring its practitioners to renew a commitment to caring.