What kind of a therapist are you? (Chapters 1 & 2 of Occupational Therapy in the Philippines)

Welcome to the first From Pages to Practice series! Together, we will mine different kinds of literature for insights that can empower helping professionals to provide the best services for persons with disabilities (PWDs). As I mentioned previously, we will be delving into the ideas and experiences of my fellow occupational therapists (OTs) in Occupational Therapy in the Philippines: Theory, Practice, and Stories. This book edited by Michael Sy, Roi Charles Pineda, and Caroline Fischl is the first of its kind. Even though Filipinos have been practicing occupational therapy for years, it’s only now that we have a textbook that chronicles the contributions of Filipino occupational therapists to the profession.

Occupation: The Four Categories According to Filipinos

Chapter 1 discusses what “occupation” is in light of Philippine culture and history. According to the authors, Filipinos’ understanding of occupation can be classified under four categories (Sy, et al., 2025, pp. 6-7):

Category 1: Being busy with something; something that one does as a recreation or a diversion (“pampalipas-oras”, “dibersyon”)

Category 2: Means of livelihood; a type of employment (“trabaho”, “hanapbuhay”)

Category 3: General purpose-driven activities; something that one is responsible for (“bokasyon”, “tungkulin”, and I will add “panawagan”)

Category 4: Occupying a place; the exerting of force to conquer something (“pamamalagi”, “pananakop”, “pananalakay”)

These categories are morally neutral in themselves. Whether a person’s perception of an occupation is good or bad depends on what the activity is. For example, it’s noble for a soldier to re-occupy and defend territories that were once conquered by terrorists (category 4). A negative example of a category 3 type of occupation is spoiling children even with what’s harmful because the parent thinks that it’s his responsibility to constantly please them (category 3).

Taking the Plank Out of Our Eyes

The four categories are helpful for reflecting on how we OTs view our profession, which is an occupation that we engage in. After more than a decade of practice, I’ve witnessed that we therapists — which includes the other types such as physical therapists, speech pathologists, and psychotherapists — do act in ways that are aligned with what their work means to them.

Category 1: For some therapists, their work has just become something that they do because they can’t think of anything else! They might also be staying in the profession because many of their friends are therapists, and work allows them to socialize. Otherwise, they’re just going through the motions. 

Category 2: Many therapists became helping professionals to earn relatively good salaries. Moreover, they use their income to fund their true passions which lie outside of their day jobs. I think that there’s nothing wrong with this kind of a mindset if you’re still giving your best at work.

Category 3: A lot of therapists, however, do consider their professions as their “calling” or “panawagan”. They view it not merely as a source of income but as a service aligned with their abilities through which they live out their deeply-held values. They’re like the pioneering Filipino OTs in chapter 2 who ventured into this career path to help PWDs even when occupational therapy was still shrouded with much ambiguity and anchored on the medical model (Trinidad Santos, Mendoza & Sy, 2025, chapter 2). 

These therapists epitomize the principle that George Barton learned in his experiences as a PWD. Through the counsel of Rev. Elwood Worcester, Barton discovered that fulfilling our calling to serve others is crucial to improving our health. This belief is based on the Bible verse, “For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it” (Matthew 16:25). Thus occupational therapy was born! It reached the Philippines in its embryonic state through the American colonial government (Trinidad Santos, Mendoza & Sy, 2025, chapter 2). Later on, brilliant Filipinos professionalized it to ensure that OTs will adhere to the highest standards of practice (Trinidad Santos, Mendoza & Sy, 2025, chapter 2).

Category 4: Unfortunately, some therapists mainly see their work as an opportunity to promote themselves and dominate others. They’ve reached a certain level of competency that might be impressive. But they’re not necessarily the best in the field as their actions are more driven by the need for approval rather than ethics and scientific evidence.

In which category do we fall, fellow therapists? If you’re a mere mortal like me, you’ve found yourself in all four classifications at many points in your lives. How then do we become motivated by a deep sense of calling? Well, it first starts with awareness about the kind of professionals that we are right now. From there, we can address personal issues that are preventing us from living a life of service. We must set aside time to reflect and to ask for counsel that will set us in the right direction. Doing so will help us become the kind of individuals that we ought to be instead of merely doing things out of selfishness or conformity. 

Need someone to talk to about being a therapist or a helping professional? Send us a message here on this website or through our social media accounts! We would love to hear from you.

REFERENCES:

Sy, M., et al. (2025). Occupation and occupational therapy: the evolution of these concepts from a Filipino perspective. In M. Sy, R.C. Pineda & C. Fischl (Eds.), Occupational therapy in the Philippines: Theory, Practice, and Stories (pp. 1-15). Routledge.

Santos Trinidad, O., Mendoza, T.C., & Sy, M., et al. (2025). History of occupational therapy in the Philippines. In M. Sy, R.C. Pineda & C. Fischl (Eds.), Occupational therapy in the Philippines: Theory, Practice, and Stories (pp. 16-34). Routledge.