Shaking Our Foundations,Part 2: Into the Future

The second article presents the conclusions of a detailed analysis of the relationship between occupational therapists and their helpers. In order to consolidate their insecure status, it could appear that occupational therapists are dedicating themselves to the pursuit of professionalism. This is to compensate for anxiety about their role which causes them to feel threatened by the large group of unqualified workers necessary to help with the job in hand. Their reaction is to emulate the traditional male model with helpers kept firmly in the subordinate role of women, ‘invisible’ in terms of the recognition they receive for their contributions to the work of the occupational therapist Attempts are currently being made to enhance helpers' knowledge and skill in appreciation of their value, but the trained workers would nevertheless appear to be maintaining their dominant position on the assumption that, for them, the way forward inevitably has to be up.