Feminist occupational therapists and therapeutic relationship: a discourse analysis with a Foucaultian perspective

Abstract

Introduction: Considering the researching gap and the socio-political context in which we find ourselves, discussing feminism and the therapeutic relationship in occupational therapy contributes to the development of a critical disciplinary perspective. Objective: This research aims to identify distinctive elements in the discourse of feminist occupational therapists regarding their therapeutic relationship, through an understanding of discursive formations related to power relations. Method: A post-qualitative design was used, with a methodological framework grounded in a critical approach to hegemonic occupational therapy and post-structuralist feminist epistemology, aiming to explore discourses on the therapeutic relationship from a decentralized and flexible perspective, using open interviews as the information production technique. Results: Through the analysis of results, three categories are presented: Construction of the Feminist Occupational Therapist Individual, Feminist Occupational Therapists and Therapeutic Relationship, and Tensions between Feminist Occupational Therapists and the Socio-labor Context. Findings highlight the experience of feminist occupational therapists as a valuable source of knowledge, challenging dominant narratives and proposing the co-construction of spaces of resistance in the therapeutic relationship. Conclusion: Additionally, reflective and interventional tools related to self-monitoring and active listening are introduced, promoting situated practices that are relevant to political and social contexts from a counter-hegemonic perspective, valuing the diversity of knowledge in praxis.