ACOTUP - Newsletter - Issue 29 - 2016

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gagement in meaningful activity. Thus, the role of occu-
pational therapy became evident. “Whether it’s eating
healthy meals, getting more exercise, or returning to a job
or school, you need to focus on meaningful life goals.
Maybe it’s fishing or being a leader in the community…
but ‘success’ needs to be measured beyond the ‘use’ of
a substance,” Dr. Kiepek clarified.
As she began doing presentations to health care pro-
fessionals regarding substance use interventions, and
later, as a result of her research, she started to get many
enquiries, and realized there were few resources for oc-
cupational therapists. That’s when she decided to write
the book. “I wanted to present the OT perspective,” she
commented, and with so many people asking for guid-
ance, she thought it would be a more efficient way to re-
spond. She also wanted to bring forward a more critical
perspective, confronting myths and presenting diverse
representations of varying patterns of substance use and
their outcomes.
Writing a book was a new experience for Dr. Kiepek.
This book was several years in the making, requiring three
rounds of peer review and subsequent revisions. The cur-
rent version reflects “what we know so far” and provides
a starting point for occupational therapists. She is hopeful
that people will critique the work and share their own ex-
periences, so it becomes a learning tool for all involved.
The book is available at
Dr. Kiepek, currently an Assistant Professor in the
School of Occupational Therapy, has shared her expert-
ise in the development of Dalhousie’s new Graduate Cer-
tificate in Mental Health and Addictions, an exciting new
online program focused on better preparing health care
professionals to support health and well-being of people
experiencing mental health, substance use and/or addic-
tion issues. For further information regarding this certifi-
cate program, consult:
Information about Dr.
Kiepek’s ongoing program of
research at Dalhousie, Under-
standing Substance Use: Per-
formance and Experience, can
be obtained at:
It was our great pleasure to welcome Prof. Navah
Ratzon on July 29th 2016, from the Occupational
Therapy Department, at the School of Health Pro-
fessions at the Sackler Faculty of Medicine, the University
of Tel Aviv, Israel. She came to be at presentations of the
research projects of our graduating students.
For the last two years, Prof. Ratzon supervised three
students from the Occupational Therapy Program at the
University of Ottawa, guiding them toward stimulating re-
sults in a study of driving restrictions and driving cessation
in women over 65 years.
It was a first time for our students to be supervised in
research with a professor in Occupational Therapy from Is-
rael, a distance learning experience that was successful and
exciting.
Here is a quote from a student: “Throughout the
process (of distance learning), I learned how to communi-
cate effectively through Skype and email in order to ensure
that nuanced details of the project were executed prop-
erly”. (Virginia Reebs, graduating student)
Not only was Prof. Ratzon involved in the supervision
of a research project, but also, she agreed to evaluate the
presentation of several research posters of her students’
classmates. The questions and discussions with students
were lively and interesting!
The end of the day was crowned by a motivating pres-
UNIVERSITY OF OTTAWA - HOT OFF THE PRESS
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