Professionalism, prejudice and personal taste: does it matter what we wear?

Davys, D; Pope, K; Taylor, J

Abstract

An earlier opinion piece considered the professional issues surrounding the occupational therapist’s dress code within the work place (Davys et al, 2006). This second paper considers the role of the occupational therapist when a client choice of clothing may conflict with social expectations and negatively impact upon social inclusion. Three practice based scenarios are presented, which serve as the prompts for reflection upon informed choice, professional responsibilities and the therapeutic relationship. This paper concludes that there needs to be debate about the conflict between each of these areas and the concept of social inclusion.

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Publication Date: Jul 1, 2006
• Deposit Date: Apr 11, 2011
• Publicly Available Date: Apr 5, 2016
• Journal: British Journal of Occupational Therapy
• Print ISSN: 0308-0226
• Electronic ISSN: 1477-6006
• Publisher: SAGE Publications
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 69
• Issue: 7
• Pages: 339 -341
• Related Public URLs: http://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/cot/bjot/2006/00000069/00000007/art00007