Bianca Doherty, assistant professor in the Department of Occupational Therapy at Colorado State University, is bringing her experience working with unhoused youth in San Diego to further improve the lived experience perspectives of OT students in her courses. 

Tell us a bit about yourself! 

I’m originally from Ireland where I trained as an occupational therapist in my hometown of Cork. I also lived in Kilkenny, Ireland, for a few years, and Edinburgh, Scotland, while getting my master’s at Queen Margaret University.  I then emigrated to the U.S. where I got my doctorate at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles with a focus on pediatric mental health and self-advocacy.  I’ve lived in San Diego for the past five years and just moved to Fort Collins this summer. Outside of academia, I love the cinema and Beyoncé!

What brought you to the Department of Occupational Therapy at CSU? 

My work in San Diego for the past several years has focused on supporting the needs of unhoused transition-aged youth (18-25 years old) struggling with their mental health and/or substance use. This included developing and implementing occupational therapy services at a transitional housing program and building a fieldwork experience for students there. I was excited about CSU’s focus on community outreach and service, and the opportunities within the OT department for the development of similar non-traditional fieldwork experiences for students.

What are your research and/or teaching interests, and how did you get interested in that topic? 

My teaching and research interests lie broadly in putting my knowledge and skills at the service of marginalized populations. In particular, I am interested in the areas of mental health and substance use, sanism, and integrating OT into “role-emerging” or nontraditional areas of practice. From a research standpoint, I am primarily interested in lived experience perspectives.  I teach in a variety of courses in the OT curriculum, with content primarily related to program development, qualitative research, and supporting adolescents and young adults.

What is your teaching philosophy? 

My teaching philosophy is centered on the idea of the classroom as a learning community. My goal as an educator is to empower students to see themselves as critical thinkers and active contributors to their learning, not merely as passive recipients of information.  I view myself as a facilitator or guide on their learning journey, not simply as an imparter of knowledge.

What is your favorite thing about CSU so far?   

The Oval 🙂 It’s my favorite spot on campus (so far)!

The Department of Occupational Therapy is part of CSU’s College of Health and Human Sciences.