Occupational Therapy practitioners strive to enhance the ability of individuals to perform and participate in the activities they need and are expected to do each day. This philosophy is followed by Colorado State University occupational therapy doctorate students, Imani Conley-Frazier and Archana Subramanian. 

As part of the fieldwork requirement for their program, Conley-Frazier and Subramanian have spent their summer working in clinical services with Support Inc., an organization located throughout Colorado dedicated to providing services to maximize the quality of life for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. 

 Conley-Frazier and Subramanian’s work at Support Inc. falls under a non-traditional OT setting. Traditional OT typically takes place at outpatient therapy clinics or in schools; focusing on occupations such as brushing your teeth and getting dressed. At Support Inc., due to their services being a mix of in-person and telehealth, they focus on doing interventions for their clients’ behavioral health. Although this causes their OT process to look slightly different, they have been able to utilize what they’ve learned at CSU to remain occupation-focused and client-centered. 

Importance of occupational therapy 

Conley-Frazier, who comes from Aurora, Colorado, earned her Bachelor of Health Science in athletic training from the University of Missouri before beginning her occupational therapy doctorate at CSU. 

Subramanian is originally from India but has lived in Colorado for over a decade. She was attracted to CSU from its principles of community and its support for diversity and inclusion. 

Both were drawn to the Occupational Therapy Program because of CSU’s beautiful campus and the program’s national ranking. CSU’s Department of Occupational Therapy is ranked 7th in the nation by U.S. News and World Report.  

Conley-Frazier chose to begin studying occupational therapy during COVID. “I loved being an athletic trainer, however, COVID showed how vulnerable that career is since my job was completely put on hold due to sports being stopped,” she said.  

The uncertainty surrounding when sports would come back and how they could come back led her to find a career that allowed her to maintain her favorite parts of athletic training, such as building relationships and using a holistic approach, but in different communities.  

“With occupational therapy, you can help people in the worst and most stressful moments of their lives,” Conley-Frazier said. “You have the privilege to become part of their team and build a relationship with those you’re supporting.” 

Subramanian’s background in engineering and special education led her to pursue occupational therapy because of her belief in its potential.  

“I see this field as a perfect avenue to channel my creativity, analytical thinking, and problem-solving skills,” Subramanian said. “Enabling me to fulfill my long-held passion of assisting children and their caregivers.” 

Support Inc.’s impact 

Support Inc. provides various programs for their participants to ensure they have the tools and resources they need to succeed. Housing options, clinical services, and day programs for clients to have social interaction and participate in activities and events in the community are a few of the programs offered. 

At Support Inc., Conley-Frazier has counseling sessions with clients. These sessions happen weekly, bi-weekly or monthly, based on the client’s choice. Since clients can stop and start sessions whenever they want, Conley-Frazier is consistently making sure her clients accomplish their goals, so they can continue to utilize other services, if necessary. 

“Support Inc. really supports the disability community across the state by addressing all client needs uniquely, looking at the whole person and helping them have a life that they are happy and satisfied with,” Conley-Frazier said. 

Subramanian’s fieldwork at Support Inc. is similar to Conley-Frazier’s. Subramanian’s work involves planning, implementing, and documenting therapy sessions, both virtual and in-person, that are individualized to meet the specific needs and preferences of her clients. 

“I focus on using an occupational therapy lens to develop interventions that promote increased participation and performance in meaningful occupations, independent living skills, and community integration,” Subramanian said. 

Through their work, the two have been able to apply key components of the OT processes they’ve learned through their community-focused studies at CSU to give their clients the best care possible. 

“In this setting, the client is the driver for their treatment,” Conley-Frazier said. “I have been able to implement a lot of the motivation for change models and strategies we talked about [in class] this past spring semester. This has been beneficial to me to help identify where in the change process clients are when they say that they want to make a change in a certain area of their life or change a behavior pattern, so I can better support them.” 

“I have applied learnings from course content, especially those related to OT in mental health, professional reasoning, and therapeutic mode use,” Subramanian said. “We focus on occupational therapy practice framework, and occupational justice to deliver client-centered care.” 

Although Conley-Frazier’s and Subramanian’s work at Support Inc. can be categorized as non-traditional occupational therapy, by applying fundamental OT concepts to their sessions with clients, they support their clients’ steps toward living a fulfilling life.  

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