Sensory processing, meaningful participation, and the lived experience of adults with serious mental illness (August 15, 2023)

The webinar will provide an overview of recent neuroscience on the atypical sensory processing patterns of adults with serious mental illness (SMI) including implications for their occupational participation. Subsequently, a sociocultural and phenomenological understanding of the lived sensory experience of adults with SMI will be discussed using recent research from occupational therapy and from other disciplines. The Sensory Health: A Relational and Embodied (SHARE) framework of occupation will be used to describe the sociocultural and phenomenological aspects of sensory processing. Biomedical and sociocultural models for understanding sensory processing will be juxtaposed to describe their complementary nature and how they can be both used in clinical practice. Implications for research and education in occupational therapy will also be discussed.