Kawa Model

The Kawa model utilizes a client-centered approach that allows clients to reflect and understand the therapy process, identify obstacles that may come into play, and to ultimately develop strategies for therapy with the help of a practitioner. This occupational therapy model is a way for the therapist to make a meaningful contribution to the clients life, it allows the client to become a collective in their therapy process by allowing the client to understand what factors have influenced their daily life circumstances. The Kawa model as a whole is a way to take a holistic approach to understand what is occurring in the clients personal life. 

The Kawa model uses a metaphor of a river that is a symbolic representation of life. If you image your life as a river, the upstream might be the past, while the steady low flow of the stream is your future. The metaphor of the river of life is a way to take a step back from the busy aspect of everyday life and really look at the current situations of life. This model can relate to my own life, because I have always looked at my life in the future tense; who I want to be, where I want to be, and what I want to do in my life before I die. However, in order for my future goals to play out how I would like, I need to have a good understanding of how my current choices and situations may impact my end goal. In my life I have many things that have affected where I am today, and it is important to understand and acknowledge the reasoning behind that. I think I will use this model in my life to record my progression throughout occupational therapy school and see where I started to how far I have come. This will allow me to see what were some of the setbacks and what drove me to success in the field of occupational therapy.