Kawa Model has to be the topic that I’ve been asked to do an episode on the most. As well versed as I am in the model and its application I’ve held out for 2 1/2 years until this very moment when I could bring the one and only Dr Michael Iwama on to talk about it himself. This has been on my list since before I even started Occupied so I’m soooo happy that we finally made it happen!

I’ve known Michael for quite a number of years through various online networking and he has always been an incredible support to me and my career. Clinically the Kawa changed how I worked with and viewed peoples situations and the role of OT. The aim of this episode was to create a grassroots resource about how the Kawa came to fruition as I strongly believe that in order to get the most out of the model, understanding its roots is imperative. For those already familiar with the Kawa, you’ll know how ironic that statement is.

Please do enjoy this episode and I’d absolutely love to hear how you’ve used the Kawa model in your life/practice.

Referenced during the podcast:Iwama, M. (2003) Toward Culturally Relevant Epistemologies in Occupational Therapy, American Journal of Occupational Therapy, (57), 582-588. https://doi.org/10.5014/ajot.57.5.582

Dr Iwama’s details: https://twitter.com/michael_iwamahttp://www.kawamodel.com/v1/https://www.facebook.com/KawaModel

Keep Occupied

Brock@brockcookOTbrock.cook@me.comwww.occupiedpodcast.com

Automatic Transcription

101 Comprehensive Kawa ft Dr Michael Iwama

00:00:00 – 00:05:18

All right, I suppose it took a while but I you know, my family emigrated to Canada in the early 1970s and I attended High School in Vancouver, British Columbia Canada. And so for my first studies when I went to college and it’s typical for I think it’s stereotypical for Asian families that have immigrated to other places that it’s just imperative that everybody goes to college or university. There’s this unspoken expectation that somehow your supposed to be supposed to be better than the past generation. Yeah, and so I went and studied. I think what people these days call Kinesiology or Sports Sciences. Yep, exercise physiology job. So I went and and studied for my first bachelor’s degree in a program called Human Performance. So I got a Bachelor of Science and Human Performance. And by the time I graduated I was working with Elite athletes and you know for the I’ve had stents working with the Canadian national men’s and women’s basketball teams, the men’s and women’s volleyball teams. I’ve even you know Fitness tested the professional hockey team and in fact that side of Canada called the Vancouver Canucks and so, you know Varsity athletes, I you know worked as a trainer for many of the Varsity Sports that the universities that have been at so that that was where I was but however, I I started to realize that Elite athletes are probably some of the most egocentric people on Earth birth You know, it’s all about me me me and how can I get the best performance out of me? And how can I win and and that and and so I began to bring it on my career Outlook and I guess I I sought to really want to work instead of wor...