cOnnecT with Michael Lee

How did you start your OT career?

I stumbled upon the occupational career path during a change in my life. When I was young in the 70’s, a personal experience provided me with the realization that there is not one single medical professional that holds the solution to living life with a disability. Disabilities of all types need a cadre of health care providers to enable a successful return home from hospitalization and an efficient home recovery. It was this understanding that opened my eyes to the importance of the field of occupational therapy. It did not take long after my enrollment in OT studies to know I had chosen the right field.

My first position as a practicing OT did prove to be somewhat challenging, as I did not enjoy the work environment. The big psychiatric institution in Hong Kong felt too impersonal for me. That being said, the position unveiled my passion for the mental health aspect of OT practice. Having the opportunity to listen to clients’ life stories and attempt to understand their world, their reality – that was when I felt I was making an impact in my position. I enjoyed the connection that formed when the client trusted me with such personal and important information. A few years later, I “discharged” myself from the psychiatric hospital and worked in a community mental health project, which was one of the pioneering community psychiatry projects at that time.

I immigrated to Canada about 20 years ago, wanting to re-establish my career in different culture. I stayed true to my passion, mental health practice, and worked as an OT at Riverview Hospital as soon as I passed my certification Examination. Though working in a different culture was quite a learning curve, I was still able to connect with, and enable the recovery of many people struggling with mental illness.  I had no doubt that had I found my passion. 

Who has had the most influence on your OT practice?
Starting from my first OT position in Canada, I was fortunate enough to work with a team of OTs and health care providers who believe in psychosocial rehabilitation and have been supporting such projects throughout the past 20 years.  For me, the most influential member of this team was the late Patricia Williams. She embodied the core principals of psychosocial rehabilitation. As a new immigrant to Canada I did not have any Canadian work experience. This normally would have provided a substantial road block in initiating my OT career in Canada. However, Pat trusted me as an internationally educated OT (IEOT) and provided me with opportunities to both learn and apply my knowledge in a Canadian context. She was instrumental in substantiating my position in the Canadian OT community. Her trust not only enabled me to practice in Canada, but also shaped my heart towards educating future occupational therapists, mentoring other OTs, especially IEOTs who do not have local field experience.

What does your work life balance look like?

I have so much going on in my life I prefer to look at it as work-life “juggling”, as how one of my colleagues at UBC framed it! That precise balance of work and personal life exists in a utopia. The concept of juggling all my commitments makes more sense conceptually to me - balance is a dynamic process after all. Think about standing.  You have to juggle and switch your center of gravity on an on-going basis to fit the environmental changes. As the environment is constantly changing there perfect balance is rarely obtained for longer than a moment.  Likewise, we need to juggle work and personal life in a careful way to ensure we are able to handle any environmental shifts in our life.  Sometimes I’ll shift more to towards work if that’s what is required, and other times I’ll shift more towards personal endeavors. Either way, it’s a lot of fun!

What do I want to do next?

I am at the point in my career where I feel it is necessary to pass on my skills, knowledge and value to the upcoming generation of OTs. With my cross cultural experience I aim to enhance future therapists in their ability to serve the current Vancouver community, and I am given this opportunity by working in the Department of Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy at UBC.

Other volunteer projects that I am launching include re-launching a mental health special interest group with the CAOT-BC. My hope is to reconnect with therapists who are interested in mental health practice and employ our unified strengths towards enhancing OT mental health throughout B.C. My interest at mental health also brings me to enabling mental health awareness on campus, which is a project I am working on at the UBC campus.

I am also working on introducing psychosocial rehabilitation (PSR) to China as I feel the country would benefit immensely from adopting such approach. The country has the capacity to elevate PSR to another level, benefiting a multitude of people living with mental illness. But what we know about PSR has to be contextualized to a different culture, which was something I learned when I first arrived in Canada, and is what I hope to do.

If you would like to know more about my projects and my passions, feel free to contact me at michael.lee@ubc.ca.