Social occupational therapy: epistemological contributions to a decolonial turn

Abstract

This essay reflects on the contributions brought about by social occupational therapy based on Latin American decolonial studies for the decolonial turn in the field, arguing that the debates and theoretical and methodological references carried out by this subfield were and are important for an epistemic disobedience. Social occupational therapy establishes itself as a counter-hegemonic proposal within a professional context centered on Anglo-Saxon perspectives, which universalizes the Euro-North American experience based on hierarchical relations of coloniality. Some of its elements refer to a social occupational-therapeutic praxis based on dialectical understandings of individual-collective and everyday life-social structure. Hence, the paper details these elements in the topics: (1) the social question and the ethical-political commitment: social articulator to decolonize; (2) decentering references: other knowledge to decolonize; (3) between the macro and microsocial: articulation between the socio-historical and cultural dimension, daily life and activity to decolonize; and (4) individual-collective and territorial-community action: overcoming individualized and individualizing practices to decolonize. Social occupational therapy still needs to further this discussions to deepen the debate within its historical and contemporary complexity.