What Gives Life Meaning? Occupational Therapy Helps Apprentices Discover Purpose

It’s one of the oldest questions out there—how do we live a meaningful life?

 Occupational therapists (OTs) focus their work on helping people do all the things that are necessary (like work), and fun (like hobbies), in daily life. Together, those meaningful activities help create a life of purpose.

While The Trade emphasizes the importance of work to help apprentices find their path, we know work is only part of life. That’s why we consulted with Zack Schafer, executive director at Mountain Valley Treatment Center and OT for more than eight years. Zack helped us design our program and serves as a mentor and OT for every apprentice.  

He specializes in helping people overcome mental health challenges so they can lead meaningful, engaged lives. Zack joined the Mountain Valley team in 2021 as the program’s first-ever occupational therapist and currently leads a robust OT program that complements Mountain Valley’s clinical and residential programming.

 As The Trade’s OT, he works with each apprentice to create a plan toward independence. Each apprentice comes in with their own hopes, goals, and dreams of launching into young adult life. Once they’ve joined The Trade, they meet with Zack to go over all the different areas of occupation that build up our lives, including:

•      Self-Care

•      Leisure

•      Work

•      Play

•      Sleep

•     Hygiene

These are activities that people do every day to give life meaning and purpose. They can be done together or alone, in many settings. Occupational therapists help provide tools and resources to complete daily tasks and engage successfully in activities.

When Zack talks with apprentices, he gets a good understanding of how they feel like they’re doing in each area, as well as their ultimate goals when they leave The Trade. Along with their career goals, they might also want to focus on budgeting and financial management, or emotional regulation, or social skills. It’s Zack job to help them make sure they feel equipped to meet those goals and launch into adult life.

Zack has a weekly call with The Trade staff to review how each apprentice is doing at work, in lodge life, and in recreational activities on the weekends. He helps troubleshoot any challenge that might come up and anchors the team to a comprehensive vision of how to best support every apprentice.  

For Zack, it’s an opportunity to return to the direct care work as he focuses on higher-level administrative duties at Mountain Valley. For apprentices, it’s the benefit of seasoned mentorship to help craft the life they want, and a plan to move from dreams to action.