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One of the top ten emerging practice areas as reported by the American Occupational Therapy Association is psychosocial occupational therapy. The purpose of this research was to examine the psycho-social practice of the school-based occupational therapist. The research intent was to provide qualitative data to identify and analyze the extent of the occupational therapist´s understanding and Application of psychosocial occupational therapy in meeting the needs of the students in special education. The first study, a pilot, utilized a structured interview method to investigate the understanding and practice of psychosocial occupational therapy within the public school. The second study utilized a structured interview to identify the extent of the special education administrators understanding of the school-based therapist in meeting the psychosocial needs of the students in special education. The third study utilized a structured interview to identify and analyze the extent of the occupational therapist´s understanding and application of psychosocial occupational therapy in meeting the needs of the students in special education.

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