Laurie Knis-Matthews, PhD, OT, has been an occupational therapist for over thirty years, primarily focused on mental health practice. Laurie has been conceptualizing the MMCR since she began teaching full-time in academia over twenty-five years ago.
"""The Matthews Model of Clinical Reasoning: A Systematic Guide to Occupation-Based Evaluation and Intervention Planning is a book both for occupational therapy students and seasoned practitioners. It offers a new model for understanding our clients and developing client—centered evaluations and intervention plans. It provides not only a theoretical base from which to build depth but also detailed information in a step-by step approach to assessment and treatment. Students will find this approach instructive while seasoned practitioners will find a new model method to add to their repertoire of client-centered care."" Victoria P. Schindler, PhD, OTR, BCMH, FAOTA, co-editor, Occupational Therapy in Mental Health, Professor Emeritus, Stockton University ""The Matthews Model of Clinical Reasoning presents a refreshing approach to the field of occupational therapy. It differs from the antiquated ways of past thinking by emphasizing a person’s life story rather than diagnosis. As an occupational therapist who switched practice areas after an extended absence from the profession, this model presented in a user-friendly format, was a great resource that taught me how to be more client-centered and occupation-based throughout the evaluation and intervention process for the people I serve. Dr. Knis-Matthews is an innovative changemaker whose book takes us on an exciting person-centered journey, creating a ripple effect from educator to student to future practitioner."" Mary-Jo Zinnie, licensed occupational therapist with 25 years of experience ""As a student in the midst of level II fieldwork, the MMCR model has provided me with a blueprint to strategize a person’s evaluation and intervention process. While I learned foundational information in my occupational therapy courses, this book presents, in a visual and friendly manner, how to apply this knowledge into practice. By examining the MMCR model case study chapters, I am able to generalize my clinical reasoning skills across various practice settings, evaluation findings, a person’s worldviews, and multiple occupational performance issues. I recommend this book to any student wanting to learn more about applying clinical reasoning and ways to approach occupation-based intervention in a clinical setting."" Jessica Onorati, OTS, occupational therapy student currently in level 2 fieldwork"