Reflections from the Winners of the 2025 Terry Brittell OT/OTA Partnership Award
Natalie Chang Wright, MBA-HCM, COTA/L, ROH
Natalie Chang Wright is a dedicated occupational therapy assistant with 34 years of experience, excelling as a leader and team member. Her teamwork skills were shaped by her roles as a sibling, mother, wife, and soldier in the U.S. Army. These skills flourished through her personal and professional journey, culminating in advocacy and activism. As the first chairperson for the DEIJAB committee, Natalie champions diversity, equity, inclusion, justice, access, belonging, inter and intraprofessional collaboration through volunteerism, education, and quintessential contributions to the occupational therapy profession.
Shanese L. Higgins, DHSc, OTR/L, FAOTA, BCMH
Dr. Shanese L. Higgins, an Occupational Therapist with 20+ years of experience, has AOTA Board Specialty Certification in Mental Health. She earned her Post-Professional Doctor of Health Science and Master of Occupational Therapy from the University of Indianapolis. Passionate about enhancing dignity and diversity, she encourages reflection on the impact of culture on occupational engagement. Her research interests include mental health and culturally responsive practices. She values God, family, church ministry, arts, and reading. Dr. Higgins is a member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc.
Terry Brittell OTA/OT Partnership Award
Established in 1991, the Terry Brittell OTA/OT Partnership Award recognizes an occupational therapy assistant (OTA) and occupational therapist (OT) who, through collaborative efforts to promote the profession of occupational therapy, exemplify the professional partnership.”
Is there anything you can share about the legacy of the award, past recipients, or what the award represents to OTPs?
Natalie: Since it’s inception, this award has only been awarded 15 times. While we are honored to be the 15th recipient of the award, we are also curious as to why there aren’t more awardees? Is it that OTA/OT teams are not aware of the award because I am hard pressed to believe that there are only 15 deserving OTA/OT teams. I am not lessening the value, rather, we hope to inspire others to nominate themselves and/or their coworkers to be recognized for this, one of the most valuable awards provided by AOTA.
Shanese: I can’t speak for other OTPs, but for me this award represents the fruition of a true collaboration and what the OTA/OT working dynamic is supposed to be at its core. Everyday in every practice setting that is fortunate to have both practitioners available, there is opportunity for collaboration. And when these collaborations take place, everyone receives the best services possible; the clients, their families and loved ones, the organizations, the service department, and the respective OTA and OT.
Specific to the work Natalie and I collaborated on, this award represents a step towards progress in ensuring that as many voices as possible are heard, truly heard. That the work we did to move the needle even a little bit was effective and recognized beyond our own efforts. And that is sustained and sustainable for future OTA/OT collaborations.
Natalie: This award is one of the highest honors from the AOTA award line-up and it is the only of AOTA’s most esteemed honors that truly recognizes and celebrates the outstanding collaborative achievement between occupational therapy assistants and occupational therapists, with only 15 teams having received this distinction since its inception. Standing among these exceptional recipients is a tremendous honor, and the limited number highlights both the rigorous selection process and the need for greater awareness and encouragement of nominations within our profession. The award to me, serves as a symbol of the power ignited within intraprofessional collaborations within the OT profession. We hope our recognition inspires more OTA/OT teams to nominate themselves or their colleagues for this valuable award, further elevating the impact of partnership in occupational therapy.
Why is the OTA/OT partnership so vital in client-centered care, and how does it strengthen outcomes?
Shanese: Like every aspect of healthcare, teamwork is the only way to truly even begin meeting a client’s needs. There is no facet of healthcare in which only one person, one profession, one perspective adequately addresses the client, their needs, and provides a holistic approach to treatment. And if that is the case for the whole of healthcare, how can we as a profession not recognize and embrace this fact intra-professionally?! I understand that historically there have been settings in which there is only an OT providing services and in some other settings while there may be an OT for the purposes of evaluation and discharge, an OTA is truly providing the bulk of services and patient care. I would argue that in either of those scenarios there is opportunity to engage “the other” to enhance the entire therapeutic process and overall patient outcomes. What I know from personal experience, when I have been blessed to work with Occupational Therapy Assistants to provide services in clinical settings as well as academic encounters, the recipients of those services have been much better served by the collaborative process than if I had serviced those clients by myself as the OTR. The goals the clients identify and work to achieve are better attained by the collaborative process. The information that students learn when taught by both an occupational therapist and occupational therapy assistant is more holistic and meaningful and helps them to better understand and appreciate how to work together even before they step into the clinic. And when the students begin from this collaborative vantage point then the therapeutic process from the very beginning is grounded in the recognition of diverse perspectives and lived experiences which enhances our ability to see our clients diverse perspectives and lived experiences.
Natalie: By leveraging our unique skills and perspectives as equal partners, the collaborative relationship between OTAs and OTs consistently enhances client care and advances our profession. This strong partnership is vital for achieving the best outcomes and ensuring a comprehensive, client-centered approach. But this partnership, while typically acknowledged in clinical spaces, has lasting impacts in any and all settings where OTPs work. I believe the foundation of this should begin in both OTA and OT programs where learners, regardless of the entrance into the profession, get the foundational knowledge of OTA/OT intraprofessional collaboration. Shanese and I, after years of experience in the profession, experienced this OTA/OT collaboration at one of the highest levels in the profession. I don’t think it was a coincidence that we, an OTA and an OT, agreed to chair the DEI Committee and demonstrate true inclusion and collaboration for the profession to see and emulate. All together, we can create more effective solutions and culturally sensitive interventions that truly reflect the diverse needs of the people we serve.
What are some common misconceptions about the OTA/OT dynamic, and how can we challenge them?
Shanese: That the OT is “in charge of” the OTA! Unless the OT, or OTA for that matter, is the director for the department/team, they are not “in charge of” anyone but themself. The OT may be “in charge of” the therapeutic process for a given client but even that seems to be an overreach as we often espouse that our clients are the experts on their health so shouldn’t they truly be the ones “in charge of” their therapy? I think we challenge this misconception by noting that at best, and in the purest sense of the OTA/OT dynamic, the OT may be considered as the lead guide in the therapeutic process and they work closely with the OTA as a support guide to the process and that within the bounds of scope and legal practice, both guides are directed by the individual clients on where they want to go. In essence, the client determines the destination and both the OTA and OT offer expertise on how best to reach the destination.
Natalie: Common misconceptions about the OTA/OT dynamic include viewing OTAs as merely “assistants” or “helpers” rather than educated, certified, and licensed professionals with autonomous skills, and treating them as possessions by using language such as “my COTA” or “just an OTA,” which diminishes our professional identity and violates ethical principles of respect and equality. Another prevalent misconception is that OTs hold control over OTAs in a hierarchical relationship, when in reality the partnership should be collaborative with each professional contributing unique competencies within their scope of practice. To challenge these misconceptions, we must embrace using inclusive language that recognizes OTAs as “occupational therapy assistants” (not “occupational therapist assistants”), refer to them as “the OTA” rather than possessive terms, and actively include OTAs in meetings, leadership opportunities, and decision-making processes. Healthcare teams in all settings with OTA/OT teams can foster true partnership by educating all staff about the professional autonomy and clinical expertise that all OTPs bring to patient care, ensuring that both levels of the practice are valued as equal contributors to the occupational therapy process. As emphasized in the OT Practice article “Say My Name” by Fatula et al., 2024, using correct titles and inclusive language reflects our commitment to creating an environment where every professional’s role and contributions are recognized and respected, ultimately strengthening the entire occupational therapy profession.
How has working as an OTA/OT team shaped your professional growth and perspective on occupational therapy?
Shanese: Having the opportunity to partner with Natalie has been divine appointment. I have grown immensely as an OT in being open to discover my own blind spots related to respectful and effective partnership with an OTA. My current perspective on the profession is that we still have some work to do in creating spaces of belonging and transformative practice as truly collaborative intraprofessional partners. I do however believe there are more of us willing to do the work towards this partnership than those who still hold onto antiquated hierarchies of the OTA being an assistant to/of the OT rather than an assistant to the overall OT PROCESS.
Natalie: Considering I am an OTA, all of my 35 years of experience has centered on intraprofessional collaboration, having always worked with OTs whether in subordinate or supervisory capacities, providing countless opportunities to learn and grow from each other through balancing ideas, new theories and interventions while serving as partners, creating safe spaces for mentoring relationships. When teams work together they are truly unstoppable, as demonstrated during my experience working on the DEI committee with Shanese, where I opened my mind and heart and leaned into all the lived experiences she shared, extending that respect and safe space to each other which ultimately afforded us the opportunity to change the trajectory of how DEI is envisioned in OT. This collaboration was particularly meaningful because it addressed not only traditional diversity factors like race, ethnicity, accessibility, gender identity, and sexual orientation, but also gave room to understand that OTAs have experienced marginalization within the profession, making it important for me as an OTA to experience and demonstrate true intraprofessional collaboration with Shanese in this unique role within AOTA. Through this partnership, we exemplified how effective intraprofessional collaboration requires the core principles of equal voice, shared language, transparency, and team problem-solving, while fostering an environment where both professionals’ contributions are recognized and respected regardless of their educational level or role within the profession.
What advice would you give to new OTAs and OTs about fostering strong collaborative relationships?
Shanese: Begin fostering an appreciation for this collaborative relationship while you are in school. Every ACOTE accredited program must address the OTA/OT relationship. When the opportunities to learn about this relationship, or to experience it first hand, come up, be actively engaged in learning. If anything about what you are learning leans more towards hierarchies than true collaborations, ask the challenging question to your faculty.
As new practitioners embrace your co-parts. Look for opportunities to welcome and engage in the collaborative process in any and all ways available in your setting and at your organization. Think not only about direct patient care but beyond that in educational endeavors (i.e. co-presenting lunch and learns, co-authoring publications and presentations) and community outreach (i.e. co-leading organization supported outreach events, co-chairing committees, etc.,).
Be willing to be vulnerable and to receive feedback on not only what you are doing right in your intraprofessional interactions but also where you can grow. Be willing to do the work, starting introspectively.
Natalie: I would bring it back to the foundation; academia, where intraprofessional collaboration should be modeled, noting that while this occurs at the OTA level, it is less likely to find an OTA working in an OT program as an OTA, yet there are boundless opportunities to begin this collaboration in academia for new learners through innovative approaches like multi-university remote case studies, community-based experiences, and collaborative fieldwork placements. As a new graduate or experienced clinician, seek places of work that employ both OTAs and OTs, and if they do not, take it further than asking why not? Provide meaningful and evidence-based examples of the benefits of intraprofessional collaboration in all settings where occupational therapy practitioners work, demonstrating how these partnerships enhance client outcomes, professional growth, and organizational effectiveness. Beyond the workplace, actively seek opportunities to work on projects together where both persons’ contributions are showcased and celebrated, such as co-authoring articles, chapters, and research, participating in professional committees, and engaging in scholarship that elevates both levels of the professions, and when these opportunities do arrive, celebrate them LOUDLY.
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