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Sarah Morrison

While working as a nanny in high school, Sarah Morrison ‘24 ‘26G watched a child participate in occupational therapy and became curious about the profession. The more she learned, the more she realized it aligned perfectly with her interests in healthcare. 

“The ability to work in a variety of settings, and the privilege to assist individuals of all ages to accomplish tasks that are meaningful to them, was exactly what I wanted,” Morrison says.  

Morrison, of Westwood, Massachusetts, entered UNH's directly from high school, beginning a pathway that would ultimately lead to her occupational therapy doctorate (OTD). She graduated from the program's first cohort and now works as a travel occupational therapist. 

UNH’s first occupational therapy doctorate graduating cohort.

Prospective occupational therapy students often ask whether they should pursue a master's degree or a doctoral degree. Both pathways prepare graduates to become licensed occupational therapists. The OTD includes additional advanced study and a doctoral capstone, allowing students to deepen their expertise through experiences in leadership, research, advocacy, teaching, and program development. 

For Morrison, that opportunity to go deeper was a major reason she pursued the OTD. 

"Earning my OTD was important to me because it gave me the opportunity to go above and beyond with a capstone project and really dive into something that was specific to my interests," she says. “Additionally, it provided me the opportunity to work as a graduate assistant, teaching labs and courses, working on research projects, and really get to know the ins and outs of how academia works.” 

Morrison's clinical experiences included a placement at a Level I trauma center in Boston, which gave her experience in the acute-care setting. Her capstone allowed her to explore another area of interest: the connection between physical recovery and mental health. 

Patients recovering from serious illness or injury can also experience anxiety, depression, trauma, and other forms of psychological distress. Research reviewed as part of Morrison's project suggested that leaving those concerns unaddressed can contribute to poorer physical and functional outcomes. 

Morrison's capstone, , focused on helping occupational therapists better address those needs. Partnering with Portsmouth Regional Hospital, Morrison developed resources to make mental health screening and intervention more accessible in hospital settings.  

Morrison conducted a national survey of occupational therapists working in inpatient settings to better understand how confident and competent they felt addressing mental health concerns among physically ill and injured patients. She found that while many therapists felt capable of supporting patients' mental health needs, barriers such as limited time, productivity requirements, inadequate resources, and competing clinical demands often made it difficult to do so consistently.  

“My program development was a combination of a screening tool and intervention ideas that fell within the OT scope of practice that could be utilized by OTs in this setting to address this particular need of our patients to hopefully mitigate some of the long-term effects,” Morrison says. “It also had educational handouts for patients, caregivers, and other healthcare disciplines on how we can all address this need.” 

The results of Morrison’s capstone were encouraging. Following implementation of the program, therapists reported feeling better equipped to address mental health needs, and documentation showed increased screening and intervention efforts in this area. 

After graduation, Morrison accepted a position as a travel occupational therapist in Montana. Morrison says the additional experiences she gained through the OTD helped prepare her to pursue travel therapy as a new graduate. 

 “I know that I will eventually want to transition to an academic role while practicing per diem so that I can offer valuable learning experiences to future occupational therapy students the same way my professors did for me,” Morrison says. “The real-world experience they all brought to the classroom was an added layer of expertise and quality of learning that I think all classrooms should have”