For those of you that don’t know what my profession was before I left it to travel for a bit, I was/still am an occupational therapist. And since a lot of people don’t know what an occupational therapist does, let me tell you. In general, we help people do the things they need and want to do in life to be as functional and independent as possible. It is a really rewarding profession being able to help so many people live their lives to the fullest. For this blog I decided to mix both of my passions, traveling and being a therapist! I left my job for awhile to go fulfill my dream of traveling the world. I have been traveling the past 5 months and have realized how important traveling can be for any therapist (or for anyone in any profession for that matter). And here’s why:
You immerse yourself in different cultures
For starters, traveling allows you to learn about and immerse yourself in other cultures. As a therapist we work with people of all different backgrounds. It is important to understand that your culture is different from other cultures and what is important to you may not be important to others. As a therapist we are client-centered and focus our treatment on our client’s goals and needs. And experiencing other cultures and learning what is important to them makes us as therapists improve our treatment plan and achieve goals that are important to our clients.
You become more open-minded
Traveling makes you more open-minded. You realize that there are so many different types of people. Different cultures, religions, sexualities, etc. And in the end no matter our differences, we are all human. And the best thing is no matter our differences we can all live and work alongside each other… crazy concept I know. In my opinion, discrimination is learned. BUT I feel that traveling can change that. You learn how to communicate and engage with people who are nothing like you and I find that awesome. And as a therapist you have to put your differences aside no matter what you think or believe in because in the end our job is to help people live a fulfilling life. When you travel, you also become more open-minded to try new activities, go new places, meet new people, and to try new foods. The world has endless possibilities!
You learn a variety of other skills
After traveling for an extended period of time, I’ve come to realize I’ve learned a bunch of other skills. You learn to adapt to new/unfamiliar situations, think on your feet, and problem solve. Because lets face it, traveling isn’t always unicorns and rainbows. Here is an example of what I mean. We had several Airbnb hosts who spoke zero English. I would try to learn simple phrases in each country I went to, but that only got me so far. So I had to adapt. I used gestures, facial expressions, pointed to things, pulled up pictures on my phone, etc. If there’s a will there’s a way. This relates greatly to the therapy world as we have clients that can’t speak or choose not to speak. And as a therapist our job is to adapt and find a way to communicate. Believe it or not you also learn a lot about time management and budgeting. I had to plan what I wanted to see and do in each country and city within the time I had for it. Plus if you don’t quickly pick up time management skills you will most likely be missing a few planes, trains, or buses haha. Whether you are traveling with or without a steady income you have to learn to budget. This way you don’t overspend and then have no way to pay for things when you come home. All of these skills can carryover to your profession as being able to adapt, problem solve, think quickly, and get things done in a timely manner are all important in the working world.
Traveling decreases burn out
Traveling as a therapist also reduces the chances of burn out. I actually had a really hard time leaving my job to travel. I have always put people before myself and this is something therapists do every day. I felt guilty leaving my clients and felt I was letting them down. As therapists we do a lot for our clients. We plan treatments within the clinic and at home, have meetings with other professionals working with our clients, constantly answer emails (mostly outside of our working hours), fight insurance companies to get our clients’ services covered, write daily notes, write progress notes, write evaluation reports, etc. The list goes on and on. And we do all that while treating clients all day. To be honest, it is exhausting at times. Which is why I am a huge believer that therapists should use their vacation days. I’ve realized that having time for myself and doing things to help my mental health all in all makes me a better therapist. So go on that long weekend getaway, take a day off to go to the spa, do whatever you need to do to feel refreshed.
You learn what is important in life
When traveling you realize the important things in life. After being away for an extended amount of time, I missed the people in my life the most. I didn’t miss my car, my paycheck, my shoes, etc.. I missed being around the people I love. I have lived out of a backpack for over five months and in the end I didn’t care that I wore the same outfits over and over again. I was experiencing so much in all different places that I didn’t even think about what I looked like. Yes, materialistic things and money are great and all, but that is not what you are going to be thinking about on your death bed. I got a lot of backlash for quitting my job to take a long trip around the world because apparently working your life away and saving a ton of money is what is important in American culture. But I don’t believe in that and I have zero regrets. I could die tomorrow and all that money would mean nothing. So in my opinion I would rather spend my hard earned money on experiences I will never forget.
In my opinion traveling can actually make you a better therapist or any other type of employee. You learn so many skills, you learn about people (and all jobs love hiring an employee that can work with all types of people!), and most importantly you learn about yourself. So that is why occupational therapists (or anyone!) should travel. Traveling will make you a better version of yourself and an overall better therapist. Yes, work hard, but take that paid time off and live your life.
