Dr. Elena Velikovsky-Lipskaya

Lecturer, Department of Occupational Therapy, Sackler Faculty of Medicine

Education

Occupational Therapy (B.O.T.), Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel, 1998- 2002

Sackler Faculty of Medicine (Ph.D), Direct Path, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel, 2004-2010

Sackler Faculty of Medicine & Queen’s University, Canada (Post-Doctoral Degree), 2012-2014.

Participation in Everyday Life and Occupational Therapy Practice for People with Psychiatric Disorders

Participation in meaningful activities according to personal values and choices is one of the central components of health and well-being. Moreover, it is one of the ultimate goals of health services delivery, as suggested by the WHO vision. Today, psychiatric disorders still remain one of the main reasons for disability payments all over the world due to the functional disability they cause. My research is focused on exploring everyday functioning and participation patterns of people with psychiatric disorders that were found to be both unique and similar to those of the general population; and detecting factors affecting the everyday functioning such as functional capacity, motor abilities, sence of belonging and sensory modulation over the more conventional ones (psychiatric symptoms and cognition). In addition, I investigate efficacy of Occupational Therapy (OT) evaluation and intervention process and develop new tools and technics for practice. Since Occupational Therapy services are provided in different settings, including in mental health hospitals, one of our particular areas of interest is investigation of the OT practices in acute settings to promote successful transition to everyday life after discharge and reintegration into community.

1. Bony, O., Lipskaya, L., Haim-Litavsky, D., & Hadas-Lidor, N. (2010). Occupational  Therapy in mental health: Integration in the new vision. Medicine:Psychiatry, 16, 42- 47

2. Lipskaya, L., Jarus, T., & Kotler, M. (2011). Influence of cognitive abilities and symptoms of schizophrenia on performance of Instrumental Activities of Daily  Living. Scandinavian Journal of Occupational Therapy, 18(3), 180-187.

3. Lipskaya, L., Kotler, M., M., Weiss, P., Kaspi, M., Gizmo-Sabag, S., Ratzon, N. (2013). Car driving in schizophrenia: Can visual memory and organization make a  difference? Disability & Rehabilitation, 35, 1734-1739.

4. Lipskaya-Velikovsky, L., Avrech Bar, M., & Bart, O. (2014). Context and psychosocial  intervention in mental health. Scandinavian Journal of Occupational Therapy, 21, 136- 144.

5. Lipskaya-Velikovsky, L., Bar-Shalita, T., Bart, O. (2015). Sensory modulation and daily-life participation in people with schizophrenia. Comprehensive Psychiatry, 58, 130-137.

6. Lipskaya-Velikovsky, L., Jarus, T., Easterbrook, A., & Kotler, M. (2015). From  hospital admission to functioning in the community: Is a prediction possible? Psychiatry  Research, 226, 499-506.

7. Lipskaya-Velikovsky, L., Kotler, M., & Krupa, T. (2016). Description of and Preliminary  Findings for Occupational Connections, an Intervention for Inpatient Psychiatry Settings. American Journal of Occupational Therapy, 70(6), 1-5.

8. Lipskaya-Velikovsky, L., Jarus, T., & Kotler, M. (2016) Factors predicting  employment status following in-patient evaluation among persons with schizophrenia.  Work, 53(3), 469-478.

9. Lipskaya-Velikovsky, L., Jarus, T., Easterbrook, A., & Kotler, M. (2016). Participation in daily life of people with schizophrenia compared to general population. Canadian Journal of Occupational Therapy, 83(5), 297-305.

10. Lipskaya-Velikovsky, L., Jarus, T., & Kotler, M. (2017). Prediction of the intensity and  diversity of day-to-day activities among people with schizophrenia using parameters  obtained during acute hospitalization. Disability and Rehabilitation, 39(13), 1300-1306.

     11. Avrech Bar, M., Pade, M., Jarus, T., Gat, S., Kaufman Cohen, Y., & Lipskaya-Velikovsky,  L. (2017). Problem-based learning in occupational therapy curriculum–implications and challenges. Disability and Rehabilitation, 1-7.

12. Lipskaya-Velikovsly, K., Elgarisi, D., Easterbrook, A., Ratzon, N. (2018). Motor skills, cognition and work performance of people with severe mental illness. Disability and  Rehabilitation. doi: 10.1080/09638288.2018.1425744  

13. Lipskaya-Velikovsky, L., Zeilig, G., Weingarden, H., Rozental-Iluz, C., Rand, D. (2018). Executive functioning in individuals with chronic stroke; does it predict daily functioning?  International Journal of Rehabilitation Research, 41(2), 122-127.

14. Hellinger, N., Lipskaya-Velikovsky, L., Weizman, A., Ratzon, N. Holding a valid driver's license- clinical, cognitive and socio-demographic aspects. Canadian Journal of  Occupational Therapy (In Press).

15.  Shohat, I., Hadas-Lidor, N., Lipskaya-Velikovsky, L. Cultural adaptation of Action over Inertia, a participation- oriented intervention for individuals with serious mental illness. The Israeli Journal of Occupational Therapy (In Press).