Watson appointed to faculty Dec. 1

 On Dec. 1, the Program in Occupational Therapy will appoint Marit Watson, OTD, OTR/L, PMH-C, to its faculty as an instructor in occupational therapy and medicine (PDA). She will teach a variety of courses within the master’s degree and clinical doctoral degree curricula with an emphasis on adult/older adult neurorehabilitation. She will be the Co-Course Director for Evaluation and Intervention: Adults and Older Adults II and provide course support for Evaluation and Intervention: Adults and Older Adults I and Case-Based Learning II and III.

Watson earned her bachelor’s degree in occupational therapy in 1999 from Colorado State University and her doctorate in occupational therapy in 2019 from Creighton University in Omaha, Neb. She is also certified as a Perinatal Mental Health Affiliate Provider.

Watson has served as a lecturer in the Program since 2019. She was also an adjunct faculty member in the Department of Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy at Saint Louis University from 2020-2022 and in the Department of Psychology at McKendree University in Lebanon, Ill., from 2019-2022. Since 2000, Watson has worked as an occupational therapist with adult clients with a variety of neurophysiological and orthopedic injuries in outpatient, hand therapy, assisted living/skilled nursing and inpatient rehabilitation settings. A former military spouse, she has lived and/or practiced in Colorado, California, Oklahoma, Texas, New Jersey, Illinois and Missouri. Watson also developed BALANCED, a community-based balance and exercise program to promote safety and independence during participation in meaningful occupations and to sustain preferred roles and routines within the home and community.

Her research interests include the development, implementation and testing of community health promotion and outreach programs. Specifically, Watson’s research explores motherhood with consideration of perinatal mental health, role overload and occupation in the context of bereavement. She has provided capstone mentorship to students interested in maternal mental health, with projects focused on increasing inclusive health-care partnerships to better meet the needs of parents within the transgender community and facilitating a smooth transition to motherhood for military dependents.