The Hidden Client: Understanding the Lived Experience of Occupational Engagement of Partners of Persons Diagnosed with Bipolar I Disorder

The immediate social microcosm surrounding diagnosed individuals are often neglected. Partners of persons with bipolar I disorder experience positive and challenging experiences of occupational engagement, informed by their partner role. Guided by Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis (IPA), in-depth interviews unearthed participants' lived experiences to highlight challenging experiences of occupational engagement, including, unmet occupational needs, occupational disharmony, and imbalance. Protective factors enhancing occupational engagement included satisfactorily achieving occupational needs and the experience of autotelic meaning. This study consolidated that exploring, understanding, and addressing occupational needs for everyone, including secondarily affected populations, should be a focus of occupational therapists.