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Katherine Occhiuto

Assistant Professor

Areas of Interest

Biography

I am a social worker with practice experience in community-based mental health, youth work, and community development. My background also includes teaching in a holistic education program for Indigenous and Inuit women who had experienced, or were at risk of, domestic violence, facilitating program evaluation for youth-serving organizations across Ottawa, and working in social policy research. These experiences ground my research on making systems and services more just and responsive for people navigating poverty, as well as supporting social workers in translating their theoretical commitments into practice. As Co-Director of the SIM Social Work Research Lab, I employ simulation-based methods to study and strengthen social work practice and education. In the classroom, I am committed to supporting students as they develop into their most effective, ethical, and curious social work selves, using simulation and experiential learning to create opportunities for practice and reflection.

Selected Publications

Occhiuto, K. (2026). A collaborative activity to establish classroom norms, and to discern and respond to students’ learning needs. Social Work Education, The International Journal, 45(4), 914-919. https://doi.org/10.1080/02615479.2023.2261498

Gheorghe, R. M., Tarshis, S., Occhiuto, K., Asakura, K., Van Vliet, L., & Todd, S. (2026). Uncertain feelings, feeling uncertain: A simulation-based study on countertransference in clinical social work. Clinical Social Work Journal, 54, 212-223. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10615-026-01033-z

Van Vliet, L., Todd, S., Occhiuto, K., Tarshis, S., Gheorghe, R., & Grassau, P. (2026). Resonant research in uncertain times: Reflections on relational research during a pandemic simulation study. International Review of Qualitative Research. https://doi.org/10.1177/19408447261434518

Van Vliet, L., Todd, S., *Gheorghe, R., Occhiuto, K., & Tarshis, S. (2026). Feeling professional: Emotions, uncertainty and contradictions in social work practice. The British Journal of Social Work, 56(3), 1059-1076. https://doi.org/10.1093/bjsw/bcaf221

Occhiuto, K. (2025). Problems and gaps in charitable social service provision: A thematic analysis of lone mothers’ experiences. Canadian Review of Social Policy, 83(2025), 57-86. https://crsp.journals.yorku.ca/index.php/crsp/article/view/40414

Occhiuto, K. (2025). The complexities of navigating social supports: Impacts on low-income lone mothers. Studies in Social Justice, 19(3), 571-595. https://doi.org/10.26522/ssj.v19i3.4816

Tarshis, S., Occhiuto, K., Sewell, K., Morris, B., & Todd, S. (2025). Training actors: A primer for social work educators working with standardized clients (SCs) in classroom simulations. Studies in Clinical Social Work: Transforming Practice, Education & Research, 95(3-4), 266-288. https://doi.org/10.1080/28376811.2025.2549842

Van Vliet, L., Tarshis, S., Occhiuto, K., Todd, S., *Gheorghe, R., & Grassau, P. (2025). Doing research differently: Fostering relational ethics in research teams. Affilia, 40(4), 546-565. https://doi.org/10.1177/08861099251326943

Tarshis, S., Occhiuto, K., Sewell, K., *Gheorghe, R. M., & Todd, S. (2025). Supporting social workers through uncertainty: A qualitative study exploring the role of supervision. The Clinical Supervisor, 44(1), 193-214. https://doi.org/10.1080/07325223.2024.2430522

Occhiuto, K., Tarshis, S., Todd, S. L., & *Gheorghe, R. (2024). Reflecting on reflection in clinical social work: Unsettling a key social work strategy. The British Journal of Social Work, 54(6), 2642-2660. https://doi.org/10.1093/bjsw/bcae052

Asakura, K., Occhiuto, K., Tarshis, S., *Gheorghe, R., & Todd, S. (2024). Guidelines for using simulations in qualitative research on social work practice competencies. Families in Society, 105(4), 743-759. https://doi.org/10.1177/10443894231210897

Sewell, K., Occhiuto, K., Tarshis, S., Kalmanovich, A., & Todd, S. (2024). Teaching note—

Adapting to online live streamed OSCEs. Journal of Social Work Education,60(2), 280-286. https://doi.org/10.1080/10437797.2023.2249051

Sewell, K., Occhiuto, K., Tarshis, S., Kalmanovich, A., & Todd, S. (2024). Simulation in social work education: A qualitative study of standardized clients’ experiences. Social Work Education, The International Journal, 43(6), 1516-1533. https://doi.org/10.1080/02615479.2023.2194318

Gheorghe, R., Tarshis, S., & Occhiuto, K. (2023). Student research peer support group: Reflections on mutual aid in qualitative research. Social Work with Groups: A Journal of Community and Clinical Practice, 46(3), 220-234. https://doi.org/10.1080/01609513.2022.2153196

Asakura, K., *Gheorghe, R. M., Tarshis, S., & Occhiuto, K. (2023). Translating critical social work into clinical practice: A pilot simulation-based study from Canada. Smith College Studies in Social Work. 93(2-4), 338-359. https://doi.org/10.1080/00377317.2023.2221353

Occhiuto, K., Sewell, K., & Asakura, K. (2023). Pivoting to online live-streamed simulations: Students’ experiences in clinical social work education. Journal of Social Work Education, 59(4), 940-952. https://doi.org/10.1080/10437797.2022.2089306

Asakura, K., Lee, B., Occhiuto, K., & Kourgiantakis, T. (2022). Observational learning in simulation-based social work education: Comparison of interviewers and observers. Social Work Education, 41(3), 300–316. https://doi.org/10.1080/02615479.2020.1831467

Occhiuto, K. (2022). Data collection strategies for sharing lived experiences: Low-income mothers’ perceptions of text (SMS) and multimedia (MMS) data collection. Affilia: Journal of Women and Social Work, 37(1), 136-150. https://doi.org/10.1177/0886109920978575

Occhiuto, K., Todd, S., Wilson, T., & Garrod, J.Z. (2021). Toward greater transparency regarding cross-sector partnerships for technology development. Canadian Journal of Nonprofit and Social Economy Research, 12(2), 89-103. https://anserj.ca/index.php/cjnser/article/view/413/348

Asakura, K., Occhiuto, K., Tarshis, S., & Dubrowski, A. (2021). Designing and conducting healthcare simulations: Contributions from social work. Cureus Journal of Medical Science, 13(7). https://doi.org/10.7759/cureus.16193

Todd, S., Occhiuto, K., Asakura, K., & Grassau, P. (2021). Navigating uncertainty in clinical social work practice: A pilot simulation-based study. Clinical Social Work Journal, 49(2), 286-297. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10615-021-00800-4

Asakura. K., Occhiuto, K., Todd, S., Leithead, C., & Clapperton, R. (2020). A call to action on artificial intelligence and social work education: Lessons learned from a simulation project using natural language processing. Journal of Teaching in Social Work, 40(5), 501-518. https://doi.org/10.1080/08841233.2020.1813234

Wilson, T., Todd, S., Occhiuto, K., Garrod, J.Z. (2020). Social workers as double agents: Critical inquiry, social work education, and the youth question. Social Work Education, The International Journal, 39(1), 85-96. https://doi.org/10.1080/02615479.2019.1653273

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