{"id":1250,"date":"2020-12-16T13:57:46","date_gmt":"2020-12-16T18:57:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/socialwork\/?post_type=cu_people&#038;p=1250"},"modified":"2026-07-27T13:25:43","modified_gmt":"2026-07-27T17:25:43","slug":"katherine-occhiuto","status":"publish","type":"cu_people","link":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/socialwork\/people\/katherine-occhiuto\/","title":{"rendered":"Katherine Occhiuto"},"content":{"rendered":"<header class=\"mb-6 cu-pageheader cu-component-updated md:mb-12\">\n    <h1 class=\"cu-prose-first-last font-semibold !mt-2 mb-4 md:mb-6 text-3xl md:text-4xl lg:text-5xl lg:leading-[3.5rem] relative after:absolute after:h-px after:bottom-0 pb-5 after:w-10 after:bg-cu-red after:left-px\">\n                    \n             \n                \n            <\/h1>\n\n    \n    <\/header>\n\n\n\n\n\n<h4 id=\"areas-of-interest\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">Areas of Interest<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Critical clinical and community-based practice<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Simulation-based education and research<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Poverty and social service access<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Youth work and youth-serving organizations<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Social work education<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Feminist and relational research methods<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h4 id=\"biography\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">Biography<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p>I am a social worker with extensive 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, which explores how we can make systems and services more just and responsive for the people who rely on them, particularly people navigating poverty, and how we can better support social workers in integrating their theoretical commitments into their 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 in developing into their most effective, ethical, and curious social work selves, using simulation and experiential learning to provide opportunities to practice and reflect on practice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 id=\"selected-publications\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">Selected Publications<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p>Occhiuto, K. (2025). Problems and gaps in charitable social service provision: A thematic analysis of lone mothers\u2019 experiences. <em>Canadian Review of Social Policy, 83<\/em>(2025), 57-86. <a href=\"https:\/\/crsp.journals.yorku.ca\/index.php\/crsp\/article\/view\/40414\">https:\/\/crsp.journals.yorku.ca\/index.php\/crsp\/article\/view\/40414<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Occhiuto, K. (2025). The complexities of navigating social supports: Impacts on low-income lone mothers. <em>Studies in Social Justice, 19<\/em>(3), 571-595. <a href=\"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.26522\/ssj.v19i3.4816\">https:\/\/doi.org\/10.26522\/ssj.v19i3.4816<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Van Vliet, L., Tarshis, S., Occhiuto, K., Todd, S., *Gheorghe, R., &amp; Grassau, P. (2025). Doing research differently: Fostering relational ethics in research teams. <em>Affilia<\/em>, <em>40<\/em>(4), 546-565. <a href=\"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1177\/08861099251326943\">https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1177\/08861099251326943<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Tarshis, S., Occhiuto, K., Sewell, K., *Gheorghe, R. M., &amp; Todd, S. (2025). Supporting social workers through uncertainty: A qualitative study exploring the role of supervision. <em>The Clinical Supervisor, 44<\/em>(1), 193-214<em>.<\/em> <a href=\"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1080\/07325223.2024.2430522\">https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1080\/07325223.2024.2430522<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Occhiuto, K., Tarshis, S., Todd, S. L., &amp; *Gheorghe, R. (2024). Reflecting on reflection in clinical social work: Unsettling a key social work strategy. <em>The British Journal of Social Work, 54<\/em>(6), 2642-2660. <a href=\"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1093\/bjsw\/bcae052\">https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1093\/bjsw\/bcae052<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Asakura, K., Occhiuto, K., Tarshis, S., *Gheorghe, R., &amp; Todd, S. (2024). Guidelines for using simulations in qualitative research on social work practice competenices. <em>Families in Society, 105<\/em>(4), 743-759. <a href=\"https:\/\/can01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com\/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fdoi.org%2F10.1177%2F10443894231210897&amp;data=05%7C02%7Ckatherineocchiuto%40cmail.carleton.ca%7Cbe8366e5aa434fad6d3d08dc0a28c78a%7C6ad91895de06485ebc51fce126cc8530%7C0%7C0%7C638396417464548573%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000%7C%7C%7C&amp;sdata=m%2FcYEArGVWj%2BMVeuJLH0evjqFHGnpVvgsiCPU0sLhvs%3D&amp;reserved=0\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1177\/10443894231210897<\/a> <em>*Awarded 2024 Best Research Note published in Families in Society<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Sewell, K., Occhiuto, K., Tarshis, S., Kalmanovich, A., &amp; Todd, S. (2024). Teaching note\u2014<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Adapting to online live streamed OSCEs. <em>Journal of<\/em> <em>Social Work Education,60<\/em>(2), 280-286. <a href=\"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1080\/10437797.2023.2249051\">https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1080\/10437797.2023.2249051<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Sewell, K., Occhiuto, K., Tarshis, S., Kalmanovich, A., &amp; Todd, S. (2024). Simulation in social work education: A qualitative study of standardized clients\u2019 experiences. <em>Social Work Education, The International Journal, 43<\/em>(6), 1516-1533. <a href=\"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1080\/02615479.2023.2194318\">https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1080\/02615479.2023.2194318<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Asakura, K., *Gheorghe, R. M., Tarshis, S., &amp; 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<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Occhiuto, K., Sewell, K., &amp; Asakura, K. (2023). Pivoting to online live-streamed simulations: Students\u2019 experiences in clinical social work education. Journal of Social Work Education, 59(4), 940-952. https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1080\/10437797.2022.2089306<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Asakura, K., Lee, B., Occhiuto, K., &amp; Kourgiantakis, T. (2022). Observational learning in simulation-based social work education: Comparison of interviewers and observers. Social Work Education, 41(3), 300\u2013316. https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1080\/02615479.2020.1831467<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Occhiuto, K. (2022). Data collection strategies for sharing lived experiences: Low-income mothers\u2019 perceptions of text (SMS) and multimedia (MMS) data collection. Affilia: Journal of Women and Social Work, 37(1), 136-150. <a href=\"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1177\/0886109920978575\">https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1177\/0886109920978575<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Occhiuto, K., Todd, S., Wilson, T., &amp; Garrod, J.Z. (2021). Toward greater transparency regarding cross-sector partnerships for technology development. <em>Canadian Journal of Nonprofit and Social Economy Research, 12<\/em>(2), 89-103. <a href=\"https:\/\/anserj.ca\/index.php\/cjnser\/article\/view\/413\/348\">https:\/\/anserj.ca\/index.php\/cjnser\/article\/view\/413\/348<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Asakura, K., Occhiuto, K., Tarshis, S., &amp; Dubrowski, A. (2021). Designing and conducting healthcare simulations: Contributions from social work. <em>Cureus Journal of Medical Science, 13<\/em>(7). <a href=\"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.7759\/cureus.16193\">https:\/\/doi.org\/10.7759\/cureus.16193<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Todd, S., Occhiuto, K., Asakura, K., &amp; Grassau, P. (2021). Navigating uncertainty in clinical social work practice: A pilot simulation-based study. <em>Clinical Social Work Journal, 49<\/em>(2), 286-297. <a href=\"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1007\/s10615-021-00800-4\">https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1007\/s10615-021-00800-4<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Asakura. K., Occhiuto, K., Todd, S., Leithead, C., &amp; Clapperton, R. (2020). A call to action on artificial intelligence and social work education: Lessons learned from a simulation project using natural language processing. <em>Journal of Teaching in Social Work, 40<\/em>(5), 501-518. <a href=\"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1080\/08841233.2020.1813234\">https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1080\/08841233.2020.1813234<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Wilson, T., Todd, S., Occhiuto, K., Garrod, J.Z. (2020). Social workers as double agents: Critical inquiry, social work education, and the youth question. <em>Social Work Education, The International Journal, 39<\/em>(1), 85-96. <a href=\"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1080\/02615479.2019.1653273\">https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1080\/02615479.2019.1653273<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Occhiuto, K., &amp; Rowlands, L. (2019). Innocent expertise: Subjectivity and opportunities for subversion within community practice. <em>Journal of Progressive Human Services<\/em>, <em>30<\/em>(3), 197-210. <a href=\"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1080\/10428232.2018.1502998\">https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1080\/10428232.2018.1502998<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":3922,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"cu_people_first_name":"Katherine","cu_people_last_name":"Occhiuto","cu_people_initials":"","footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"cu_people_type":[32],"cu_people_expertise":[],"class_list":["post-1250","cu_people","type-cu_people","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","cu_people_type-assistant-professor"],"acf":{"cu_people_job_title":"Assistant Professor","cu_people_degree":"PhD (Carleton), MSW (Carleton) BA, Political Science and Communications Studies (York University)","cu_building":"","cu_people_office_num":"","cu_people_pronoun":"","cu_people_designation":"","cu_people_email":"katherine.occhiuto@carleton.ca","cu_people_phone":"","cu_people_phone_ext":"1368","cu_people_linkedin":"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/katherine-occhiuto","cu_people_bluesky":"","cu_people_twitter":"","cu_people_instagram":"","cu_people_facebook":"","cu_people_website":"","cu_people_orcid":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/socialwork\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/cu_people\/1250","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/socialwork\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/cu_people"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/socialwork\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/cu_people"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/socialwork\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/socialwork\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/cu_people\/1250\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7831,"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/socialwork\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/cu_people\/1250\/revisions\/7831"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/socialwork\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3922"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/socialwork\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1250"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"cu_people_type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/socialwork\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/cu_people_type?post=1250"},{"taxonomy":"cu_people_expertise","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/socialwork\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/cu_people_expertise?post=1250"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}