The guiding nature of the kawa (river) model in Ireland: creating both opportunities and challenges for occupational therapists.

The kawa (kawa is Japanese for 'river') model of occupational therapy has recently emerged in response to the needs for culturally sensitive conceptual models of practice that adequately address clients' diverse cultures and belief systems (Iwama, 2006a). The present article reports two case studies in which the kawa model was used to guide occupational therapy intervention with two individuals with multiple sclerosis in Ireland, with the aim of exploring the effectiveness of the recently emerged kawa model. A qualitative grounded theory approach using case-study methodology was undertaken.