Susan McNulty, OTD, OTR/L

Adjunct Assistant Professor of Clinical Occupational Therapy

Room: CHP 133
Phone: (323) 442-3340
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Biography

Susan McNulty is a specialist in the Lifestyle Redesign®, mental health and pain management services at the USC Occupational Therapy Faculty Practice. Dr. McNulty has provided occupational therapy for women struggling with domestic violence, addiction and mental health concerns as the Director of OT Services at Mariposa Women and Family Center of Orange, CA. She had previously practiced internationally as a Senior Occupational Therapist for community and inpatient psychiatric services in Mullingar, Ireland. Dr. McNulty is the twin sister of Division faculty member Karen McNulty.

Education

Bachelor of Science (BS) in Anatomy
UC - Davis
2010

Doctor of Occupational Therapy
University of Southern California
2010

Master of Arts (MA) in Occupational Therapy
University of Southern California
2004

Bachelor of Science (BS) in Anatomy
UC - Davis
2002

Publications

Journal Articles

Mc Nulty, S. K. (2012). Lifestyle redesign: A successful tool for pain management. painview, 8(2), 14-17. Abstract →← Abstract 

When people suffer from pain, their pain is not an independent factor separate from life’s responsibilities. People in pain experience all of the details, trials, and joys of daily life. Pain does not exist in a bubble. It is influenced constantly by the choices we make, and how we incorporate lifestyle components—eating, sleep, physical activity, leisure participation, socialization—into our daily routines. These choices provide individuals with chronic pain some control over how they live their lives. The choices also affect their state of health.
 
Lifestyle Redesign® is an approach used in occupational therapy to address how lifestyle factors can affect a person’s quality of health. It is defined as the process of acquiring health promoting habits and routines into one’s daily life (Clark et al 1997). A preventative approach, Lifestyle Redesign can promote healthy habits and routines with patients with a range of diagnoses, or people in the well population who carry no diagnosis.
 
Occupational therapists believe in the health promoting effect of engagement in occupation—defined as meaningful activity. We value the importance of the daily doing and the meaning of activities we choose to engage in every day. When applied to a population with chronic pain, one can easily see how lifestyle factors can affect the level of a person’s pain—preventing pain or leading to more pain. Therefore, the purpose of the Lifestyle Redesign approach in pain management is to “redesign” the life of individuals with pain to enhance their well-being and quality of life.