Featured Scholar: Sally Wasmuth, Ph.D., OTR
Associate Professor, Occupational Therapy Program, School of Health and Human Sciences
Theatre, healing, and the power of collective change
Dr. Sally Wasmuth is an occupational therapist and researcher whose work bridges the humanities and health sciences to promote recovery, equity, and justice. With academic training in African-American studies, philosophy of biology, and occupational therapy, her interdisciplinary approach informs a robust research agenda focused on occupation-based interventions for addiction and dual diagnosis. Dr. Wasmuth is nationally recognized for pioneering the use of theater as a therapeutic and educational tool. Her arts-based initiatives—developed in collaboration with Summit Performance Indianapolis and community stakeholders—use live performance to reduce stigma, address racial and gender disparities in healthcare, and foster dialogue around substance use and mental health. Her IDEAS (Identity Development Evolution and Sharing) program has been implemented to challenge implicit bias among healthcare providers and amplify the voices of marginalized populations. Through her innovative work, Dr. Wasmuth continues to advance occupational justice and community-engaged scholarship, creating spaces where storytelling becomes a vehicle for healing and systemic change.
Professor Wasmuth's translation of research into supportive groups for new mothers is another excellent example of how IU Indianapolis's faculty members are TRANSLATING their RESEARCH INTO PRACTICE.
Selected Publications in IU Indianapolis ScholarWorks
Story, K. M., Wasmuth, S., Belkiewitz, J. M., Whalen, C., Robb, S. L., Bravata, D. M., & Bair, M. J. (2025). Military veterans’ perspectives on using music to manage chronic pain: Themes from the feasibility and acceptability of music imagery and listening interventions for analgesia study. Frontiers in Neurology, 16. https://hdl.handle.net/1805/50769
Wasmuth, S., Rattray, N. A., Cheng, P., Crow, S., Myers, J., Burns, D. S., Myers, L. J., Hook, B., Lustig, A., Perkins, A. J., Cheatham, A. J., & Bravata, D. M. (2023). A developmental formative evaluation of a pilot participatory music program for veterans with housing insecurity. BMC Public Health, 23(1), 1583. https://hdl.handle.net/1805/38599
Connors, J. N., Thornsberry, T., Hayden, J., Kroenke, K., Monahan, P. O., Draucker, C., Wasmuth, S., Kelker, H., Whitehead, A., & Welch, J. (2023). The use of peer support groups for emergency physicians during the COVID‐19 pandemic. JACEP Open, 4(1), e12897. https://hdl.handle.net/1805/36628
Klukken, A., & Wasmuth, S. (2023). Applying the Ecological Model of Human Performance and the SlutWalk Movement to Support those Affected by Rape Culture in the Context of Occupational Therapy. The Open Journal of Occupational Therapy, 11(3), 1–5. https://hdl.handle.net/1805/45140
DeRolf, A., Belkiewitz, J., & Wasmuth, S. (2023). Gender as Occupation: The “Doing” of Authentic Expression and Reciprocally Affirming Care for Transgender Individuals. The Open Journal of Occupational Therapy, 11(4), 1–6. https://hdl.handle.net/1805/45282
Wasmuth, S., Milton, C., Pritchard, K., Johnson, K. R., Wakeford, L., Caldwell, B., Peak, K., Briggeman, L., & Johnson, K. (2023). Narrative Theater to Examine and Mitigate Anti-Black Racism Within Occupational Therapy. OTJR: Occupational Therapy Journal of Research, 43(1), 81–89. https://hdl.handle.net/1805/36137
Wasmuth, S., Pritchard, K. T., & Belkiewitz, J. (2023). Bridging the humanities and health care with theatre: Theory and outcomes of a theatre-based model for enhancing psychiatric care via stigma reduction. Psychiatric Rehabilitation Journal, 46(4), 285–292. https://hdl.handle.net/1805/40158
Story, K. M., Bravata, D. M., Robb, S. L., Wasmuth, S., Slaven, J. E., Whitmire, L., Barker, B., Menen, T., & Bair, M. J. (2022). Feasibility and Acceptability of Music Imagery and Listening Interventions for Analgesia: Protocol for a Randomized Controlled Trial. JMIR Research Protocols, 11(9), e38788. https://hdl.handle.net/1805/35515
Wasmuth, S., Belkiewitz, J., Bravata, D., Horsford, C., Harris, A., Smith, C., Austin, C., & Miech, E. (2022). Protocol for evaluating external facilitation as a strategy to nationally implement a novel stigma reduction training tool for healthcare providers. Implementation Science Communications, 3(1), 88. https://hdl.handle.net/1805/34767
Wasmuth, S., Horsford, C., Mahaffey, L., & Lysaker, P. H. (2023). “Metacognitive Reflection and Insight Therapy” (MERIT) for the Occupational Therapy Practitioner. Canadian Journal of Occupational Therapy, 90(4), 333–343. https://hdl.handle.net/1805/35376
Find more free articles by Sally Wasmuth in IU Indianapolis ScholarWorks.