Katherine Occhiuto
Assistant Professor
- PhD (ÐÓ°ÉÔ´´), MSW (ÐÓ°ÉÔ´´) BA, Political Science and Communications Studies (York University)
- Email Katherine Occhiuto
Areas of Interest
- Critical clinical and community-based practice
- Simulation-based education and research
- Poverty and social service access
- Youth work and youth-serving organizations
- Social work education
- Feminist and relational research methods
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Occhiuto, K. (2025). The complexities of navigating social supports: Impacts on low-income lone mothers. Studies in Social Justice, 19(3), 571-595.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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).
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.
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.
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.