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The tragic loss of over 900 lives on the ferry Estonia in the Baltic Sea brought back many painful and bitter memories of similar disasters, such as Zeebrugger, the Marchioness and Piper Alpha, together with other disasters of a similar magnitude, such as Lockerble, the Bradford fire, Hillsborough, Clapham Common, Hungerford and the King's Cross fire, which are still in the minds of the public. Such well publicised disasters refocused attention on how society is ill-prepared and uncoordinated in the provision of sufficient and effective coping strategies. They raised awareness, and assisted both statutory and non-statutory bodies in focusing on the need to establish a collaborative and coordinated approach to deal with major disasters.

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The background to this study is the growing literature on the potential of applying appreciative inquiry (AI), commonly associated with business, to health care. As AI encourages creative thinking and is based on considering what can be done as opposed to what cannot, it seems suitable for educating occupational therapy students. To date, just one school of occupational therapy in the United Kingdom is known to have incorporated AI into its problem-based learning programme, whereby students are encouraged to think positively and creatively about clients and themselves. This study aimed to evaluate this pedagogic innovation with a focus on usefulness in practice placements. Method: Participants comprised students (n = 25) and relevant teaching staff (n = 6). Data collection was by semi-structured interviews with staff, and focus groups with students. Qualitative thematic content analysis was undertaken inductively. Findings: The findings suggested that students found AI an enjoyable and interesting learning method, and staff enjoyed teaching using this paradigm. Moreover, AI encouraged students to think more positively about clients on practice placement, especially in mental health settings. Conclusion: The implications for practice are an ability to think more creatively in therapeutic interventions, and to provide therapists with another tool that they could use when working with clients.