Paruk, JuwairiyyaLister, Helga ElkeBalbahur, Raashmi2024-07-052025Juwairiyya Paruk, Helga Lister & Raashmi Balbahur (2025) The Hidden Client: Understanding the Lived Experience of Occupational Engagement of Partners of Persons Diagnosed with Bipolar I Disorder, Occupational Therapy in Mental Health, 41:1, 80-101, DOI: 10.1080/0164212X.2024.2313488.0164-212X (print)1541-3101 (online)10.1080/0164212X.2024.2313488http://hdl.handle.net/2263/96837The immediate social microcosm surrounding diagnosed individuals are often neglected. Partners of persons with bipolar I disorder experience positive and challenging experiences of occupational engagement, informed by their partner role. Guided by Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis (IPA), in-depth interviews unearthed participants’ lived experiences to highlight challenging experiences of occupational engagement, including, unmet occupational needs, occupational disharmony, and imbalance. Protective factors enhancing occupational engagement included satisfactorily achieving occupational needs and the experience of autotelic meaning. This study consolidated that exploring, understanding, and addressing occupational needs for everyone, including secondarily affected populations, should be a focus of occupational therapists.en© 2024 The Author(s). Published with license by Taylor & Francis Group, LLC. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0.CaregiverPartnerOccupational engagementLived experiencesBipolar I disorderSDG-03: Good health and well-beingArticle