The Traitors is one of my favourite programmes, and tonight the celebrity version launches on BBC One and iPlayer. As someone who has followed every series, I am really looking forward to seeing how familiar faces adapt to the unique pressures of the castle.
What I have noticed across every series so far is the presence of disabled and neurodivergent contestants. Series 1 featured Meryl Williams, who has dwarfism, and Nicky Wilding, who was born with one hand. Series 2 included Mollie Pearce, a disability model with a limb difference. Most recently, Series 3 introduced Jake Brown, who has cerebral palsy, and Dan Bird, who is autistic.
What I have appreciated most is the way this representation has felt balanced. Disability and neurodivergence are acknowledged, but never framed as tales of inspiration. Instead, contestants are simply part of the game, strategists, Faithfuls, or Traitors, competing on equal terms.
This makes The Traitors the perfect series to explore using the Occupational Adaptation model. Unlike some other models that look at specific components of performance or environment, the Occupational Adaptation model is about how we all adapt our occupations to meet the challenges we face. And in the castle, challenges, both social and psychological, come thick and fast.
The History of the Occupational Adaptation Model
The Occupational Adaptation model was first developed by Janette Schkade and Sally Schultz in the early 1990s at Texas Woman’s University. Their foundational text, Occupational Adaptation: Toward a Holistic Approach for Contemporary Practice, Part 1 (Schkade and Schultz, 1992), outlined Occupational Adaptation as both a theory and a practice model designed to describe the process by which humans respond adaptively to occupational challenges.
They argued that the primary goal of occupational therapy is to facilitate a person’s capacity to generate adaptive responses, rather than focusing only on restoring skills. The Occupational Adaptation model sees humans as constantly interacting with their environments, facing occupational challenges, and striving for mastery (Schkade and Schultz, 1992, Schultz and Schkade, 1997).
The Occupational Adaptation Model in the Castle
Occupational Challenge
In The Traitors, the castle itself creates the occupational challenge. Normal life is stripped away and replaced with a world of secrecy, suspicion, and competition. Contestants wake each morning to the uncertainty of who has been “murdered” overnight and who might be banished at the next roundtable. The challenges do not stop there, as the group missions often add physical and social demands. People are required to work together, communicate, and place trust in each other’s strengths in order to succeed.
Occupational Challenge Explained
An occupational challenge is any demand created by an environment or a task. It is the situation that pushes a person to act.
- It could be something physical, social, or psychological.
- The key is that it stretches a person beyond their usual routines and requires adaptation.
In The Traitors, the occupational challenge is created by the castle environment. Normal life is stripped away and replaced by constant suspicion, secrecy, and competition. The group tasks add another layer, demanding teamwork, physical effort, and mutual trust to complete successfully.
Press for Mastery
The press for mastery is felt in every breakfast and roundtable. Faithfuls must stay convincing and rational to avoid being accused, while Traitors must remain calm and persuasive as suspicion grows. Each person is caught between their inner drive to succeed and the constant pressure from the group.
Mastery Explained
In the Occupational Adaptation model, mastery is about how people respond to the demands placed on them and their own drive to handle those demands well.
- The person’s desire for mastery: the inner push to be competent and capable.
- The environment’s demand for mastery: the rules, pressures, and expectations coming from the outside world.
- The press for mastery: the moment when inner desire and external demands come together and push a person to act.
In The Traitors, this might look like a Faithful wanting to stay calm and rational, while the group pressures them with suspicion. That press for mastery forces them to adapt.
The Occupational Adaptation model also talks about relative mastery, which reminds us that success is not always about “winning.” Even if the ultimate goal is not reached, people can still find meaning, growth, or satisfaction in how they responded.
Adaptive Response
To stay in the game, contestants must adapt. In the social setting of breakfasts and roundtables, some change strategies, shift alliances, or adjust how much they speak. Others struggle, becoming rigid or overwhelmed by suspicion. Adaptation is also required in the group missions, where people need to solve physical tasks, follow clues, or rely on others to complete challenges. Here, contestants adapt by recognising their own strengths and limits, trusting team members, or finding creative ways to contribute. Disabled contestants such as Meryl Williams, Mollie Pearce, and Jake Brown have been part of this mix, showing authentic adaptation as part of the group, without being framed as “inspirations.” What stands out is that adaptation is universal: every person in the castle has to find ways of responding to the pressure.
Adaptive Response Explained
An adaptive response is how a person reacts to an occupational challenge. It is the behaviour or strategy they use to try and meet the demands of the situation.
- Adaptive responses can be effective, less effective, or maladaptive.
- They can involve changing behaviour, thinking differently, or developing new strategies.
In The Traitors, adaptation happens both in strategy and in teamwork. Some contestants adapt socially by managing suspicion and building trust, while others adapt physically and emotionally during the group missions, finding ways to contribute despite pressure and uncertainty.
Relative Mastery
Only a few people ever win the final prize, but many contestants leave the castle reflecting on growth, confidence, or friendships. This is the essence of relative mastery, where meaning is found not just in winning, but in adapting and discovering strengths along the way. The group missions highlight this clearly. Even when the team fails to collect the full amount of money, individuals often describe pride in their effort, satisfaction in problem-solving, or enjoyment in working together. These moments of achievement, however small, can build confidence and create lasting memories. Relative mastery in The Traitors is not about perfection, but about finding value in how people adapt, connect, and contribute under pressure.
Relative Mastery Explained
Relative mastery is about the meaning and satisfaction a person takes from their adaptation, regardless of whether they “won” or achieved the full goal.
- It recognises that people often grow, learn, or discover strengths even when things do not turn out as planned.
- It shifts the focus away from outcome and onto personal meaning.
In The Traitors, this can be seen in contestants who, despite being banished, leave with stronger friendships or new self-belief, as well as those who feel proud of their contributions in group missions even when the pot was not maximised.
Why the Occupational Adaptation Model Makes Sense of The Traitors
At its heart, The Traitors is about adaptation. The Occupational Adaptation model helps us see that what unfolds in the castle is not just reality television, it is a vivid demonstration of the universal human process of facing challenges, adapting occupations, and striving for mastery.
For occupational therapists, it is a reminder that our models are not only tools for practice with people in services. They are ways of understanding the everyday occupations of all people as they adapt to whatever situations life places them in, whether in therapy, in a Scottish castle, or in daily life.
And on a personal note, I am especially excited that tonight we finally get to see the celebrity version of The Traitors. There are individuals in the line-up who I really admire, and I cannot wait to see how their personalities and strategies unfold in the castle. I know I will be glued to the screen, curious to see how adaptation plays out when familiar faces are put under the same pressures that have tested every person before them.
A Critical Reflection
The Occupational Adaptation model is sometimes criticised for being abstract and hard to measure, especially concepts like “relative mastery.” While using The Traitors stretches the model beyond its original therapeutic purpose, I believe this flexibility shows its strength, adaptation is a universal process, and popular culture can help make occupational therapy theory more visible and relatable.
References
Schkade, J. K., and Schultz, S. (1992). Occupational adaptation: Toward a holistic approach for contemporary practice, Part 1. American Journal of Occupational Therapy, 46(9), 829–837.
Schultz, S., & Schkade, J. K. (1997). “Adaptation.” In C. Christiansen & C. Baum (Eds.), Occupational Therapy: Enabling Function and Well-Being (2nd ed.), pp. 459-481. Thorofare, NJ: Slack.
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