This presentation will consider the meanings of holism and reductionism and the relationship to occupation and occupational therapy practice. Reflections on examples from rehabilitation will illustrate the limitations and advantages of each approach. Is a complete focus on occupation enough to inform practice? Does breaking down occupation into smaller and simpler components fail to acknowledge the complexity and meaning of situations? Ways of working with both approaches will be presented and will challenge the audience members to include the question of what is of greater value to the person in rehabilitation – to be holistic or reductionist?