What is Occupational Therapy?

“What do you do?” “What is Occupational therapy?” “Do you help people find jobs?” “Oh, you are a Physical therapist.”

These are all questions I get asked on almost a daily basis. I could describe occupational therapy (OT) in a lot of ways.

According to American Occupational Therapy Association: “The practice of occupational therapy means the therapeutic use of occupations, including everyday life activities with individuals, groups, populations, or organizations to support participation, performance, and function in roles and situations in home, school, workplace, community, and other settings. Occupational therapy services are provided for habilitation, rehabilitation, and the promotion of health and wellness to those who have or are at risk for developing an illness, injury, disease, disorder, condition, impairment, disability, activity limitation, or participation restriction. Occupational therapy addresses the physical, cognitive, psychosocial, sensory-perceptual, and other aspects of performance in a variety of contexts and environments to support engagement in occupations that affect physical and mental health, well-being, and quality of life.”

Whew! That is a mouthful!

I prefer to say, “I help people engage in activities that are meaningful to them and to help them live a full and complete life according to what THEY want to do.” Or even more simply, “Occupational therapy is a health profession whose goal is to help people achieve independence, meaning and satisfaction in all aspects of their lives.”

I get to help people. I get to provide them with resources on how to empower themselves! I get to help people reach goals. I can work with any population – pediatrics, the elderly, behavioral health, mental health, and everything else. I can run groups and meet with people 1:1.

In OT, I can help people accomplish Activities of Daily Living (bathing, feeding, eating, grooming/hygiene). I can help them accomplish taking care of others, driving and mobility. We can work on emotional regulation skills and communication skills. The possibilities are endless!

Things I have learned from OT:

§  Stress management

§  Time management

§  Learning how to say no – do what makes you happy!

§  How to embrace life

§  How to put all my craft projects to good use

§  How self-expression is fantastic for the soul

§  How to love people no matter their

Everyone can benefit from OT!

One of my favorite things about occupational therapy, aside from the creativity involved, is the fact that it is so positive and encouraging! We want people to embrace life and be satisfied!

 

My sister requested that I write this post because everyone’s been asking her about what I do and she can’t really explain it. Hopefully this clears up a little bit of the confusion! If not, ask me to explain more or google it!

I am so blessed to be involved in a profession that fits me perfectly! I want to make occupational therapy more well-known so people understand the significance of it!