The Role of Occupational Therapy
Introduction
Occupational therapy is a client-centered health profession concerned with promoting health and well-being through occupation, which refers to the practical and purposeful activities that allow people to live independently and have a sense of identity. The primary goal of occupational therapy is to enable people to participate in the activities of everyday life, which include day-to-day tasks such as self-care, work or leisure. Occupational therapists work with people and communities to enhance their ability to engage in the occupations they want to, need to, or are expected to do, or by modifying the occupation and/or the environment to better support their occupational engagement. [1]
Occupational therapy takes a “whole-person approach” to both mental and physical health, and well-being of a person to optimise function and enable individuals to achieve their full potential. This is achieved through practical support to increase independence by empowering the individual to overcome barriers preventing them from doing the occupations that matter to them, and focusing on activities of daily living (ADLs) because they are the cornerstone of independent living. Occupational therapists believe that participation can be supported or restricted by the physical, affective or cognitive abilities of the individual, the characteristics of the occupation, or the physical, social, cultural, attitudinal and legislative environments. Therefore, occupational therapy practice is focused on enabling individuals to change aspects of their person, the occupation, the environment, or some combination of these to enhance occupational participation.[2]
An occupational therapists role is to support individuals to overcome the effects of decreased functioning caused by illness, ageing and/or accident so that they can carry out everyday tasks or occupations, be it physical, psychological, social and environmental. This support can make a real difference giving individuals a renewed sense of purpose, opening up new horizons, and changing the way they feel about the future.
Occupational Therapy is governed internationally by the World Federation of Occupational Therapists, which is the global voice for occupational therapy and sets the standard for its practice. Occupational therapy is an autonomous profession, which means they can operate as members of a health service provider or rehabilitation teams or as independent practitioners who can accept referrals from a range of sources, including from an individual themselves (self-referral) or from other people involved with that individual.