Everything about Occupational Therapy & Therapist - Meaning, Roles & Responsibilities

Occupational therapy is one such mode of treatment that takes care of individuals with difficulties in mobility and coordination. Professionals involved in this practice primarily use exercises to help such people regain confidence in doing their daily activities. If you find it interesting and want to know what occupational therapy is in detail, read till the end.

Occupational therapy, or OT, is a procedure that teaches one to adapt to special circumstances. In some cases, experts use assistive tools to help recover a person. This therapy is suggested for those who are unable to do everyday tasks due to impairment of their motor skills. Some of the examples are listed below:

• Eat by themselves
• Write 
• Participate in activities
• Take bathe and dress
• Do simple chores like laundry or cleaning up

Nevertheless, you should know occupational therapy has nothing to do with vocational counselling. It helps people to resume physical activities so that they can live a regular life again. It is possible to confuse Physiotherapy with this profession. The former helps people restore their physical functions, while the latter concentrates on how that function affects one's ability to do physical things.

As you have gathered enough information on what occupational therapy is, let’s learn about who may require assistance through occupational therapy. 

Individuals with the following conditions can benefit from OTs to regain mobility and coordination skills. 

• Autism 
• Cerebral palsy
• Spinal cord injury
• Stroke
• Brain trauma
• Multiple sclerosis
• Dementia or Alzheimer’s disease
• Epilepsy 
• ADHD
• Developmental coordination disorder or Dyspraxia 
• Developmental delay
• Down syndrome
• Intellectual disability
• Learning disorder
• Poor balance
• Arthritis 
• Joint replacement
• Impaired vision
• Hearing impairment
• Sensory processing disorder
• Anxiety and depression
• OCD
• PTSD
• Body-focused repetitive behaviour
• Substance abuse
• Addiction 
• Chronic fatigue syndrome
• Migraine
• Fibromyalgia 
• Chronic diseases

Experts who perform Occupational Therapy are called ‘Occupational Therapists’. They can work on any age group, from premature infants to older adults. 

Suppose you want an appointment with an occupational therapist. In such cases, you should know how they work. However, in a simple way, their work is to assess and analyse how these individuals perform some basic tasks and develop a plan to treat them. The following segment will help you know what occupational therapists do in detail:

• Observe

The process begins with careful observation and continuous assessments. The therapists observe such individuals performing specific tasks. That is followed by assessment procedures like interviews and consultation sessions in different settings. They encourage them to share the problems they face in their environment.

• Plan

After assessing and observing, the OTs plan what kind of treatment is required, and they ensure the plan that is developed aligns with the patient's condition, lifestyle, habits and environment. 

• Intervene

The therapists then intervene with some programs keeping them oriented with the patient and their environment. These programs are designed in such ways that facilitate everyday work along with promoting adaptation to situations. This includes teaching new techniques and helping with tools to help gain independence in personal care.

• Cooperate

Occupational therapists state cooperation and coordination are essential aspects of their procedure. They cooperate with other healthcare supporters, patients' families and others to make the most of this holistic approach.

Since you are now aware of occupational therapists and what they do, we can move on to the next segment.

Most occupational therapists work from their personal offices or in hospitals. Some of them work in schools and nursing homes. There are other occupational therapists who work for private as home health service providers. 

If you think occupational therapy is something that you require to get cured, you can do the following:

• Ask your general physician to recommend a specialist.
• Some schools have an in-house occupational therapist to help children of all ages; you can ask for their help.
• Visit a nearby hospital or a rehabilitation centre for references.

The profession of an occupational therapist is still growing as not many people are aware of this practice. Most OTs are hired by private sectors, rehabilitation centres, special schools, home healthcare services, NGOs and non-profitable organisations. Nevertheless, the number is still low as compared to its actual requirement.

So, to conclude what occupational therapy is, we can say it is a healthcare procedure practised by licensed experts. This therapy helps people regain the ability to use the motor skills required to perform everyday tasks.