What is Occupational Therapy?

When it comes to health and rehabilitation professions, occupational therapists are truly a valuable resource.

Occupational therapy helps people optimize their ability to accomplish daily activities, through improving life skills following an injury or physical impairment. But there’s much more to occupational therapy than meets the eye – and in honor of National Occupational Therapy Month – let’s take a closer look.

What Do Occupational Therapists Do?

An occupational therapist works with people of all ages who are in need of specialized assistance because of physical, social, developmental, or emotional impairments. The occupational therapist helps patients lead more independent and productive lives by using daily activities such as self-care, work, play, and leisure as part of the therapeutic process.

A primary goal of an occupational therapist is to help patients improve their ability to carry out daily tasks. The occupational therapist will assess the patient’s home and work environment, and provide recommendations for how to adapt and lead a better quality of life. In short, occupational therapists help people with injuries, illnesses, and disabilities to live better lives.

What are Some Common Occupational Therapy Services?

  1. Occupational therapists often work with children with disabilities to help them participate fully in school and social activities.
  2. An occupational therapist may help someone who is recovering from an injury to regain needed day-to-day skills.
  3. The occupational therapist may provide support for older adults who are going through cognitive and physical changes.
  4. Occupational therapists will also do individualized evaluations, provide a customized rehabilitation plan, and ensure that outcomes are met throughout the rehabilitation process.
  5. While occupational therapists will sometimes directly treat injuries, they focus more often on helping the patient improve his or her life skills, while also incorporating adaptive tools that are sometimes created by the therapist.

Where Do Occupational Therapists Work?

An occupational therapist may work in a variety of settings, including: rehabilitation hospitals, nursing facilities, acute-care hospitals, outpatient clinics, home health, school systems, industry settings, and more. The types of places where an occupational therapist may work are growing annually.

In honor of National Occupational Therapy Month, we would like to thank all occupational therapists for what they do to help rehabilitate patients. We understand and appreciate the unique services that you provide!

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