Occupational Therapy

Occupational therapy is the use of occupation and meaningful activities to promote wellness in various situations. The goals may be as basic as bathing or dressing or as complex as operating a computer with modified control switches. Today, occupational therapists are working in clinical practice, community outreach, education and many other areas.

Stroke patient practicing life activities for memory improving with help of therapist during stroke rehabilitation in medical center

As a clinician, you can help patients get back to family and community life. You can specialize in many fields, including pediatrics, gerontology, hand rehabilitation, or mental health.

The occupational therapist can help clients who are returning to the workforce, and need assistance with anger management, time management, personal hygiene, or other skills in order to be successful while reintegrating into society. A client’s confidence can be restored by an occupational therapist in tasks that have been disrupted due to illness or trauma.

Occupational therapists are responsible for overseeing occupational therapy departments or programs. They plan and manage rehabilitation services, provide education, and work with personnel.

With their skills in occupational therapy, people can promote health and wellness with occupation. Some ways of doing so include:

Assisting the mentally ill in returning to home, community or work;
Providing equipment and techniques to adults who have had a stroke to help them return to living independently;
Evaluating and treating children who are slow in development;
assisting clients with cardiac problems in planning their daily activities to promote fitness and independence;
Providing stress management seminars to corporate executives to improve the balance of work and leisure interests;
Designing and constructing adaptive equipment to help those who are injured with performance of daily tasks;
Providing aquatic therapy to older adults in their assisted living facility;
Writing grants to address system gaps in the delivery of services, such as to the homeless, mentally ill, and dually diagnosed;
Providing seminars and consultation to an industry, instructing them in the safe and ergonomically sound approach for the employees to carry out their responsibilities.

How Occupational Therapy Helps Patients with Dementia

Occupational therapists provide a variety of services for a plethora of reasons. They are there to help you with daily tasks, adaptations, and more with their client-centered interventions.

How occupational therapy can help people with dementia

Occupational therapists use environmental modifications to help maintain an individual’s independence while living with dementia. They may recommend changes in a person’s current environment, such as labeling doors and windows, to make it easier for the individual to feel more independent.

Occupational therapists will work with the family to provide care and ensure that all members of the team are on the same page with treatment. The OT may provide practical advice for the individual living with dementia, including advice about specialist seating or mobility aids and different techniques for managing care. They want the individual living with dementia to maintain a good quality of life satisfaction by creating meaningful interventions and helpful adaptations that help them on their journey.

What can occupational therapy do for the families of those with dementia?

Occupational Therapists work not only with their clients, but also with the client’s family. Many caregivers have no experience in being one but stepped up to help out a loved one. Caregivers of those living with dementia are experiencing chronic stress, emotional and physical exhaustion, and a decline in socialization. Occupational Therapists can provide caregiver education that teaches caregivers how to cope and manage stress, how to improve their caregiving skills through training, and how to improve their overall life satisfaction. The main thing for caregiver education is to remind the caregivers to take care of themselves and make themselves a priority too! You cannot be taking care of someone else unless you are taking care of yourself first!