Introduction

Occupational Therapy is where a health professional helps people who have trouble carrying out daily tasks and activities due to various reasons. This includes having disabilities, illnesses, trauma, ageing, and other long-term conditions.¹ Occupational therapists help a wide range of age groups, for example, helping kids overcome challenges at school or adults going to work. The whole point of occupational health is to focus on a person’s well-being and their ability to have a good quality of life.² This article will focus on covering what occupational therapy is and what an occupational therapist does, as well as how it works, who it helps, and the benefits it can provide to guide someone to a better quality of life.

What Is Occupational Therapy?

In short, occupational therapy is described as a treatment that helps people of all ages deal with physical, emotional, and social challenges. It helps improve one’s ability to confidently do daily tasks and to maneuver through different environments, such as school and work. In addition, it can be used for people who have experienced trauma or an injury that has lasting effects.³

The reason why it is called Occupational Therapy is that an occupation is an activity we need, want, or like to do in order to look after our mental and physical wellbeing. These occupations provide purpose and structure while shaping people into who they are and bring them a sense of belonging.²

Sometimes, Occupational Therapy (OT) and Physical Therapy (PT) share many similarities, causing confusion between the two. However, they are very different in their approaches to rehabilitative care. For example, OT focuses on improving one’s ability to do daily activities, while PT focuses on improving one’s ability to move their body. Additionally, OT is about mental healthcare and physical rehabilitation, while PT just focuses on physical rehabilitation.⁴

Who Can Benefit from Occupational Therapy? 

Occupational Therapy benefits all ages, including adults and seniors, as well as tailoring to their needs.⁵ Here are examples of who can benefit from OT:

Adults with illnesses and injuries

OT can help adults with either illnesses or injuries. They will be provided with specialist assessments and rehabilitation from occupational therapists to tailor transfer of care from different settings, such as hospitals, care homes, community services, and their homes. People who are under OT will be evaluated on how they perform daily tasks in order to provide the therapist insight into what they need.⁶ This includes:

• Rehabilitation
• Functional retraining
• Education
• Support

Advice to help adults continue daily activities after their illness or injury.⁶

Here is a list of conditions and injuries that benefit from OT:

Injuries

• Bone fractures
• Burns
• Strokes
• Amputation
• Spinal cord injuries
• Traumatic brain injuries

Conditions

• Spina bifia
• Cancer
• Multiple sclerosis
• Cerebral palsy³

Adults who have Mental Health Conditions (MHC)

Adults who have Mental Health Conditions (MHC) can benefit from OT, which can provide support to take up various activities and help them enjoy daily tasks that can lead to a sense of purpose and promote a better quality of life. Mental health professionals may work with occupational therapists and use OT tools in order to understand the person as an individual and help them build a constructive routine with them.^5,7

This includes:

• Self-care
• Rebuilding routines
• Regular walks
• Cooking healthy meals
• Finance management
• Building confidence to go out
• Build professional skills

Older adults

OT helps older adults and seniors do activities, improve their wellbeing, and stick to a healthy routine. This means incorporating ways to keep them safe while doing the things that they love, such as using walking aids or making changes in the home. OT can also help them find community clubs and activities for them to meet new people.⁵

What Does an Occupational Therapist Do?

An Occupational Therapist’s task is to work with people to understand the difficulties they experience daily, identify what they want to improve, and find practical solutions. This differs from person to person, as this may mean being able to dress themselves, build a routine, or go to school or work.⁸

An occupational therapist will do an assessment to identify a person’s strengths and weaknesses and find a solution that can help them maintain and improve their independence in daily life.⁸ This could mean:

Changing environments

This means making the environment suitable for a person’s needs either at home, work, or school. The changes that they can make can be putting up ramps for wheelchairs, adding stairlifts, grab rails, and a raised toilet seat, a bath lift, or a shower seat.⁸

Different techniques

Occupational therapists may use a range of techniques and interventions to help. This list includes:

• Activity analysis
• Adaptive equipment
• Environmental modification
• Assistive technology
• Therapeutic exercises⁹

New equipment

Equipment and tools can be used to make daily tasks easier for people who need OT. For example:

• Walking sticks
• Knives with bigger handles and chunkier pend
• Non slip mats
• Special keyboards
• Voice-controlled lights
• Bed raisers and hoists
• Specialised seatings⁸

These options are discussed between an individual and their occupational therapist.⁸

Common Occupational Therapy Interventions

There are many common Occupational Therapy Interventions that are available for adults who need them.

One common intervention is self-care training. This is when the Occupational therapy team supports adults with daily activities in their personal care and hygiene. This means developing ways to get someone in and out of the bath or shower safely, making getting dressed and brushing your hair easier, developing access spaces in the home or just outside the front door, and also preventing hazards in the home, such as falls. This is to give a person who is using OT a sense of independence and control in their life.¹⁰

Home modifications are another common intervention. This is an intervention that essentially adapts the environment, such as the home, work, or school, to make it usable and safe for adults who require OT,  also promoting independence.¹¹ An OT therapist typically will visit a person’s home to get to know them, assess what their needs are, who is with them at home for support, what equipment they have tried, and what they can or cannot do.¹²

Modifications can be:

• Making wider doorways or passageways
• Ramps
• Spacious bathrooms
• Easy to reach cabinets, benchtops, and appliances
• Grab rails
• Stair lifts.

Assistive Technology is a common intervention that is described as any device or system that is built to help someone do a task that they were previously unable to do. There are two types of assistive technology.¹³

• Active client technology, which is when a person has to perform an action for the system to do the task. For example, voice recognition software or eye gaze systems
• Passive client technology, which does not require the user to do an action for it to work. Such as movement-activated lighting and falls detection systems¹³

Cognitive Rehabilitation is an intervention that is used to improve cognitive functions. This includes memory, attention, and concentration. This intervention is dependent on the specific type of needs for each client, and the aim is to improve performance in tasks that are important for each client.

Pain and Fatigue management is used to encourage and educate clients with chronic conditions on how to manage their fatigue symptoms actively. This includes their ability to perform activities such as family activities, personal hygiene and care, household tasks, education, and work.^15,16

The Benefits of Occupational Therapy

There are many benefits for people who undergo occupational therapy. For example, the whole foundation of OT is to find and plan ways for clients to improve their quality of life and achieve their activity goals.³ OT can reduce health risks; this includes performing health risk assessments and understanding how cognitive conditions can impact how safely a client can perform daily tasks. OT offers the benefit of improving resident wellbeing because the interventions that are provided by OT can help assist bad habits such as smoking and dangerous alcohol consumption, as well as promote a healthy mindset for clients. OT also provides the benefits of assisting people who may be struggling with social activities by helping to increase their confidence, preparing for employment, and promoting social group engagements.¹⁷

According to the Royal College of Occupational Therapists, having access to OT assessments at the hospital front door actually reduces the admission and discharge delays. Which in result, decreases the time patients need to wait in the hospital.¹⁸

How to Access Occupational Therapy

There are different pathways to access occupational therapy.

Through the NHS or social services, people can receive occupational therapy for free. However, it is dependent on a person-to-person situation.

To get a referral, a GP can help as well as utilise a local council on the GOV.UK website.¹⁹

Additionally, people can receive a management referral for OT this is when a manager will complete a referral form consented to by the client who wants OT. Discussions with healthcare professionals, such as an OT nurse and physiotherapist, will be confidential and provided for maximum benefit.²⁰

Tips for Getting the Most Out of Occupational Therapy

It is important to get the most out of occupational therapy. Here are some tips:

• Ensure that families discuss with their loved ones about their goals and challenges before speaking to an OT therapist
• Think about what activities usually need to be done at home daily
• Think about the commitments and hobbies that need to be managed as soon as possible
• Think about what support will most benefit the household and yourself, as well as if you need professional help
• Are there any loved ones available to help?²¹

These are important things to think about before heading to the OT assessment. Additionally, provide as much information as possible because the more information that is given to the therapist, the easier the OT can provide support.²¹

Summary

To summarise, Occupational Therapy is described as a treatment that helps people of all ages deal with physical, emotional, and social challenges. It helps improve one’s ability to confidently do daily tasks and maneuver through different environments, such as school and work environments. OT is also used for people who have experienced trauma or an injury that has lasting effects.³ In addition, OT is packed with various benefits that affect people of all different ages. From improving resident wellbeing to increasing their confidence, preparation for employment, and promoting social group engagements^10,13,17 Occupational therapy is not just a profession but a tool to promote what really matters, which is living life to the fullest.