What is Occupational Therapy?

Occupational therapy is skilled treatment that helps individuals achieve independence in all facets of their lives. Occupational therapy assists people in developing the "skills for the job living" necessary for independent and satisfying lives. Services typically include.

• Customized treatment programs to improve one's ability to perform daily activities
• Comprehensive home and job site evaluations with adaptation recommendations
• Performance skills assessments and treatment
• Adaptive equipment recommendations and usage training

Occupation refers to everything that people do during the course of everyday life. The primary goal of occupational therapy is to enable people to participate in the occupations which give meaning and purpose to their lives.

Occupational therapists have a broad education that provides them with the skills and knowledge to work collaboratively with people of all ages and abilities that experience obstacles to participation. These obstacles may result from a change in function (thinking, doing, feeling) because of illness or disability, and/or barriers in the social, institutional or and physical environment.

About Occupational Therapy Practitioners

Occupational therapy practitioners are skilled professionals whose education includes the study of human growth and development with specific emphasis on the social, emotional, and physiological effects of illness and injury. The occupational therapist enters the field with a masters degree. Practitioners must complete supervised clinical internships in a variety of health care settings, and pass a national examination. Occupational Therapist's are regulated health professionals.

Is Occupational Therapy For You?

Occupational therapy helps to solve the problems that interfere with your ability to do the things that are important to you. It can also prevent a problem or minimize its effects.

When an injury, illness, disability or other problem limits your ability to:

• Take care of yourself,
• Participate in paid or unpaid work, or
• Enjoy your social and leisure time,

then you may want to learn some new skills for the job of living from an Occupational Therapist.