So, what exactly is occupational therapy?

Lately, a lot of people have been asking me what I want to do with my life. I tell them that some day I will actually graduate from Brigham Young University, and after that I want to go to Occupational Therapy School. Most people will mutter something like “Oh, good, good. That sounds like a great choice…” and then, inevitably, the follow up question will come: “So, what exactly is occupational therapy?”

The World Federation of Occupational Therapists gives this definition: “Occupational therapy is as a profession concerned with promoting health and well being through occupation. The primary goal of occupational therapy is to enable people to participate in the activities of everyday life. Occupational therapists achieve this outcome by enabling people to do things that will enhance their ability to participate or by modifying the environment to better support participation.” The catch-phrase “activities of daily living” is what is meant by the term “occupation.” No matter your occupation, (a.k.a. the activities that need to happen throughout a patient’s day), no matter the range of activities due to age or condition, those are the things that an occupational therapist is the there to help the patient and family accomplish.

Wikipedia (what would we do without it?) further explains “Occupational therapy, often abbreviated as “OT”, promotes health by enabling people to perform meaningful and purposeful occupations. These include (but are not limited to) work, leisure, self care, domestic and community activities. Occupational therapists work with individuals, families, groups and communities to facilitate health and well-being through engagement or re-engagement in occupation. Occupational therapists are becoming increasingly involved in addressing the impact of social, political and environmental factors that contribute to exclusion and occupational deprivation. Occupational therapists use careful analysis of physical, environmental, psychosocial, mental, spiritual, political and cultural factors to identify barriers to occupation. Occupational therapy draws from the fields of medicine, psychology, sociology, anthropology, ethnography, architecture and many other disciplines in developing its knowledge base.”

The Mayo Clinic has just a slightly different way of looking at occupational therapy. Occupational therapists work with individuals who have conditions that are mentally, physically, developmentally, or emotionally disabling. Occupational therapists assist individuals to develop, recover, or maintain daily living and work skills.

The word “occupation” comes from our belief that we all have “occupational roles” that contribute to who we are (i.e. mother, son, spouse, employee). The goal of an occupational therapist is not only to help clients improve basic motor functions, cognitive and emotional abilities to return to these roles, but also to compensate for loss of function. Their goal is to help clients have independent, productive and satisfying lives.