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An occupational therapist (OT) is a person trained in or engaged in the practice of occupational therapy. The role of an occupational therapist is to work with a client to help them achieve a fulfilled and satisfied state in life through the use of;

“…purposeful activity or interventions designed to achieve functional outcomes which promote health, prevent injury or disability and which develop, improve, sustain or restore the highest possible level of independence.” (AOTA Inc., 1994, p.1073)

A practical definition for OT can also be illustrated with the use of models such as the Occupational Performance Model (Australia), or the OPM(A). At the core of this approach is the ideology that occupational therapists are concerned with the occupations of people and how these contribute to health (Chapparo & Ranka, 1997b). Specifically it is a person’s occupational performance that influences their health and personal satisfaction of their individual needs. The OPM(A) is constructed on the following definition of Occupational Performance; "The ability to perceive, desire, recall, plan and carry out roles, routines, tasks and sub-tasks for the purpose of self-maintenance, productivity, leisure and rest in response to demands of the internal and/or external environment."(Chapparo & Ranka, 1997a, p.58)

It can be seen that occupational performance, the roles it creates for a client and the areas it can encompass are so far-reaching, that conclusively an occupational therapist can work with a range of clients of various limitations who are being cared for in an array of settings (Punwar, 2000, p.5). In summary, Occupational Therapy is about helping people do the day-to-day tasks that “occupy” their time, sustain themselves, and enable them to contribute to the wider community. Its these opportunities to “do” that occupational therapy provides that prove important and meaningful to the health of people (Crepeau, Cohn, & Schell, 2003, pp.27-30).

Author: Brown, Jessica (2006). OCCP1082 assignment. University of Sydney: Australia

Contents 1 What do OTs do? 2 References 3 See also 4 External links

Interventions used by occupational therapists to achieve greater independence by clients include rehabilitation of neuropsychological deficits (memory, attention, complex reasoning), motor function, sensory function (vision, perception of touch), interpersonal skills (e.g. social skills). The medium of treatment usually involves the use of purposeful activities, which have some meaning and relevance to clients' lifestyle (these are also called 'occupations' and include routine behaviors associated with work, leisure and self care.) Occupational therapist also work in the field of mental health.

Another important area of intervention is by means of environmental manipulation to maximize ability (such as environments for wheelchair users) or afford the desired behaviors (e.g. set up the environment so that it contains cues to compensate for memory impairment).

Occupational therapists might work in a hospital, skilled nursing facility, school, outpatient clinic, or in the client's home as in home health. Some occupational therapists also conduct research to assess new techniques, rate the effectiveness of existing services and investigate other areas into which occupational therapy might be beneficial. Additionally, there are some non-traditional roles such as consulting with lawmakers and doing home accessibility modification and ergonomic assessments of work environments.

AOTA Inc. (1994). Policy 5.3.1: Definition of occupational therapy practice for state regulation. The American Journal of Occupational Therapy (AJOT), 48(11), 1072-1073.

Chapparo, C., & Ranka, J. (1997a). Occupational Performance Model (Australia): Definition of terms [Electronic Version], 58-60. Retrieved 5th April 2006 from http://www.occupationalperformance.com/index.php/au/home/definitions.

Chapparo, C., & Ranka, J. (1997b). Using the OPM(A) to guide practice and research [Electronic Version]. Retrieved 10th April 2006 from http://www.occupationalperformance.com/index.php/au/home/practice_guide. Crepeau, E. B., Cohn, E. S., & Schell, B. A. B. (2003). Occupational Therapy practice today. In E. B. Crepeau, E. S. Cohn & B. A. B. Schell (Eds.), Willard & Spackman's occupational therapy (10th ed., pp. 27-30). Philadelphia: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. Crossman, A. R., & Neary, D. (2000). Neuroanatomy : an illustrated colour text (2nd ed.). Edinburgh ; New York: Churchill Livingstone.

Punwar, A. J. (2000). Defining Occupational Therapy. In A. J. Punwar & S. M. Peloquin (Eds.), Occupational therapy : Principles and practice (3rd ed., pp. 3-6). Philadelphia: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.

Schwartz, K. B. (2003). The history of occupational therapy. In E. B. Crepeau, E. S. Cohn & B. A. B. Schell (Eds.), Willard & Spackman's occupational therapy (10th ed., pp. 5-13). Philadelphia: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.

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• The American Occupational Therapy Organization, Inc.
• The British Association of Occupational Therapists
• The World Federation of Occupational Therapists
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