Therapeutic Characteristics In Occupational Therapy

As occupational therapy services diversified, serving a variety of clients in many different settings and with societal influences, the field began to evolve. During the 1990s occupational therapists began to shift away from reductionist medical model toward a more holistic client-centered approach. Services focused on enhancing individuals’ quality of life across the lifespan meaning before, during, and after therapeutic intervention. The profession began to better acknowledge the value of client education, injury and illness prevention, health screening, and health maintenance (Cole & Tufano, 2008). The field created more preventative initiatives, and focused services on improving quality of life and optimizing the independence of

This essay intends to introduce the reader to the most important skills involved within developing and maintaining a therapeutic relationship between a client and the therapist or counsellor. The onus will be on Humanistic counselling but many of these skills are central to all counselling types.

This papers purpose is to describe to the reader an Occupational therapy treatment plan and therapy session using the OTPF as its base to describe client’s performance. It is based off a case study of a 26 year old male racecar driver who suffered a traumatic brain injury and is now admitted into the hospitals ICU unit under a coma. The paper begins with a brief overview of the clients Injuries and occupational profile. It continues with goals that the therapist has set for the client and caregivers and concludes with the client’s treatment plan, along with a SOAP note which explains the client’s treatment and gives other healthcare workers information about the therapists goals and progress of the client

As learned in Occupations, completing a developmental profile can be beneficial in both, learning about a client and identifying their needs. Through identifying a client’s needs, occupational therapists can create appropriate interventions to assist the client with those needs. These interventions can be beneficial in improving a clients well-being and life balance.

Occupational Therapy has played a role in helping those with Mental and physical disabilities in the United States since 1917. Before that time, Occupational Therapy was used solely in mental institutions to help people that were "more normal" and able to function in a social status. These patients enjoyed things like arts and crafts. It seemed that those who engaged in such activities where perceived as "more healthy". These findings lead Drs. to encourage patients to engage is such activity to improve there overall health. (http://quoccupationaltherapy.weebly.com/history-of-occupational-therapy.htmlhistory-of-occupational-therapy.html)

Purpose: Each biennium and upon initial licensure clinicians are required to take a course related to the Laws and Rules of Practice for Occupational therapy. Through this course clinicians will increase awareness and understanding of the laws and rules that direct licensure as a provider of occupational therapy services.

Occupational Therapy is a health, wellness and rehabilitation profession devoted to the development of performance and function across their lifetime so that individuals can live their life to the fullest. The holistic approach taken by occupational therapy practitioners is particularly effective in the areas of wellness, health promotion, and prevention. The practice of occupational therapy can take place in health care and education settings, and in community based agencies and organizations. The timing is excellent for occupational therapy in the area of wellness and prevention. Occupational Therapy practitioners administer habilitation and rehabilitation services, which are among the fundamentals health benefits of the Affordable Care Act. In addition, occupational therapy’s holistic approach correlates the ACA’s focus on wellness and prevention. By focusing on wellness, managing chronic, improving function, and supporting independence, occupational therapy practitioners can assist the interprofessional leading care team enhance outcomes while reducing costs. This paragraph states the role of an occupational therapist in Health Care Reform (www.aota.org).

Keeping a patient motivated, active, and engaged in the process is always important “it’s our foundation of Occupational Therapy Practice”. I would be extremely pleased to see my patients happy, smiling and slowly improving over time. I want to be there for them and help them as much as I know I can. I want to be a person who changes a life. My goal is to see my patients being able to regain abilities once again, for them not to give up and for them to show me that in the end it was worth it and I made someone regain

He said the feels frustrated with not being able to help enough clients, and to be able to service them. When it came to qualities one needs, he said to have a background in Recreational Therapy (education that is attained it at school), and experience with field work. Devyn feels qualities like compassion, understanding and patience are needed to be successful as a Therapeutic Recreational Therapist. One should be able to build rapport with clients. He feels that one should be just as passionate about doing Therapeutic Recreation as he does.

For my career exploration assignment I have chosen the field of occupational therapy. Not only am I a certified occupational therapists assistant, but I also have a passion for this field. Occupational therapy wasn’t something that I have always wanted to pursue, but once I got into college and observed an occupational therapist I fell in love with the occupation. Occupational therapy is the unique focus on occupation and daily life activities and the application of an intervention process that facilitates engagement in occupation to support participation in everyday life (American Occupational Therapy Association [AOTA], 1994). As therapists we are here to help our patients return to the highest level of independent physical function. Patients come to us in their lowest time, and it is our job to help build them up, and teach them how to be more independent, and to live their life to the fullest. Occupational therapists assistants do everything from increasing a patient’s standing/sitting tolerance and balance, safety with transfer training, dressing, bathing, grooming, and bed mobility. A lot of people always ask, “Physical therapy and occupational therapy are the same thing right?” That is not true. Physical therapy helps with the bigger movements, such as walking and lower extremity muscles, where as occupational therapy focuses on smaller, more fine motor movements, such as clothing manipulation, and grooming tasks. Occupational therapy helps to regain independence

According to Keilhofner (2009), a paradigm is noted as the “field’s innermost core of knowledge in that it directly addresses the identity of occupational therapy” (pp. 10). Historically, when occupational therapy grew into existence and emerged within the medical world, the profession developed as it shifted into various paradigms. Every paradigm used within the field of has worked to define, redefine, and shape the profession. The utilization of paradigms has provided rationale for the way occupational therapy practitioners provide therapeutic treatment to clients. Paradigms assist practitioners to fully comprehend the individual needs of each client they work with in order to understand what it is they do as professionals. It is necessary

With these attributes, they will have the fundamentals of creating a strong therapeutic alliance with their clients. The therapists should be encouraged in “treating new cases as unique and constructing new theories to fit them, rather than depending on categories of established theory and technique” (Safran & Muran, 2000). Although this does not mean that standard techniques are useless, flexibility and creativity in application of these theories is considered the most important skill of a good therapist.

Moreover, Kaslow, Grus, Campbell, & Fouad, et al. (2009) stated that the client/therapist relationship is built on trust and kindness, empathy, and positive regard. Interpersonal and professional relationships are key. Affective skills are based on personal and cultural context (Kaslow, et al. 2009).

Occupational therapy has been in the process of continued development since the 1900’s. With several contributors helping to build the groundwork for creating the awareness needed to bring occupational therapy into the field of health care. Continued research is contributing to the ongoing significance of how occupational therapy is a vital aspect in promoting increased independences in all aspects of healthcare. (Willard, Schell, 2014) With the incorporation of “Occupational Therapy Practice Framework Domain and Process (3rd ed.)” helps creates the foundation for occupational therapy clinicians as well as other health care providers in facilitating the core believe of occupational and the relationship of health and occupation. (AOTA 2014) Therefore, providing a uniform outline of the various aspects of each individual and how they are interconnected to create the foundation of each individual. With a greater understanding of the foundations of that induvial, the clinician can then facilitate the best therapeutic treatment plan for that individual to achieve their personal goals with unified foundations of care.

Therapeutic use of self involves using one’s personality, body language, active listening that is used to create and maintain a therapeutic relationship with others (Lowe et al., 2007). Establishing trust is also an important aspect of therapeutic use of self, to address the needs and goals of the client, which helps our scope of practice to remain client-centered. Using therapeutic use of self is beneficial for occupational therapists (OT), as it facilitates interaction with the client. It also encourages and allows the therapist to obtain necessary information, and to alleviate fear or anxiety that may take place during treatment session. During Level I Fieldwork at a SNF, I was able to apply these principles during a treatment session for a client diagnosed with dementia that was agitated and non-compliant with the activity. To divert her attention to the activity, and to get her to understand that I was