What is Occupational Therapy?
We believe ALL people want to be healthy and live meaningful lives. The distinctvalue of occupational therapy is in energizing the human will, spirit, and functional capacity to be well, to recover, and to participate in life activities and roles with great satisfaction.
Definition: Occupational therapy is a client-centered health profession concerned with promoting health and well being through occupation. Occupational Therapy is skilled treatment that uses or adapts activity in order to help individuals increase independence in all areas of their lives. Occupational therapists and occupational therapy assistants achieve this outcome by working with people and communities to enhance their ability to engage in the occupations they want to, need to, or are expected to do, or by modifying the occupation or the environment to better support their occupational engagement.
Occupational therapy practitioners are skilled professionals whose education includes the study of human anatomy, growth and development including the social, emotional, and physiological effects of illness and injury.
Occupational therapy may be provided by an occupational therapist or occupational therapy assistant.
Services typically include: Customized treatment programs to improve one's ability to perform daily activities at home and work, evaluations with adaptation recommendations to improve safety and independence, and education to family members and caregivers.
A wide variety of people can benefit from occupational therapy. The scope of our practice includes those with work-related injuries, limitations following a stroke or heart attack, arthritis, multiple sclerosis, and other serious chronic conditions, such as birth injuries, learning problems, or developmental disabilities, mental health or behavioral problems, and Alzheimer's.
Profiles in Practice
Click on the stories below to read interviews with occupational therapy clients.
