Occupational Therapy: fields of action

You may have seen some clinics that say 'occupational therapy' but are not sure what it means. You may have heard people you know about the term but are not sure what they mean. An occupational therapist is a healthcare profession that is regulated by the LOPS (Law for the Regulation of Health Professions).

An occupational therapist helps a person recover from an illness, facilitating their adaptation to life, or a disability. This professional will assess the physical, mental, sensory or social problems of a person and will provide you with the appropriate treatment for your personal characteristics.

The Occupational Therapy profession

Occupational Therapy is understood as a profession that cares about health and well-being through occupation. This means that the goal of occupational therapy is to enable people to participate in occupation activities, that is, activities that occupy daily life. Occupational therapists achieve this result by enabling people to be able to perform the tasks that will provide them with a better quality of life. This can be done in a way that the individual adapts to the environment or modifying the environment to the individual.

In order to be an occupational therapist, a university degree is required where the skills are acquired and the knowledge necessary to work with individuals or groups of people who have some type of affectation in a body structure or function. This can occur due to health problems, changes in the person's lifestyle due to diseases, accidents that cause disability, due to congenital disability or any other type of condition that can cause the person to have limitations in their daily life.

How can they help you

Occupational therapists help people of all ages in their daily life: in their work or in their daily activities such as dressing, cooking, eating ... there are many types of specializations for this type of work. You can choose to work with premature babies in a pediatric hospital, with children with cerebral palsy, Down syndrome, etc. It is a form of occupational therapy where professionals help children to thrive in their childhood 'occupations' such as learning and playing.

Other places where occupational therapists work and that can also help people, can be, for example, in schools with students who have learning disabilities or behavior problems, usually accompanied by another professional in this field, such as the psychopedagogue. An occupational therapist can also work in a nursing home to help elderly people on a day-to-day basis, or go to nursing homes to help them recover from conditions such as a stroke or cope with the day-to-day life of people with Alzheimer's disease. They can also help people of any age to recover from accident victims to improve their skills or they can even require assistance to people with serious illnesses and even provide palliative care services.

As you see, the field of occupational therapy is very broad and they are professionals who are trained to work and help peopleIt is to improve your independence taking into account your well-being, your health and your individual abilities.

Scope of Activity

Occupational Therapy can be found in many fields of action. An occupational therapy professional can work in:

• Hospitals
• Health Centers
• Private clinics
• Work places
• Schools
• Juvenile centers
• Nursing homes

People who receive this type of health care must be actively immersed in the therapeutic process in order to obtain good results. This means that the attention to the user will be continued. The results of occupational therapy will be diverse, taking into account the degree of user participation and the satisfaction they feel for the care received from the professionals.

Occupational Therapy is dedicated to:

• Physical rehabilitation
• Neurological rehabilitation
• Rehabilitation in the elderly
• Rehabilitation in children and adolescents
• Adaptation and school integration
• Early stipulation
• Mental health rehabilitation
• Psychosocial rehabilitation
• Drug addiction rehabilitation
• Cognitive stimulation in mental disability
• Traumatology, prosthetic training and orthotic design
• Assistive products, adaptation of the environment, and access to the computer
• Teaching
• Research
• Home assessment
• Job training
• Rehabilitation technology
• Therapeutic intervention in social settings (social marginalization, social exclusion, palliative care, etc.)

Methodology

In Occupational Therapy a methodology is used by which health is provided, Injuries are prevented or abilities are improved and people's levels of functional independence are developed, improved, maintained or restored. Their abilities and adaptation must be taken into account with attention to their characteristics.

The person must adapt to their environment taking into account their injuries, their cognitive impairments, their psychosocial dysfunction, mental illnesses, developmental, mental, physical disabilities, social problems, etc. People should be cared for taking into account all the dimensions of people: the biological, social and psychological dimension.

Occupational therapy services include:

• An evaluation individually and the objectives to be achieved with the affected person are determined.
• Personalized intervention to improve the person's ability to carry out their daily activities and achieve goals.
• Evaluation of the results to ensure that the objectives are met and that the necessary changes are made in the personalized intervention plan.

Occupational therapy services may include comprehensive assessments of the client's home or immediate environment in order to provide recommendations for adaptive equipment and training. Following an orientation and education not only for the affected person, but also for the family and the rest of the caregivers.

Without a doubt, this profession is very beautiful and comforting that it will bring you a lot both on a professional and personal level. Helping others find solutions to improve their quality of life is comforting, and people will be grateful for a job well done.