The Role of Occupational Therapy in Recovery

Occupational therapy is known for being difficult to describe. Leaders in our field acknowledge occupational therapy as a “complex intervention.” This is because, unlike any other health professional, the occupational therapist is first and foremost trained to put the patient at the center of their care. We do this by assessing a person’s routines, or those touchstones of activity that anchor a person to the day-to-day fluctuations of life, like taking a shower, making breakfast, or checking the mail. Occupational therapists also look at a person’s habits, or those expressions of occupation that, for better or worse, create predictability for a person to help navigate life demands, like going on a run after work or going to sleep while watching television.

Occupational therapy also recognizes that each individual is different, so something as seemingly simple as putting shoes on can take on a wide range of variability based on the person wearing them. This means occupational therapists must be creative, adaptive, and responsive to our patients’ needs because no two people will do the same task the same way. Occupational therapists are trained to listen and collaborate with our patients to build meaningful and functional goals that make sense to both the patient and the rehab specialist.

Another unique contribution of occupational therapy is its focus on function: Can you do the things you want, need, and have to do daily?

For example:

• If you are recovering from hand surgery and are having difficulty getting your clothes on and off, that would be an ADL occupation that needs to be addressed specifically.
• If you have had a brain injury and are having difficulty making a meal for yourself again, that’s something occupational therapists can help with as well.
• From building mental health strategies and remaining independent to learning how to better navigate the world after a spinal cord injury and teaching patients and their caregivers how to adapt, occupational therapists focus on function because we understand the impact doing has on physical, mental, and social health.

Occupational therapists also have special training related to the hands and upper extremities because we perform many tasks with our hands. We brush our hair, eat, dress, type, and drive by using our hands. Whether it’s manipulating a fork or supporting upright balance, our arms and hands are our best expression of what it means to be human.

After an injury, illness, or disability, it is oftentimes the most basic of activities a person has to relearn that becomes the most challenging and meaningful to accomplish. Something as simple as opening the cap on your toothpaste, squeezing the tube, and brushing your teeth can turn into a cause for celebration after losing that ability and then regaining it. Occupational therapy sees the power in celebrating those small victories because, to us, they are huge wins on a person’s road to recovery.

At Sheltering Arms Institute, a licensed occupational therapist can assess your needs and create a treatment plan tailored to your individual occupational goals. To schedule an evaluation with a therapist, please visit www.shelteringarmsinstitute.com/contact-us or call (804) 764-1000.