What Is the Role of an Occupational Therapist?
Occupational therapists are helpful, compassionate medical professionals, but many people do not know what exactly they do. Occupational therapy is intended to increase the important life skills of patients with disabilities, severe injuries, and other ailments. Patients who need to build lifelong skills to function socially, emotionally, and physically visit an occupational therapist.
What Is Occupational Therapy?
Occupational therapy can serve many different purposes for different patients. A lot of parents of children with physical and mental disabilities place them in occupational therapy as a form of early intervention. These children learn skills that will help them learn, play, and socialize at school and later in life.
Play therapy, self-care skills, socialization, and physical mobility are all categories of treatment that occupational therapy can cover. Occupational therapy helps patients learn to carry out necessary life tasks that they will need to thrive independently and be productive.
Who Needs Occupational Therapy?
Patients enrolled in occupational therapy range from toddler age to seniors. Occupational therapy is useful for any patient who has severe impairments in daily functioning and necessary tasks. These tasks can include cooking, cleaning, social interaction, living independently, performing well in school, and managing chronic health issues.
Some examples of occupational therapy patients include:
- Elderly people with mobility problems
- Children with autism
- Chronically ill patients
- Patients with severe, life-altering injuries
- People with physical disabilities
- Assisted living patients
- Patients with personality disorders that impair functioning
This list is not inclusive of all possible types of patients that benefit from occupational therapy. There are many diverse groups of people who improve significantly through occupational therapy techniques with the help of wonderful occupational therapists.
What Role Do Occupational Therapists Play?
Occupational therapists are the empathetic professionals that facilitate occupational therapy. Some therapists specialize in different areas of occupational therapy, such as children with developmental delays or seniors who need assistance with daily care tasks. Occupational therapists are highly skilled with educational backgrounds in psychology, physiology, social psychology, and science.
Occupational therapists evaluate patients and come up with intervention plans to ensure the patients make improvements towards their goals. The initial evaluation sets the tone for the patient’s treatment plan. Most occupational therapists review the patient’s progress monthly, quarterly, or annually.
Occupational therapists work closely with families and other medical professionals to create a well-rounded support system for the patient. Their intervention plans are based on scientific research and medical literature, making them evidence-based practitioners. Occupational therapists can be described as holistic practitioners, incorporating the mind, body, and emotional wellbeing of patients into their treatment plans.
Where Can I Get Occupational Therapy?
At Burger Rehab, we have an expert team of therapists who work with patients struggling with daily functioning. Whether you need physical therapy, another form of occupational therapy, or specific sensory therapy, our facilities provide well-rounded holistic care.
Our patients benefit from post-surgical care, acute nursing care, and many other aspects of occupational therapy. Your unique needs dictate your treatment at Burger Rehab. View our complete list of outpatient skilled therapy services.