What is occupational therapy?
Occupational therapy is a form of therapy that helps sick or injured people to cope with everyday life. It is intended to enable patients to look after themselves as far as possible, participate in society and thus improve their quality of life.
Occupational therapy is carried out by specially trained occupational therapists. They always work holistically and take into account not only the patient’s illness-related limitations, but also social and financial factors. The following goals of occupational therapy can be summarized:
- Definition of individual goals, the patient’s wishes and possibilities
- Promotion and improvement of movement coordination, sensory and emotional perception
- Development of physical and mental prerequisites for an independent and fulfilling lifestyle
- Improving quality of life by expanding existing abilities
- Reintegration into the personal, social and, if necessary, professional environment
Indication code
Occupational therapy must be prescribed by a doctor as a therapeutic measure. The so-called indication code, a combination of letters and numbers that the doctor states on the prescription, indicates the medical reason for the use of occupational therapy. The therapist may not add any missing information or may only do so in consultation with the doctor.
History of the professional title
On January 1, 1999, the law “Gesetz über den Beruf der Ergotherapeutin und des Ergotherapeuten (Ergotherapeutengesetz – ErgThG)” came into force. This replaced the previous official job title of “occupational therapist”. However, the term “occupational therapy” is still sometimes used today as a synonym for occupational therapy. The occupation of occupational therapist or occupational educator is an independent training occupation.
When is occupational therapy carried out?
Occupational therapy is carried out as a helpful, supportive measure, for example in geriatric medicine, paediatrics and adolescent medicine, but also in psychiatry and orthopaedics. Among other things, it is used to enable patients to return to work.
Occupational therapy in orthopaedics and rheumatology and after accidents
The following musculoskeletal disorders restrict patients in their everyday lives and may therefore require occupational therapy:
- bone fractures
- Chronic back problems
- Disorders of gross or fine motor skills
- paraplegia
- amputation injuries
- osteoarthritis
Occupational therapy in neurology
Patients with diseases of the nervous system are often severely restricted in their ability to act. Examples of neurological diseases for which occupational therapy treatments can help are
- Stroke
- Craniocerebral trauma
- Cerebral palsy (movement and posture disorder following brain damage)
- Parkinson’s disease
- Multiple sclerosis
- Paralysis symptoms
- Polyneuropathy (nerve damage)
In psychiatry, for example, patients with the following illnesses benefit from occupational therapy treatment:
- anxiety disorder
- Obsessive-compulsive disorder
- Stress and adjustment disorder
- Personality disorder
- Behavioral disorder
- Depression, mania
- psychosis
- Addictive disorders (e.g. alcohol, drugs, medication, gambling)
Occupational therapy in geriatric medicine
Ageing people in particular are often restricted in their independence by the ageing process itself, as well as by illness (multimorbidity). Social isolation or a lack of tasks further restrict the quality of life of older people. Sudden changes such as the death of a partner or the loss of familiar surroundings can exacerbate this tendency and place a considerable burden on patients. Occupational therapy measures help patients to get used to and adapt to changing life circumstances. Occupational therapy is also used for illnesses with changes in character and memory problems, such as dementia.
Occupational therapy for children
- Developmental disorders or delays (e.g. after premature birth)
- Perceptual disorders (information in the brain is processed and evaluated differently)
- Physical disability
- Graphomotor disorders (difficulties with writing)
- visual or hearing impairment
- Mental disability
- Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)
- autism
What does occupational therapy involve?
The occupational therapy process is basically divided into three steps:
- Evaluation (assessment of findings and definition of a goal)
- Intervention (planning a treatment and its implementation)
- Outcome (assessment of the therapy results)
Once the occupational therapist has assessed the patient’s situation and agreed the therapy goals with him/her, he/she selects a suitable therapy method for the intervention. The following approaches are available:
- competence-centered relevant to everyday life
- subject-oriented expression-centered
- interactional
- perception-oriented action-oriented
Competence-centered methods relevant to everyday life
Subject-related, expression-centered methods
In this therapy approach, the patient should learn to express inner feelings creatively and to sensitize themselves to their own feelings. The occupational therapist lets the patient paint or do handicrafts, either alone or in a group. He usually also specifies a theme. For example, he asks a depressed patient to create a picture with colors that mean joy to him.
Interactional methods
Perceptual, action-oriented methods
Here, the occupational therapist teaches the patient his sensory and physical perceptions. Very simple exercises such as massaging the hands with a “hedgehog ball”, touching and recognizing materials, vibration sensations or hot and cold experiences in a water bath are helpful. Through these new experiences, the patient should learn to consciously absorb sensory experiences and classify them correctly. This therapeutic approach is mainly used for psychiatric patients or children with developmental disorders.
Occupational therapy group treatments
Some occupational therapy measures are carried out as part of group treatments. For example, content that has been developed in individual therapy can be tried out and practiced in the group. This includes, for example, exercises for everyday skills, but also exercises for brain performance training for people with corresponding disorders or dementia. Training is provided:
- social skills
- conflict resolution
- Stress management
- Planning skills
- Perception training
- Memory
What are the risks of occupational therapy?
Occupational therapy is generally not associated with any particular risks. As a rule, health problems only occur if the patient is put under more strain by the occupational therapy exercises than is reasonable.
Excessive demands on the part of the therapist or unrealistic expectations on the part of the patient can quickly lead to frustration. It is difficult to motivate patients if they are overtaxed, so in such cases the treatment goals should be redefined together with the patient.
What do I need to consider after occupational therapy?
If your doctor has prescribed occupational therapy for you, he or she will usually be able to recommend a suitable occupational therapist. Remember that the success of the treatment depends largely on your cooperation. Therefore, try to approach the exercises with motivation and an open mind, even if it sometimes takes effort.
