This video is about Occupational Therapists and is part of a Mental Health Career video series created by the Oregon State Hospital Museum.
www.oshmusuem.com/mental-health-careers
oshmuseum.org/occupational-th...
At the Oregon State Hospital, Occupational Therapists helps support patients by teaching a variety of skills to help them be able to function on their own. These skills involve actual occupational skills for a job or more basic life skills like getting dressed, bathing, or being able to communicate with others. It is much more than just preparing people for a job; it is preparing people for an independent lifestyle. An important aspect of this is emotional independence, which can involve sensory regulation, self-awareness, and being able to handle your emotions in a socially appropriate manner. Once this is taught to the patient, the Occupational Therapist often moves on to teaching how to be in control of one’s own environment and how one’s actions affect the environments of others.
Occupational Therapists are part of an interdisciplinary team of other hospital staff including nurse, psychologists, social workers, and other therapists who help develop treatment plans for patients. On this team, it is the Occupational Therapists job to do assessments of patients and give recommendations to the team on:
* How much support the patient needs
* What environment would be best for them
* Whether they are able to learn new skills
* How they process change
* What skills they have learned
* If they will be safe in the community on their own
To learn these facts about a patient, the Occupational Therapist must build a good rapport with them. This requires the ability to connect with patients in every way possible. Being an occupational therapist requires a lot of multitasking, flexibility, creativity, and endurance.