Occupational Therapy Process

In regards to the occupational therapy process, a practitioner is

responsible for completing an evaluation, intervention, and outcome.
The evaluation includes the completion of an occupational profile as
well as an analysis of occupational performance, where the
occupational profile provides background information on the clients
goals, habits, occupations and history (OBrien & Hussey, 2011, p. 81).
Some of the information obtained for an occupational profile includes
information about the specific client, why the client is seeking services
and their concerns regarding participation in occupations, the contexts
that are helping and hindering engagement in occupations, the clients
occupational history and meanings associated with these, and the
clients priorities as well as desired outcomes of therapy (OBrien &
Hussey, 2011, p. 85).
An important point to remember about the evaluation process is that it
should be client-centered. The client-centered approach is fundamental
to occupational therapy and means that the practitioner is interested
in and incorporates the clients interests and desires into each therapy
sessions by involving and collaborating with the client throughout the
entire therapy process. The intervention plan is developed after the
completion of the evaluation, where the therapist understands the
clients strengths and weaknesses and the areas of performance as
well as the contexts where the occupations will be performed are
examined (OBrien & Hussey, 2011, p. 86).
The intervention plan is created alongside the client and considers the
areas that are important to the client. This plan also includes the goals
and objectives of the intervention and includes an intervention
approach that usually includes a common approach such as
create/promote, establish/restore, maintain, modify, and prevent
(OBrien & Hussey, 2011, p. 86.). The create/promote approach is an
approach that is usually meant to be beneficial for any population and
strives to improve the performance of all participants. An example of
this type of approach is a parenting class that an OT develops to
educate first-time parents.
The establish/restore approach is an approach that strives to create
new skills for individuals or recover skills that have been forgotten or
lost. An example of this type of approach is a therapy intervention
where the OT works to recover use of the left leg for a patient who
suffered a stroke and lost function in this extremity. The maintain
approach is an approach that strives to keep an individual functioning
in the way that they currently are functions and works to prevent
decline in functioning. An example of this type of approach is a therapy

intervention where the OT works in a memory care unit to design

activities and exercises to keep patients with dementia from further
declining in cognitive ability.
The modify approach is an approach that changes the demands of an
activity to compensate for their declining skills. An example of this
type of approach is giving cues for each step in a teeth brushing
routine to an individual to help them overcome their poor task
sequencing skills. The prevent approach is an approach that strives to
protect individuals from getting a certain disease or condition. An
example of this type of approach is an occupational therapist who
develops a wellness program to achieve a patients goal of not
becoming diagnoses with Type II Diabetes by helping them lose weight.
There are a variety of types of occupational therapy interventions that
can be used and the specific type of intervention is chose after
information is collected during the evaluation process, after
determining the model of practice and frame of reference, and after
determining the clients goals for therapy (OBrien & Hussey, 2011, p.
87). Common types of interventions include therapeutic use of self,
therapeutic use of occupations and activities, consultation, and
education (OBrien & Hussey, 2011, p. 87).
Therapeutic use of self is summarized as the skill or ability of an
occupational therapist to use his or her own personality, behaviors,
and actions in a deliberate way to improve the overall therapy process
and create a more relatable and empathetic relationship. Therapeutic
use of occupations and activities is summarized as the occupational
therapist choosing specific activities and occupations necessary to
meet the goals of therapy (OBrien & Hussey, 2011, p. 87).
Consultation refers to the occupational therapist using their own skills
and knowledge to interact with the patient and provide the best
possible treatment by solving problems and finding effective solutions.
Education is summarized as when an occupational therapist provides
valuable and relatable knowledge to the patient in effort to produce
the best results throughout therapy.

Works Cited
OBrien, J. C. & Hussey, S. M. (2012). Introduction to occupational
therapy. (4th ed.). Saint Louis, MO. Elsevier: Mosby.