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What is Occupational Therapy in Mental Health? 

“Occupation is as necessary to life as food and drink” (Dunton, 1919)

Most people seek OT support because they may feel unable to meet the demands of their physical/social environments and unable to cope adequately due to the symptoms of their mental illness.

Occupational Therapists like me, have a wide range of assessment tools to use to ensure they get a holistic view of someone as a person. Once the necessary information has been gathered, a personalised treatment plan can be written and implemented.  I promise to ensure that you are central to this entire process and are involved in every step. Once your areas of need are identified, I can formulate solutions in the form of long and short-term goals.

Due to OT’s working in a very holistic, humanistic way, this enables the profession to very easily collaborate with the Recovery Approach. To promote the importance of hope, choice and opportunity in a person’s recovery journey is vital. OT is a profession which has mastered exactly that.

Recovery is a personal journey, unique to each individual. The development of hope, empowerment, social inclusion and supportive relationships, a sense of self, meaning and coping skills are all key building blocks in that journey. It is also about developing a meaningful and satisfying life, even with any limitations caused by mental illness. 

"Being aware of the importance of occupation; using your leisure time productively, managing your symptoms, getting back to work, having a routine or learning life skills such as healthy choices, assertiveness or relaxation skills are all very important".

Anchor 1

So what does ‘occupation’ provide? 

Many people link the word ‘occupation’ to ‘work’ – however the term ‘occupation’ covers just about everything we do! Occupation can be defined as the way in which we occupy our time. Our time is divided into three categories of activities in which we take part daily:

 

• Self-Care 

(for example eating, grooming, dressing, cooking and toileting etc)


• Work/Productivity 

(for example effort that is exerted to do or make something, or perform a task, paid work, voluntary work or education)


• Leisure 

(free, unoccupied time in which a person chooses to do something they enjoy such as a hobby, watching TV, socialising, engaging in sport, chilling out, reading, writing, listening to music, travel, etc.)



Occupation is important as it also provides us with:

• Accomplishment/fulfilment,

• Social connection,

• Satisfaction and fun,

• Self-identity/social identity/self-esteem,

• Roles and routines,

• Feelings of health and wellbeing.



However – Occupational can also be

• Passive (sleep, rest)

• Pleasurable, relaxing and not health giving

• Anti-social - someone’s occupation might not be pleasant for others, yet may be pleasurable for them (with hidden detrimental effects) – e.g. excessive alcohol consumption, drug taking, self-harm or engaging in crime …occupation doesn’t mean it’s good for all, but it might be meaningful to that individual at that time.  An OT can support someone to address maladaptive / antisocial or criminogenic occupations and support them to discover pro-social, meaningful alternatives. 




So, Occupation is how we spend our time; whether paid or unpaid, restful or fun, obligation or choice. It fulfils us, gives us purpose, and allows us to interact, be productive, and function in the world around us to the best of our ability.

Experiencing mental illness can significantly interfere with a person’s daily functioning. This could be due to:

  • Symptoms of their illness
  • Medication and side effects (issues with sleep / appetite etc)
  • Impact on routine (and the sequence of tasks which make up that routine)
  • Cognitive difficulties
  • Perceptual skills
  • Attention
  • Motor problems
  • Reduced satisfaction in leisure activities

  • Social awkwardness

  • Communication difficulties

  • Stigma

  • Poor motivation

  • Anxiety

  • Feelings of hopelessness

  • Fear of going into crisis

  • Low mood

  • The strain on family & family dynamics

An Occupational Therapists assessment may therefore include looking at:


  • Activities of daily living
  • Instrumental activities of daily living (e.g., driving, money management, shopping)
  • Education
  • Work (paid and volunteer)
  • Play
  • Leisure
  • Social participation
  • Motor processing skills (movements and actions of the muscles)
  • Mental and cognitive processing skills (the skills your brain uses to think, read, learn, remember, reason, and pay attention)
  • Communication and interaction skills
  • Habits, roles and routines
  • Performance contexts (e.g., cultural, physical, spiritual)
  • Activity demands
  • Occupational self-assessment

Common interventions may include:

Using occupation / activity to promote wellness and quality of life. 


  • Using activity to help people to overcome limitations or restrictions across areas of self-care, the home, work, study, leisure and social participation
  • Life skills training
  • Cognitive rehabilitation
  • Support to return to work
  • Support to return to education
  • Social and interpersonal skills training
  • To develop opportunities to  improve social interaction and participation
  • Life balance intervention
  • To improve behaviour
  • To reduce risk
  • Systematic Desensitization
  • Biofeedback
  • Anxiety management and relaxation Techniques
  • To develop daily living skills to promote independence
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