Therapeutic activity

Occupational therapists use therapeutic activity or therapeutic occupation to improve an individual's occupational performance and increase function in activities of daily living (ADLs).

A core and unique feature of occupational therapy practice is the use of occupation as a therapeutic medium [Golledge, J. (1998) Distinguishing between Occupation, Purposeful Activity and Activity, Part 2: Why is the Distinction Important? British Journal of Occupational Therapy, 61(4), pp.157-160.] . An occupational therapy core skill as defined by The College of Occupational Therapists (COT) is the use of activity as a therapeutic tool [COT (2006) COT/BAOT Briefings: Definitions and Core Skills for Occupational Therapists. London: College of Occupational Therapists.] .

Occupational therapists have utilised activities, such as crafts, since the profession was founded [Griffiths, S. and Corr, S. (2007) The Use of Creative Activities with People with Mental Health Problems: a Survey of Occupational Therapists. British Journal of Occupational Therapy, 70(3), pp.107-114.] . The arts and crafts movement in the very early 20th century had ascertained that goal directed activity had a curative effect on the social problems inherent in the newly industrialised societies. The founders of the occupational therapy profession extended this thinking to the treatment of individuals with mental health problems and as a consequence between 1920 and 1940 much of occupational therapy practice concentrated around the use of crafts as purposeful activities [Taylor, E. and Manguno, J. (1990) Use of Treatment Activities in Occupational Therapy. American Journal of Occupational Therapy, 45(4), pp.317-322.] . The emergence of occupational therapy in physical medicine began during World War II and craft activities were utilised to rehabilitate injured soldiers [Turner, A., Foster, M. and Johnson, S.E. (1997) Occupational Therapy and Physical Dysfunction: Principles, Skills and Practice. Edinburgh: Churchill Livingstone.] . This method of practice was later termed by Mosey [Mosey, A.C. (1985) Psychosocial Components of Occupational Therapy. New York: Raven Press.] as activity synthesis.

Activity synthesis or occupational synthesis is the core of occupational therapy practice; occupational therapists, in collaboration with clients, design occupational forms to produce a therapeutic occupation or activity, meaningful and purposeful to the client [Nelson, D. (1996) Therapeutic Occupation: A Definition. American Journal of Occupational Therapy, 50(10), pp.775-782.] . The therapeutic activity or occupation may be used to assess the client’s occupational needs or to achieve a therapeutic goal. The component parts of an activity or occupation are matched with the required occupational performance outcomes. For example, the muscle movements elicited by pottery may address fine motor and gross motor skills to improve shoulder flexion and extension, range of movement and elbow extension and flexion [Tubbs, C. and Drake, M. (2007) Crafts and Creative Media in Therapy. 3rd ed. Thorofare: Slack Incorporated.] .

Other therapeutic activities or occupations may include cookery activities, such as making a smoothie or a healthy soup. The components of this activity such as planning and following a recipe may address cognitive components of occupational performance such as problem solving, sequencing and learning. Health may be promoted through this occupation, enabling clients to consider healthy eating issues [COT (2008) Health promotion in occupational therapy. London: College of Occupational Therapists.] .

Occupational therapists may further use therapeutic activities or occupations to assess occupational performance. For example, an occupational therapist may ask a client to make a cup of tea or prepare a simple meal to assess performance in activities of daily living (ADLs). An occupational therapist may use a board or card game to assess cognitive components of occupational performance. This application of therapeutic activity/occupation involves use of the core skills of the occupational therapist, chiefly assessment and problem solving [Creek, J. (2003) Occupational therapy defined as a complex intervention. London: College of Occupational Therapists.] .

References