Other OT-Related Information Mental health occupational therapy

[Healthcare102]

I have read that mental health services a dying specialty in the OT field. So much so that less than 2 percent of occupational therapists work in the field, schools have mostly eliminated it from their curriculum, and it's no longer listed on the who list of mental health professionals.

Is this so? And if so is the AOTA doing anything to bring it back?

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[Kidamnesiac]

I can't speak for all programs, but we cover some mental health in my program. I have also heard on this forum that one school has a focus in mental health (although as a general entry program, I'm not sure how that works). Moreso, it is the government (and consequently, our country's views on mental health) which places limits on our role in mental health. We recently advocated to be written into the new mental health bill that accompanied the ACA. AOTA is most definitely advocating for a stronger role in mental health, so the blame isn't on OT (unless you're not paying your AOTA dues, which you should IMO).

 

[Healthcare102]

I can't speak for all programs, but we cover some mental health in my program. I have also heard on this forum that one school has a focus in mental health (although as a general entry program, I'm not sure how that works). Moreso, it is the government (and consequently, our country's views on mental health) which places limits on our role in mental health. We recently advocated to be written into the new mental health bill that accompanied the ACA. AOTA is most definitely advocating for a stronger role in mental health, so the blame isn't on OT (unless you're not paying your AOTA dues, which you should IMO).

What is the AOTA and what is the new mental health bill accompanying it that your wrote into.

And what aspect is AOTA advocating to have a stronger role in?

 

[Kidamnesiac]

http://www.aota.org/Advocacy-Policy...in-mental-health-act-introduced-in-house.aspx

What has passed thus far:

• The requirement that clients in community mental health centers providing Medicare Partial Hospitalization services evaluate all clients for occupational therapy;

• Inclusion of occupational therapy in the draft staffing suggestion for new, federally funded, certified community behavioral centers;

• And inclusion of occupational therapy in the request for applications for Primary Behavioral Health Care Integration grantees.

• Additionally, in the last Congress, language from the “Occupational Therapy in Mental Health Act” was included in a larger mental health bill, the “Strengthening Mental Health in Our Communities Act” (H.R. 4574).

- See more at: http://www.aota.org/Advocacy-Policy...introduced-in-house.aspx#sthash.tvENuvTh.dpuf

 

[Kidamnesiac]

AOTA is the American Occupational Therapy Association, which is the national association that advocates for OT (amongst other things, like funding scholarship, shaping philosophy and scope of practice, and providing info for OT's across the nation).

 

[Healthcare102]

AOTA is the American Occupational Therapy Association, which is the national association that advocates for OT (amongst other things, like funding scholarship, shaping philosophy and scope of practice, and providing info for OT's across the nation).

If you don't mind me asking, what can occupational therapist do in a mental health setting?

 

[Kidamnesiac]

If you don't mind me asking, what can occupational therapist do in a mental health setting?

I'm not quite learned in that area yet, though I will be doing a FW2 in this area soon. As far as I know, you work with readiness to enter daily situations, such as appropriate behavior (and skills to adapt when urges hit), medicine management (which is especially effective for people with schizophrenia), and life skills such as preparing a meal. Also, some settings use occupation as a means...so a craft that allows people to gather and socialize or to communicate things that they might not be able to in other ways. We can also train for more psych-specific methods such as CBT, but I would argue that CBT for its own sake isn't in our scope of practice. Everything should be preparing a person to live as independently as possible.

 

[Healthcare102]

I'm not quite learned in that area yet, though I will be doing a FW2 in this area soon. As far as I know, you work with readiness to enter daily situations, such as appropriate behavior (and skills to adapt when urges hit), medicine management (which is especially effective for people with schizophrenia), and life skills such as preparing a meal. Also, some settings use occupation as a means...so a craft that allows people to gather and socialize or to communicate things that they might not be able to in other ways. We can also train for more psych-specific methods such as CBT, but I would argue that CBT for its own sake isn't in our scope of practice. Everything should be preparing a person to live as independently as possible.

Why isn't cbt in your scope of practice if you can train for it

 

[Kidamnesiac]

CBT would be a means to recovering occupation. CBT in and of itself (to "cure" pathological behavior) isn't really in our scope of practice.

 

[Healthcare102]

CBT would be a means to recovering occupation. CBT in and of itself (to "cure" pathological behavior) isn't really in our scope of practice.

Oh I see and an OT's job isn't to cure just to rehabilitate.

 

[Kidamnesiac]

Like I said earlier, occupational therapists are advocates of occupation. That's how I see it, at least. We want the doctors to cure.

 

[Should_I_continue_OT]

CBT (Cognitive Behavioral Therapy) is a rather complex, in-depth subject that a councelor would use primarily in individual therapy to help a person change their patterns of thoughts, feelings and actions. If one of those three things changes, the other two shift as a result. People who work with clients with CBT typically have to have a masters or doctoral degree just focusing on mental health. Like a licensed clinical social worker. States regulate the scope of practice as to who can provide what kinds of therapy.

Most of the OT curriculums I've seen have 1-2 courses on mental health, sometimes broken down by adult, or pediatric. I've heard a couple mental health OTs talk about what they do, and a lot of it sounds like therapeutic group activities. Doing these activities allows the OT to get a look at how a person is functioning cognitively or physically instead of relying on self-report, which may be inaccurate. Historically, OT mostly started in mental health, and in the UK, half of all OTs work in mental health. Basically, the US health care system does not have a lot of funding for mental health, and OT is underutilized in that area.

 

[Healthcare102]

CBT (Cognitive Behavioral Therapy) is a rather complex, in-depth subject that a councelor would use primarily in individual therapy to help a person change their patterns of thoughts, feelings and actions. If one of those three things changes, the other two shift as a result. People who work with clients with CBT typically have to have a masters or doctoral degree just focusing on mental health. Like a licensed clinical social worker. States regulate the scope of practice as to who can provide what kinds of therapy.

Most of the OT curriculums I've seen have 1-2 courses on mental health, sometimes broken down by adult, or pediatric. I've heard a couple mental health OTs talk about what they do, and a lot of it sounds like therapeutic group activities. Doing these activities allows the OT to get a look at how a person is functioning cognitively or physically instead of relying on self-report, which may be inaccurate. Historically, OT mostly started in mental health, and in the UK, half of all OTs work in mental health. Basically, the US health care system does not have a lot of funding for mental health, and OT is underutilized in that area.

CBT (Cognitive Behavioral Therapy) is a rather complex, in-depth subject that a councelor would use primarily in individual therapy to help a person change their patterns of thoughts, feelings and actions. If one of those three things changes, the other two shift as a result. People who work with clients with CBT typically have to have a masters or doctoral degree just focusing on mental health. Like a licensed clinical social worker. States regulate the scope of practice as to who can provide what kinds of therapy.

Most of the OT curriculums I've seen have 1-2 courses on mental health, sometimes broken down by adult, or pediatric. I've heard a couple mental health OTs talk about what they do, and a lot of it sounds like therapeutic group activities. Doing these activities allows the OT to get a look at how a person is functioning cognitively or physically instead of relying on self-report, which may be inaccurate. Historically, OT mostly started in mental health, and in the UK, half of all OTs work in mental health. Basically, the US health care system does not have a lot of funding for mental health, and OT is underutilized in that area.

Do mental health OT's help to diagnose mental illness?

 

[Should_I_continue_OT]

I'm pretty sure they don't. They might hint to a doctor or psychologist that X person is having difficulty in Y areas, so you might want to look into whether they have condition Z.

 

[idontdance]

I actually asked the OT I was shadowing about this today. She said that if she is seeing someone for 1 condition and suspects something else is going on, she will say something to the person about their symptoms and refer them to the appropriate specialist for proper diagnosis.

 

[ellridge12]

The OT program I'm in now has an entire semester dedicated to mental health OT. I love it, and I think I may want to go into that area of practice. My professor said, however, that only a small bit of the NBCOT exam focuses on mental health, which is probably why a lot of programs are focusing less and less on that area.

 

[spiralgalaxy]

The OT program I'm in now has an entire semester dedicated to mental health OT. I love it, and I think I may want to go into that area of practice. My professor said, however, that only a small bit of the NBCOT exam focuses on mental health, which is probably why a lot of programs are focusing less and less on that area.

Having just taken the NBCOT last week (eek!), I can vouch for the fact that mental health is still a pretty major part of the exam, specifically mental health activity groups for those with acute and chronic mental health diagnoses.

In terms of what OTs do in mental health - that is almost as diverse as what we do in physical disabilities. It can range from individual one-on-one sessions focused on money management or self-care skills for someone who's cognitively affected by their mental health diagnosis, to group therapy sessions where deeper thoughts and feelings are explored by the use of activities/occupations, such as making a collage out of magazines. In a more acute mental health setting, OTs still focus more on ADLs/self-care, whereas in a community setting, this can vary to include many other creative things.

Hope this helps!

 

[Therapist4Chnge]

Do mental health OT's help to diagnose mental illness?

No, at least not directly. This would be practicing outside the scope of practice for an OT.

I've been fortunate to work with some wonderful OTs over the years and the most effective approach to MH (in regard to concerns about an undiagnosed disorder) is to let the psychologist/psychiatrist/physician know of the concern. Being able to provide them examples and/or descriptions of concerning things can help provide more context to the case and then follow-up with an evaluation to see if something was missed or is newly presenting.