Program-Specific Info / Q's Best schools for for mental health OT?

[Alaz206]

BA psychology, I'm very interested mental health OT, I like the activity based focus and emphasis on skill building, but every masters program I look at seems to offer one or zero classes in mental health OT. Am I off base in thinking OT is for mental health treatment as well as physical injury? Any advice is welcome, thanks!

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[eedee]

I am going to be attending MWU Illinois campus this fall, and three of our professors specialize in different areas mental health (I know one of them focuses with homelessness, one with addictions, and one something with psychiatrics) which is a lot for a program (in my opinion at least). They are also all still practicing clinicians, so I'm sure they will bring what they are currently working on into the classroom. As I have not started yet, I can't speak on how much or if we are required to do any mental health fieldwork, etc. It's at least worth checking out!

 

[c2902]

Hmm...seeing as how ACOTE now requires you to have one fieldwork that is mental health focused, I can't imagine there are programs that don't teach a Mental Health class at all. My program does in our second year, but in first year during Neuro, we also talked about it, and it was touched on in other classes as well. And no, you are not wrong; OT was founded in mental health practices, and part of the Centennial Vision that AOTA has set out is to get back to this.

To add, the ACOTE standard does not mean that you have to be at a mental health facility, but that the focus of that fieldwork placement will be on the mental health aspects of the client's treatment. Unfortunately, there aren't as many OT jobs in dedicated mental health facilities as there are other places, due to funding, etc. Hopefully that will change in the coming years.

 

[GradSchoolz]

Pacific University's OTD program in Oregon is great for mental health. It is expensive but has a clear focus on mental health from the very first semester.

 

[otsomeday]

One of the professors at MWU - Glendale has written and published OT books concerning Mental Health

 

[lucky22922]

OT has its roots in mental health but has moved away from it over the years. I am beginning my mental health/wellness FW rotation next week and I live in the largest city in Texas but my university still had difficulty finding enough placements for my class since specific "OT' jobs in mental health are so sparse. We are each spending one day in inpatient/rehab at a major hospital and the rest of the week rotating between different community programs. The OTs at working at these settings are not employed as OTs or they hold positions at these facilities that do not require licenses. I think a lot of our domain of practice interferes with that of other mental health professionals so if you are wanting to work strictly in mental health I would take the psych route instead. Just a heads up!