Other OT-Related Information The future of OT in mental health?

[InfoNerd101]

Why is there such a decline in mental health OT?

I am a student that really would like to get into the OT field and specialize in mental health but it seems like there no more jobs for that!

I work on a behavioral health unit with an OT and I think her services are invaluable and patients love and find her groups so helpful.

I like how she uses cognitive behavioral therapy to maximize engagement in function for people with anxiety and depression.

Do you think there will be a return of OT to mental health?

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[beestrng]

I do not think so due to money issues.

In the behavioral health unit you work at in a hospital? Does the OT exclusively practice mental health?

 

[InfoNerd101]

I do not think so due to money issues.

In the behavioral health unit you work at in a hospital? Does the OT exclusively practice mental health?

Yes it's in a hospital and yes she does primarily mental health, she determines what functions are affected in the patient's life due to their mental illness and then uses cognitive and dialectic behavioral therapy to change their thought process and get them back involved in activities.

 

[InfoNerd101]

I do not think so due to money issues.

In the behavioral health unit you work at in a hospital? Does the OT exclusively practice mental health?

So it's not so much that their services that aren't valued or desired? It's more so they don't have the money for it?

 

[beestrng]

I am not sure many people know the value of OT in mental health (I don't). If more people know the value of OT in the mental health field people's perceptions may change.

I do know for a fact that OTs cannot bill Medicare for health/behavior assessments/interventions. You can maybe research this as if a person wont get paid, they wont provide a service. From what I notice, if Medicare does not cover it, many commercial carriers will not.

Personally, the most I have seen an OT do in regards to mental health is developmental screenings and cognitive performance testing which is covered by OTs.

Other professionals like social workers and psychologists have it covered haha.

I am in school still so I hope to see more mental health, but I doubt it.

 

[InfoNerd101]

I am not sure many people know the value of OT in mental health (I don't). If more people know the value of OT in the mental health field people's perceptions may change.

I do know for a fact that OTs cannot bill Medicare for health/behavior assessments/interventions. You can maybe research this as if a person wont get paid, they wont provide a service. From what I notice, if Medicare does not cover it, many commercial carriers will not.

Personally, the most I have seen an OT do in regards to mental health is developmental screenings and cognitive performance testing which is covered by OTs.

Other professionals like social workers and psychologists have it covered haha.

I am in school still so I hope to see more mental health, but I doubt it.

So you yourself don't even find OT services valuable in mental health? What's striking is that in other countries such as the UK or Canada, OT's are at the front line of mental health and will often be the first professional that a patient/ client will see.

 

[beestrng]

@InfoNerd101 I am not saying its not valuable. I don't know the value. I am also gonna assume that not all schools put too much emphasis on the therapy needed for mental health.

The system of reimbursement basically does not let OTs work well in the mental health field.

edit-MOT4ME beat me to it haha.

 

[InfoNerd101]

There is one reason for the decline of OT in Mental health here in the US:

reimbursement

Hospitals etc generally think that if they need to pay for OT services they'd either pay a behavioral aide (far cheaper) or nearly the same amount for a psychologist or therapist. Further, when an OT leads a group therapy session that is billable as ONE unit, you can have 100 people there or 2, you're getting paid the same. OTs do not do individual therapy in the US.

Oh I see the issue now.. But that's nonsense thinking on a hospitals part to think they can pay a behavioral aide (far cheaper) or nearly the same amount for a psychologist or therapist because not just anyone can do the work of an OT.

Also maybe the fact that in the U. S. Doesn't allow OT to do individual therapy is an issue that can be fixed. In other countries they can do individual therapy.

 

[InfoNerd101]

This won't be happening. We have a therapy cap on services in the US which triggers an automatic audit of therapy services after a certain dollar amount per patient per year. We have lobbied to have this cap removed for eons, it has never been removed.
We make more money than OTs in the UK. Much more. Our average salary is 75k dollars a year. I saw the salaries you guys get paid- not pretty. Most of us have a great deal of debt, but we can work for a non profit hospital etc. and make 10 years of minimum payments on our loans and have the rest of the loan balance discharged. I know that tuition at English universities are now sky high, nearing our tuition rates often.

Why do we have a therapy Cap? Therapies such as psychotherapy provided by an clinical social worker for instances doesn't have a cap and they can do one on one therapy?

Also, OT salaries in Canada didn't seem much lower when I looked

 

[beestrng]

We have a cap because the federal govt wanted to reign in spending. The balanced budget of 1997. There is a recent thread in the PT forum.