Abount Occupational Therapy
World Federation of Occupational Therapists (WFOT) defines Occupational Therapy as
Occupational therapy is a client-centred health profession concerned with promoting health and wellbeing through occupation. The primary goal of occupational therapy is to enable people to participate in the activities of everyday life. Occupational therapists achieve this outcome by working with people and communities to enhance their ability to engage in the occupations they want to, need to, or are expected to do, or by modifying the occupation or the environment to better support their occupational engagement (WFOT, 2012).
In the context of Occupational Therapy, occupations refer to the everyday activities that people do as individuals, in families and with communities to occupy time and bring meaning and purpose to life. Occupations include things people need to, want to and are expected to do.
Australian HealthDirect summarises Occupational Therapy can help you take part in the activities that you find meaningful.
Julie, our Occupational Therapy Advisor, explains the role of Occupational Therapy as:
- To assist people to participate in everyday life, such as the things you want to do, need to do, or are expected to do.
- To support wellbeing of people by suggesting and implementing strategies, activity adaption, and environmental modification.
- Examples of this range from fatigue management, such as energy conservation by doing tasks differently, promoting participation in self-care, productive and leisure occupations.
- Occupational Therapists are also key players in NDIS as almost exclusive allied health practitioner to provide Functional Capacity Assessment.
- They are also emerging Primary Care providers as part of Multidisciplinary Team (MDT).
Resource for Occupational Therapists
Functional Capacity Assessment for people with ME: A Guide for OT
Tutors and CPD providers for Occupational Therapists
Networking
- Facebook Group: ME/CFS & Long Covid networking for health professionals
- ME Group Australia (MEGA) Health Professional Membership (under construction)
Research Publications
- What is the occupational impact of myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome for adults living in Australia? (2024)
- Using time diaries to inform occupational therapy practice for people with Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome: An exploratory study (2024)
- Living with myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome: Experiences of occupational disruption for adults in Australia (2021)
- Caring for the Patient with Severe or Very Severe Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (2021)
- Illness narrative and chronic fatigue syndrome/myalgic encephalomyelitis: A review (2002)
Contact us
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Please reach out to us when you can.