What is Occupational Therapy?

One of the suggestions in my OT Student Primer is that you have a working definition of what Occupational Therapy is so that you can answer the inevitable question that immediately follows "What are you going to school for?" I have been working on my definition recently as I am constantly asked to define OT. Yesterday, for example, I was talking to my mom about a youtube video I watched on Lifestyle Redesign. I explained all the cool programs this particular OT offered- stress and pain management, organization and study techniques for college students, green living, nutrition and weight loss- and when I was finished my mom asked, "What does that have to do with her being an OT?" I was very surprised. I had talked to my mom about what OT was and thought I did a decent job explaining it, but she didn't realize all that the field encompassed. I listened to one of the AOTA Living Life to the Fullest podcasts this afternoon called "What is Occupational Therapy?" An OT student asked how to define OT in a detailed enough way so people understand but still give credit to all the different areas. Even the two seasoned OTs who were asked talked of the difficulty. OT is constantly growing and expanding and there is really no way to define it in one sentence.

In order to survive my career as an OT student and following into an Occupational Therapist, I do need some sort of concise answer to this question. So here it is- with ideas taken from numerous other blogs and videos and other sources.

Q: What is occupational therapy?

A: Occupational Therapy is a field to help people perform common, everyday activities, such as, hygiene, household chores, job related tasks, or personal hobbies. The patient works one-on-one or in a group with a therapist to develop the skills needed to overcome a disability, relearn these skills after a traumatic event, or prevent trauma or negative consequences from occurring in the first place.

I am not saying my definition is perfect. Far from it. I am just beginning this journey, so I am sure many changes and adaptations will need to be made from time to time. Feel free to comment with any suggestions, additions, or your own definition.