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Occupational therapy is a form of therapy that activates patients with reduced mobility. Thanks to physical, integrative and artistic exercises, performed under the supervision of a specialist, a physically, intellectually disabled or older person exercises movement and coping with everyday activities, which allows them to function more efficiently in society and become independent.
Occupational therapy it is a kind of physical rehabilitation of the patient, involving him in various activities in the field of psychomotor activities. This means that during classes, exercises are undertaken that affect both the patient’s physical fitness and his well-being, entertainment and intellectual development.
Occupational therapy is a way to integrate the patient with the environment, often carried out in rehabilitation centers and centers, nursing homes for mentally and physically disabled children and the elderly. Type of therapy is selected for the patient in accordance with his capabilities and needs. Occupational therapy it is also used in correctional facilities and prisons as one of the forms of rehabilitation.
Types of occupational therapy
We distinguish several types occupational therapydepending on its course. Art therapy is therapy through art, ergotherapy develops the patient through the work performed, and aesthetotherapy is based on the patient’s contact with nature.
Art Therapy it is about activating the patient art classes. As part of the art therapy patients paint pictures, make sculptures and even create music by singing and playing instruments. The works are discussed and analyzed with the help of a therapist, who helps the patient thus understand his thoughts, emotions and motives as well as feel the sense of creating and sharing his imagination and thoughts with others. Thanksi arteterapii patients develop, open to dialogue and contact with others, and feel the satisfaction of creating something on their own.
As part of art therapy theater classes (drama therapy), choreotherapy, i.e. dance therapy and bibliotherapy, which is a therapy based on specially selected teaching materials in the form of therapeutic fairy tales and stories, developing patients’ imagination and empathy may also be conducted.
Occupational therapy it is work-based therapy that enables patients to perform manual work, such as pottery, carpentry, wicker or tailoring. The items created in this way are often even sold by foundations supporting centers for the disabled and actually end up in the daily use of buyers. Workshops of ergotherapy allow to develop manual skills, motor skills and improve the self-esteem of the patient, who may, thanks to this form of therapy, gain a sense of the meaning of their work and feel needed. Occupational therapy it may discover the patient’s potential to perform a given type of craft work and, in some cases, give a chance for real employment and independence.
Another type of occupational therapy, esthetotherapyallows the patient to contact the environment, activating him through visual and aesthetic stimuli related to contact with nature. Stethotherapy It is often combined with kinesiotherapy, i.e. movement therapy, with the use of physical exercises, and sociotherapy based on group activities, developing the patient’s communication (interpersonal) skills. Such a combination of both methods of occupational therapy will be group gymnastics in a forest clearing, walks and organized trips in the mountains or walks along the seashore. Stethotherapy it is also about communing with the beauty of art, for example thanks to patients’ visits to museums and galleries.
As part of occupational therapy There are also relaxation classes organized, such as meditation, aromatherapy or massages, which reduce patients’ nervous tension and reduce anxiety and the effects of chronic stress.
The benefits of occupational therapy
Well run, regular occupational therapy allows for the development of the patient, increasing his independence in activities performed in everyday life – independent washing and dressing, preparing meals. Occupational therapy allows the patient to discover the skills and predispositions to work and create, which reduces the patient’s frustration, allows him to perform work and creative activities that reduce stress and nervous tension. Activities performed under occupational therapy improve patients’ well-being and their interpersonal skills, i.e. the ability to communicate with other people, establish conversations, cooperate and make friends.
What should an occupational therapist be like?
For thinking people about the work of an occupational therapist the most important thing is to ask themselves if they are able to give patients the empathy, care, warmth and understanding necessary in dealing with people with intellectual and physical disabilities. This work gives great satisfaction, but requires a strong psyche and a great understanding of patients.