A Survey of Occupational Therapy Practitioners in Mental Health

Abstract

As part of the College of Occupational Therapists' Mental Health Project, a survey of occupational therapists practising in mental health in the United Kingdom was conducted. A questionnaire was sent to 200 members of the Association of Occupational Therapists in Mental Health and achieved a 68.5% response rate. The majority of the 137 respondents were female, with Senior I staff between 20 and 30 years of age, who were unlikely to have worked in another area, forming the largest group. Although most had received additional training, they identified the need for more training, especially in aspects of occupational therapy. Most were managed by an occupational therapist and 96% received supervision. Community mental health was the most frequently reported area of work, with leisure, counselling, anxiety management and creative activities the most frequently used interventions. The respondents were committed to the core principles of occupational therapy and the need to develop outcome measures and evidence-based practice, and were concerned about moves to generic working. This study has provided data not only for the position paper on the way ahead for occupational therapy in mental health but also for individual occupational therapists and managers.

Identifying occupational therapists' referral priorities in community health

“…These members of the profession are at higher risk of leaving their posts and potentially the profession. A situation the profession can ill afford (Craik et al, 1998b).…”

Inpatients’ perspectives of occupational therapy in acute mental health

“…Crucially there were no reported studies on service users' views of occupational therapy in acute psychiatric inpatient settings, despite the fact that a notable proportion of occupational therapists worked within this area (Craik, Chacksfield & Richards, 1998) However, the important contribution of occupational therapy within acute mental health in delivering quality and effective therapeutic input must not be dismissed. Both the Sainsbury Centre for Mental Health (SCMH) Report (1998) and the Department of Health (2001) document support this perspective.…”

The Therapeutic Use of Videogames within Secure Forensic Settings: A Review of the Literature and Application to Practice

“…The therapeutic use of leisure is a frequent intervention by mental health occupational therapists (Craik et al 1998). In a questionnaire evaluation of 34 computing sessions completed by 19 clients and 4 staff, Di Bona and Boyle (2001) found that games were the second most common activity (18%) and suggested that computer games and videogames were seen as useful tools for enhancing leisure occupation.…”