Occupational therapy in the modern adult acute mental health setting: a review of current practice

Abstract

Background Health care systems are changing and with them, the role and scope of occupational therapy. The inpatient mental health setting is one area where change has been rapid and expansive, directly impacting on the role of occupational therapy. Literature pertaining to the current practice of occupational therapy in this setting is currently overshadowed by a focus on community-based care. This article aims to describe and summarize the recently published literature regarding current practices of occupational therapy in this important setting. Methods Current practices were identified with reference to policy documents, text books and journal articles dating from 1990 to the present day. Findings There was found to be a paucity of current literature relating to occupational therapy practice in acute mental health. From the literature that was available, four core elements of occupational therapy practice in acute mental health were identified: individual assessment, individual treatment, therapeutic groups, and discharge planning. Conclusions It is suggested that the development and communication of the occupational therapy role focusing on the four core elements of practice will provide a sound base for the development of the clinical role of occupational therapy in acute mental health. Occupational therapists working in the acute mental health setting are encouraged to be aware of the available literature pertaining to this area and establish a renewed focus on clinical research to evaluate current practice and to guide debate on emerging occupational therapy roles.

Exploring consumer functioning in High Dependency Units and Psychiatric Intensive Care Units: Implications for mental health occupational therapy

“…A literature search using search terms "occupational therap*" AND inpatient AND (psychiat* OR "mental health") was completed using the databases Scopus, CINAHL and Medline. Even when using these broad search terms, very few articles were identified (as is consistent with previous reviews in this area: Craik, 1998;Lloyd & Williams, 2010) and only one specifically explored occupational therapy in PICUs or HDUs. Best (1996) described the developing role of occupational therapy in a PICU in the United Kingdom.…”

Progressing recovery-oriented care in psychiatric inpatient units

“…This may extend from talking to the peer worker, maybe sharing office space together, seeing service users jointly and collaborating (both as lead and supporting facilitator) on the group programme together. Lloyd and Williams (2010) suggested that there were four key elements of practice undertaken by occupational therapists working on inpatient units. In regards to the day-to-day clinical work, occupational therapists may consider working in partnership with peer workers in these practice areas:…”

Job satisfaction, burnout and turnover intention in occupational therapists working in mental health

“…Substantial change has occurred in Australian public mental health services over the last two decades and this has had a significant impact on the practice of occupational therapy in these settings. In acute inpatient settings, length of stay has reduced (Short, Thomas, Luebbers, Ogloff & Mullen, 2010) and the focus of occupational therapy practice has shifted from providing opportunities to engage in meaningful activities towards assessment and discharge planning (Lloyd & Williams, 2010). In community settings, there has been an increase in the use of case management models and this has created challenges for occupational therapists to thrive in settings where their roles include a significant proportion of 'generic' work (Lloyd, King & Bassett, 2002).…”