Paradise Lost!… Paradise Regained? Putting the Promise of Occupational Therapy into Practice

Abstract

Occupational therapy is beset by confusion over its professional mandate. Agreement has not been reached on the unique need of man which it serves; and insufficient progress has been made in linking everyday practice with an underlying theoretical framework. The Model of Human Occupation, based in the Occupational Behaviour theoretical tradition, is proposed as a suitable tool to bridge the theory-practice gap. Examples are discussed of the fresh meaning it brings to occupational therapy's wholistic orientation to health care.

Use of Magic in Psychiatric Occupational Therapy: Rationale, Results and Recommendations

“…The absence of a sound theoretical base (Lyons, 1985), along with the perception of the "commonplaceness of our treatment tools (in relation to the complexity of illness)" (Reilly, 1962, p. l ) , has compounded the insecurity felt by occupational therapists regarding the place of occupation and, by implication, of occupational therapy itself in health care. The absence of a sound theoretical base (Lyons, 1985), along with the perception of the "commonplaceness of our treatment tools (in relation to the complexity of illness)" (Reilly, 1962, p. l ) , has compounded the insecurity felt by occupational therapists regarding the place of occupation and, by implication, of occupational therapy itself in health care.…”

“…Over subsequent years of growth and development in a changing social and professional climate, controversy has persisted within the occupational therapy profession regarding its continued use of occupation as its primary medium in promoting the maintenance and restoration of human function. The absence of a sound theoretical base (Lyons, 1985), along with the perception of the "commonplaceness of our treatment tools (in relation to the complexity of illness)" (Reilly, 1962, p. l ) , has compounded the insecurity felt by occupational therapists regarding the place of occupation and, by implication, of occupational therapy itself in health care. This has resulted, in some cases, in the partial or total abandonment of occupation in favour of alternative media.…”