About Occupational Therapy

Pinel grew up in France. He subsequently began studying theology and literature before continuing his studies in medicine at Toulouse University, where he got his master’s degree in 1773. In 1778, Pinel moved to Paris and worked as a scientific writing translator, publisher, and mathematics teacher. Pinel became a Bicêtre asylum director and head physician, but he was unable to put his understanding of mentally ill treatment into reality since doctors at the time confined mentally ill individuals in chains (Willard & Schell, 2014).

Philippe Pinel and William Tuke questioned social beliefs and developed a new approach of treating mentally impaired people.  Philippe Started a new approach known as the moral treatment and occupation for treating mentally challenged people. Through the movement, treating mentally ill people became a daily activity. Therapists focused on addressing the patients’ emotions other than excluding them from the rest of the society (Willard & Schell, 2014). Philippe advocated for the use of literature, physical exercise, music, and work as an approach to heal the emotional stress for the mentally ill patients.

The primary aim of occupational therapy is to help people recover their meaningful activities irrespective of their conditions. As explained above, people denied mentally ill people their right to associate with other people. People did not allow them their freedom of expression and movement. However, Philippe’s movement of treating the people’s emotions through the various activities was of great help in recovering these people’s denied rights and privileges. Mentally ill people can do other things better. Being mentally ill does not mean that a person is completely useless. According to Atwal and McIntyre 2013, locking such patients in a room increases the level of stress which can worsen the situation. The movement is, therefore, a significant contribution in the occupation therapy profession.

William Tuke

Tuke was born in 1732 in York. At an early age, he joined the coffee and tea business. In 1976, Tuke started raising funds towards opening the York Retreat with the aim of providing better care for the insane. He was among the first people in England to come up with an alternative solution for the mentally ill patients (Willard & Schell, 2014). 

Like Pinel, Tuke also challenged the people’s beliefs concerning the treatment of mentally ill people. William was disgusted by the poor treatment that was subjected to the mentally ill people. He came up with principles that advocated for moral treatment for the mentally challenged. Some of the laws were to treat the mentally challenged with kindness and consideration and to prescribe activities for maximizing function while minimizing the patient’s symptoms (Willard & Schell, 2014). Besides that, Tuke came up with a center for a retreat in England based on the generated principles. Through the retreat center, he encouraged patents to learn and grow through engaging them in several types of jobs.

Tuke has also contributed towards the success of occupational therapy. As previously explained, mentally ill people are only mentally challenged and it does not mean that cannot do anything constructive. According to Tuke, mentally ill patients can be the best people to perform some duties. For instance, these people can the best workers when it comes to disposing of wastes in the dumpsites. In fact, most of them typically enjoy spending time in such areas. Involving the mentally ill people in such activities while makes them feel recognized and part of the society. The fact that they are mentally ill doesn’t know that they cannot appreciate anything good. They would also love to work and be paid (Atchison & Dirette, 2007). Paying them for the services provided boosts their esteem and hence a way of reducing the level of stress.

Eleanor Clarke Silage

Born in 1871 in New York, Clarke studied shortly at the Claverack College and then got married to Robert Slagle for some time. After that, she went to study at Chicago School in 1911, after which she worked in state hospitals in New York and Michigan. After some time, Clarke got inspired to work in occupational therapy and became the occupational therapy director at the Johns Hopkins Hospital in 1912. After two years, Clarke resigned from her job and returned to Chicago where she started a school (Reed & Sanderson, 2015). 

People had not taken occupational therapy as a career in the medical field. Clarke began working towards promoting occupational therapy as a specialized occupation. In 1922, Clarke successfully established the American Occupational Therapy Association headquarters in the United States. This was a great contribution to the occupational therapy profession. People began to go for occupational therapy studies. Most of those who served in the occupation were not qualified. People lacked the appropriate knowledge to deal with some patients such as those experiencing mental illness. It was a great step in the occupational therapy profession. Clarke challenged the occupational therapy professional by advocating for the building of an inclusive community. She argued that mentally challenged people are like any other human being and they should be treated equally irrespective of their disability (Willard & Schell, 2014).To ensure choice in work daily living, learning, and play for people with health issues, Clarke challenged the professionals to gain more understanding of the people they work together.

Occupational therapists don’t work alone. It is, therefore important to gain a more understanding of the people one works with for a quality health care. It was a significant contribution to the occupational therapy professional. OTs didn’t consider such factors as a priority in undertaking their operations. They would expect anyone in the profession to deliver excellent results as they are (Porter & Teich, 2012). However, people have different capabilities. Even those who went through the same class will perform differently when given a test. Understanding the various dimensions of an individual is, therefore, important, to allocate duties to the most appropriate people.

Adolf Meyer

Born in 1866 in Switzerland, Meyer studied in various neuropathologists before he completed his degree in medical studies from Zurich University. He then moved to the United States and started his neurology career at the Chicago University in 1892. Adolf Meyer served as the chief of the first OT department in Baltimore. He is among the most influential figures in psychiatry (Ikiugu & Ciaravino, 2007). 

According to Meyer, mental sickness was a problem of habitat deterioration and adoption. He explained that these challenges result from poor work balance, play, and rest. Meyer thought that occupation engagements are educational, pleasurable and creative. He came up with an important connection amongst people’s mental health and their activities. Following such understanding, Meyer incorporated community-based activities to improve the people’s daily living skills. According to his posed arguments, social, biological and psychological factors are relevant to the well-being of a patient and mental disorder can stem from an individual’s emotional experience (Reed & Sanderson, 2015). Meyer also supposed that psychiatric illnesses are as a result of personal problems which can result from environmental issues, early trauma or social problems. An individual’s daily lifestyle habits and the environment can cause mental illness, and community services would help in coping with such stress.

Meyer assisted in answering some questions that people had failed to respond. According to his arguments, mental illness is a product of fear. It is important to teach people on the various ways of dealing with stress. Stress is experienced during the individual day to day activities. It is, therefore, necessary for every person to engage in activities that help the mid relax after a long day of work. People had not taken work or other activities as a mental exercise. Meyer supposes that an individual needs to take some practices, engage himself in some activities to help the mind relax (Willard & Schell, 2014). Such findings have profoundly contributed to the success of the occupational therapy profession. There are currently various methods of treating the mentally ill people. These people are no longer considered as less important in the community.

Abraham Maslow

Maslow was a psychologist during the 20th century who came up with a humanistic approach to psychology. He was born in 1908 and raised in New York. Abram Maslow proposed the hierarchy of needs. The theory explained five main stages that he insisted on being necessary for human satisfaction and existence (Ikiugu & Ciaravino, 2007). The steps include the physiological needs, safety needs, community and belonging, esteem, and self-actualization.

According to Maslow’s theory, failure to meet any of the five types of needs at the various stages contribute to illness and specifically mental illness. People whose needs are not fully met may become very sick or die at some point. Lack of satisfaction in safety needs leads to stress. Those who do not get love may experience anxiety or depression (Brown, Stoffel & Muñoz, 2011). People go through various stages of life and almost every stage; some deficit is experienced regarding their needs fulfilled. Some people fail to reach the top of the hierarchy and end up experiencing poverty and illness among other problems.

Like with the other pioneers, Maslow has contributed towards the success of the occupational therapy. Therapists have come to understand that mental illnesses come as a result of failure to meet certain needs in life. In this way, appropriate methods of treating mental illness have been developed. Instead of locking the mentally ill people in a closed place, these patients are provided with the missing needs (Reed & Sanderson, 2015). For instance, when an individual experiences depression as a result of loneliness or lack of love, they can be taken to a rehabilitation center where the psychiatrists can help them obtain the missing needs. For simplicity, therapists have used Maslow’s hierarchy of needs as a basis for providing metal treatment among other psychiatric problems.

Carl Rogers

Born in 1902, Carl Rogers was raised in Chicago. Rogers had aimed to study agriculture at the Wisconsin-Madison University, but his interest shifted in 1924 to religion when he received a bachelor’s degree. He started his child psychology career in 1930. He published his idea in psychotherapy and counseling in 1942. He outlined a theory that an individual can gain the necessary awareness to transform his life through a nonjudgmental, respectable, and accepting connection with a therapist (Ikiugu & Ciaravino, 2007). 

Rogers introduced the client-centered therapy in the 1940s. This approach created a huge change in what the traditional therapists used to do their work at that time. Through the plan, Rogers provided that the primary role of a therapist is not to direct patients but to help them understand their own experience and promote a constructive change through a reliable relationship (Brown, Stoffel & Muñoz, 2011). According to Rogers, a therapist should hold the individual in a positive regard, to empathize and respect the client.

As pointed out earlier, mentally ill, physically disabled or other psychiatric illness is mostly as a result of stress or depression. The society has rejected most of these people and they do not feel the love of a sense of belonging. A therapist has a role in restoring such people into their original condition. The best way to help such a person is through providing them with the missing needs. That is why Rogers emphasized that the primary role of a therapist is not to direct patients but to help them understand their own experience and promote a constructive change through a reliable relationship (Willard & Schell, 2014). In this way, the client feels valued and loved. Instead of telling them what to do, why don’t you do it with them? Therefore, the patient-centered approach has been of a great help in occupational therapy.

References

Atchison, B., & Dirette, D. K. (2007). Conditions in occupational therapy: Effect on occupational performance. Philadelphia: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.

Atwal, A., & McIntyre, A. (2013). Occupational therapy and older people. Chichester, West Sussex: Wiley-Blackwell.

Brown, C., Stoffel, V., & Muñoz, J. P. (2011). Occupational therapy in mental health: A vision for participation. Philadelphia: F.A. Davis Co.

Ikiugu, M. N., & Ciaravino, E. A. (2007). Psychosocial conceptual practice models in occupational therapy: Building adaptive capability. St. Louis, Missouri: Mosby Elsevier.

Porter, R., & Teich, M. (2012). Revolution in history. Cambridge [Cambridgeshire: Cambridge University Press.

Reed, K. L., & Sanderson, S. N. (2015). Concepts of occupational therapy. Philadelphia: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.

Willard, H. S., & Schell, B. A. B. (2014). Willard & Spackman’s occupational therapy. Philadelphia: Wolters Kluwer Health/Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.