Types of Occupational Therapy

Occupational therapists (also known as OTs) combine expertise in mental health care and physical rehabilitation to treat the whole person and help patients continue necessary and enjoyable daily activities safely. There are many career paths within occupational therapy and the one you choose depends on your interests and goals.

Occupational therapists are natural problem-solvers. Because their jobs require quality time spent face-to-face with patients, they are also caring, compassionate, and active participants in patient rehabilitation. They must receive intensive training not only in the health sciences, but also in psychology, human development and growth, communication, research, and professionalism. If you want a career that challenges you in new, rewarding ways every day, occupational therapy might be ideal for you.

How do you know whether occupational therapy is the right career for you? Read on to learn more about this exciting field.

What is Occupational Therapy?

Occupational therapy is a rehabilitative science focused on evaluating and adapting daily activities, mental health challenges, and chronic illnesses to improve patients’ lives and health. From neonatal care to geriatric wellness, occupational therapists help every type of patient work to overcome or learn to alter physical and emotional issues impacting daily life.

Whether someone has experienced a debilitating accident or just finds it difficult to manage their work or school responsibilities, occupational therapists approach every situation with a wholistic approach based in compassion, science, and a dedication to healing. An occupational therapist treats the whole person by:

• Listening to patients and evaluating their needs
• Carefully assessing their patients’ environments
• Suggesting realistic changes to address their patients’ challenges
• Instructing and demonstrating how to use assistive equipment, such as wheelchairs and walking devices
• Designing long-term success plans
• Incorporating the caregiver(s) in treatment plans
• Assessing progress and adapting to their patients’ changing needs

Types of Occupational Therapy

The first step to becoming a generalist in occupational therapy is earning an advanced degree in OT. This allows you to practice in any area of occupational therapy. If you want to specialize with specific populations, upon graduation with your graduate degree you can then seek advanced continuing education courses in that specific area of occupational therapy.

Below, we list some of the more common populations that OTs can practice to provide expert care for patients with specific limitations.

Pediatric Occupational Therapy

If you enjoy working with children and want a career helping them overcome limitations or developing the skills they need to use every day, pediatric occupational therapy would be a perfect specialty.

Pediatric occupational therapists work with children from the neonatal stage to their teenage years. Some of the common reasons a parent or guardian might seek an OT to help their child include:

• Trouble managing school
• ADHD
• Vision or hearing issues
• Developmental disorders
• Learning disabilities

Because they take a whole-person approach to care, pediatric OTs don’t just work with children. They might also instruct parents and other family members on how to help the child in their daily lives. They may work with school administrators and teachers to evaluate and find long-lasting treatment for school-related issues.

Neurological Occupational Therapy

If you’re fascinated by the connections between the brain and the body’s movements, you may want to consider focusing on neurological care — also known as neurodevelopmental or neuro-reeducation approaches.

Neurological Occupational Therapists often treat patients who have suffered or continue to suffer from:

• Strokes
• Brain injuries
• Cerebral palsy
• Alzheimer’s disease
• Spinal cord injuries

As a neurological specialist, you would use movement analysis for patient rehabilitation. This might entail analyzing the patient’s day-to-day activities and quality of life — including posture, movement, and independence. You would offer guided and facilitated movements as a form of rehabilitation to establish or reestablish connections between the brain and the body.

Geriatric Occupational Therapy

With the global population aging and living more active lives later than previous generations, there’s an unprecedented need for patient, skilled, and caring occupational therapists specialized in geriatric care to help evaluate and treat the injuries and illnesses associated with aging.

Geriatric occupational therapists usually work with a team of medical professionals to help aging patients continue living as independently as possible. Whether patients need help recovering from a fall, relearning motor skills like walking and eating, or learning how to use assistive devices such as wheelchairs, OTs approach every patient with a unique perspective based on their environment and current living conditions.

Another possible career path is geriatric care management, in which OTs look at the big picture of an aging person’s life — including physical function and limitations, support structures, finances, medical diagnoses, and long-term treatment plans. OTs have familiarity with the costs and care related to aging and health care, so they can provide expert help preparing their patients for the daily issues associated with growing older.

Mental Health Occupational Therapy

Because occupational therapists are also trained in psychology and neurology, they understand that healthy living is not just about physical health. It’s also about mental and emotional care.
As an occupational therapist focused on mental health, some common areas you would work with patients on include:

• Socioemotional skills
• Panic attacks
• Depression
• Bipolar disorder
• Schizophrenia

These issues can greatly interfere with working and living day to day, and often involve complex care plans involving other health professionals. You would work with the patient’s family members and perhaps coworkers (with the patient’s permission) to assess work and home environments to locate possible causes of challenges and find practical solutions.

Physical Rehabilitation Occupational Therapy 

After major surgeries, accidents, or illnesses, patients may have to adapt to living differently than they had before. A patient who had a limb amputated, for example, would need to learn how to live a full life without that limb — dressing one-handed or walking with an artificial leg. If you want a career helping patients heal and learn to adapt to changing daily activities, consider becoming a physical rehabilitation OT.

Occupational therapists with certification and experience in physical rehabilitation would work with their patients and their doctors on care plans that might involve:

• Rehabilitative therapy
• Teaching self-management
• Regaining coordination
• Adapting to new ways of living

This treatment is especially important when recovery affects the patient’s work and home life.

Occupational Therapy for Autism

If you want to work with patients who are on the autism spectrum, consider specializing in occupational therapy for autism to advance your knowledge and skills in this quickly evolving field. You would be able to work with patients of every age to develop their social, motor, and learning skills.

Because patients with autism have widely varying capabilities, occupational therapists must carefully evaluate each patient to ensure they receive the care they need to live independently or with supportive care while doing daily activities such as:

• Dressing or bathing
• Socializing with others
• Working with others
• Household management
• Managing sensory input

Launch Your Occupational Therapy Career at AdventHealth University

Now that you understand the different types of occupational therapy and which ones might be right for you to explore, the first step is earning a graduate degree in occupational therapy. The Master of Occupational Therapy program at AdventHealth University is rooted in a faith-based approach to treating patients with uncommon compassion.

Experiential learning is at the center of our program — giving you many chances to participate in community service and clinical experiences with real patients. You’ll work alongside highly accomplished faculty  with decades of experience as occupational therapists providing acute, pediatric, geriatric, and mental health care. No matter which of the above types of occupational therapy you’re interested in, our faculty has the expertise to help you prepare for your dream career path.

Our Master of Occupational Therapy program is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Occupational Therapy Education (ACOTE) of the American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA), which means that your degree will show potential employers that your education meets the highest standards for excellence in OT training.

Learn more about our Master of Occupational Therapy curriculum.