A Discussion on the Skills of the Occupational Therapist Working within a Multidisciplinary Team

1989 ◽  
Vol 52 (12) ◽  
pp. 466-468 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anne Joice ◽  
Denise Coia

Occupational therapists who have experience of working in multidisciplinary teams will be aware of the advantages and disadvantages. A frequent area of confusion and sometimes conflict lies in defining the role of the individual disciplines. This article looks at the history and the philosophy of occupational therapy and discusses the skills contributed by the occupational therapist working within a multidisciplinary team in mental health. It divides the skills of the occupational therapist into: practices restricted to occupational therapists; those expected of occupational therapists; those shared with other disciplines; and specialist skills acquired through individual interest and enthusiasm. The authors hope that it will encourage occupational therapists working in multidisciplinary teams to define more clearly, and with greater confidence, their skills in their areas of work.

2021 ◽  
pp. 030802262110181
Author(s):  
Megan L Howes ◽  
Diane Ellison

Introduction There is recognition within the literature that the role of care-giving can have a negative impact on care-givers’ general well-being. Less is understood about the role of care-giving on an individual’s occupational participation and in turn occupational identity. Occupational therapists have a unique understanding of the interplay between occupational participation and health, though this is an area that has been under researched in relation to mental health care-givers. Therefore, the current research aims to understand how the role of care-giving for an individual with a mental illness impacts on occupational participation and identity. Method A qualitative semi-structured interview the Occupational Performance and History Interview–Version 2 was utilised to understand life experiences. Six mental health care-givers were interviewed, and these interviews were transcribed for thematic analysis. Findings Three main themes were identified: being me, roles and responsibilities associated with care-giving and services. Conclusion The findings suggest being a mental health care-giver does have a detrimental impact on occupational participation and therefore occupational identity. As care-givers gained more experience in their role, they used occupational adaption as a positive coping mechanism that helped them achieve occupational balance. Using their unique understanding of occupational participation and occupational identity, occupational therapists are well placed to utilise their knowledge and skills to work in a systemic way supporting both the person with mental illness and their care-giver.


1986 ◽  
Vol 49 (12) ◽  
pp. 389-391 ◽  
Author(s):  
I Tsipra ◽  
P Voutsina ◽  
E Charitaki ◽  
V Tomaras ◽  
A Kapsali ◽  
...  

This article deals with a developing rehabilitation unit for mentally ill people, mostly chronic schizophrenic patients, which has been integrated into the Community Mental Health Centre of two Athenian boroughs. The unit includes a day care programme, a vocational training workshop and a social therapeutic club. All these programmes have been developed for the first time in Greece at a certain community level. The authors describe the rationale and the structure of the rehabilitation unit and the role of the occupational therapist.


BJPsych Open ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 2 (6) ◽  
pp. 346-352 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maria Cecilia Menegatti-Chequini ◽  
Juliane P.B. Gonçalves ◽  
Frederico C. Leão ◽  
Mario F. P. Peres ◽  
Homero Vallada

BackgroundAlthough there is evidence of a relationship between religion/ spirituality and mental health, it remains unclear how Brazilian psychiatrists deal with the religion/spirituality of their patients.AimsTo explore whether Brazilian psychiatrists enquire about religion/spirituality in their practice and whether their own beliefs influence their work.MethodFour hundred and eighty-four Brazilian psychiatrists completed a cross-sectional survey on religion/spirituality and clinical practice.ResultsMost psychiatrists had a religious affiliation (67.4%) but more than half of the 484 participants (55.5%) did not usually enquire about patients' religion/spirituality. The most common reasons for not assessing patients' religion/spirituality were ‘being afraid of exceeding the role of a doctor’ (30.2%) and ‘lack of training’ (22.3%).ConclusionsVery religious/spiritual psychiatrists were the most likely to ask about their patients' religion/spirituality. Training in how to deal with a patient's religiosity might help psychiatrists to develop better patient rapport and may contribute to the patient's quicker recovery.


2022 ◽  
pp. 105984052110681
Author(s):  
Ashwini R. Hoskote ◽  
Emily Croce ◽  
Karen E. Johnson

School nurses are crucial to addressing adolescent mental health, yet evidence concerning their evolving role has not been synthesized to understand interventions across levels of practice (i.e., individual, community, systems). We conducted an integrative review of school nurse roles in mental health in the U.S. related to depressive symptoms, anxiety, and stress. Only 18 articles were identified, published from 1970 to 2019, and primarily described school nurses practicing interventions at the individual level, yet it was unclear whether they were always evidence-based. Although mental health concerns have increased over the years, the dearth of rigorous studies made it difficult to determine the impact of school nurse interventions on student mental health outcomes and school nurses continue to feel unprepared and under supported in this area. More research is needed to establish best practices and systems to support school nursing practice in addressing mental health at all levels of practice.


2017 ◽  
Vol 80 (6) ◽  
pp. 375-383
Author(s):  
Gail Boniface ◽  
Deborah Morgan

Introduction Six reviews/inquiries into housing adaptations/home modifications processes occurred in Wales between 2004 and 2015. One resulted in the removal of the means test for children's Disabled Facilities Grants. This research investigated families' and professionals' experiences of the adaptations/home modification process to gain an understanding of their views and experiences. Method Mixed methods of an online questionnaire for professionals, and semi-structured interviews or an online questionnaire for families (depending on their preference), were employed. Forty-eight families participated and an additional 16 families responded to an online questionnaire. Analysis of qualitative data identified emergent themes, which are discussed in this article. Findings The themes were: poor information and communication mainly aimed at older adults; negative experience of the process; and the positive impact of the completed adaptation. Additionally, whilst undergoing the process, families felt that they needed a contact to guide them through the process. This contact was often by default the community occupational therapist. Conclusion A single contact person should be made available for families; occupational therapists should consider their part in that role; more specific information on children's needs should be provided; families need to recognize the part they can play in adding to delays in the delivery of adaptations.


2015 ◽  
Vol 2 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Dr. Gopal Chandra Mahakud ◽  
Ritika Yadav

The concept of mental health comprised to the health conditions of people without suffering any mental or psychological problem such as stress, depression, anxiety and other form of psychic disorders. In this regard it can be said that no one is free from and psychological, psycho-physical and psycho-social disorders from which we can derive that no one mentally healthy. But the concept of mental health defined free from the disorders those are prolonged and panic in nature. As the concept of mental health is subjective in nature, it varies from person to person. Besides free from the disorders, a person should pose some of the other positive characteristics to deal with the society effectively. Marry (1958) stated that, a person can be considered mentally healthy with the following characteristics such as (a) Positive attitudes toward himself/herself; (b) Realization of own potentialities through action; (c); Unification of in personality; (d) Degree of independence of social influences; (e) observations of the world around; and (f) Positive adapts to everyday life. Briefly, it can be said that positive mental health of the person make able to an individual to stand on his own two feet without making undue demands or impositions of others. In this regard the role of happiness in day to day life can make the individual more skilled to fight with different mental disorders. The present article is intended to find out the effects of happiness in day to day life in a social situation to deal with different mental disorders to make the individual mentally healthy and prosperous in life.


1993 ◽  
Vol 56 (9) ◽  
pp. 325-329 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jane Hassall

This study examined why hospital-based occupational therapists carry out post-discharge home visits with elderly people, due to the varying frequency within local practice, and used qualitative methods to answer the research question. The results showed that activities concerned with the provision of equipment were the most frequent and that little time was spent in monitoring or treating the patient after discharge. Time was mentioned as a major factor in not carrying out visits, but in fact most visits took less than half an hour. The study emphasised a significant gap in the service, covering patients' post-discharge needs and treatment sessions in the community, and showed the importance of improving communication between multidisciplinary teams and effective planning before discharge. There is a need in Salford for an occupational therapist to work with elderly people to fill this gap and liaise with the hospital multidisciplinary team about plans for discharge.


Author(s):  
Robbie Duschinsky ◽  
Sarah Foster

Critics have alleged that in attempting to adapt to the individual-centric environment of contemporary health provision, mentalization-based therapy itself has been complicit with the atomization of society. Conversations with his colleague Peter Fuggle and Dickon Bevington at the Anna Freud Centre have also had a profound role in highlighting to Fonagy the importance of the wider social system around the individual. Pursuing these questions, this chapter begins by examining the growing attention to the social environment shown by Fonagy and colleagues, and especially their exploration of the role of friends and friendships for mentalization and epistemic trust. It will then examine the reflections and research by Fonagy and collaborators on public mental health. The researchers’ hopes regarding school-based prevention will be given particular attention, and the chapter will also show how this work has shaped Fonagy’s efforts as a policy influencer. Finally, the chapter will appraise the considerations offered by Fonagy and colleagues of the role of culture, in particular the issue of whether attention to cultural processes should be regarded as mentalizing, non-mentalizing or as not mentalizing, and whether organizations and societies can themselves be said to institutionalize cultures of mentalizing or non-mentalizing.


1998 ◽  
Vol 61 (6) ◽  
pp. 263-266 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mary Sterry

Increasing numbers of occupational therapists are engaging in writing expert witness reports in personal injury cases. This article airs some of the conflicts and ethical dilemmas that may arise when working in this field, and considers the position of the occupational therapist in relation to the widely accepted legal view of the role of the expert witness and the College of Occupational Therapists' Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct. The article follows the order of the College of Occupational Therapists' Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct and a number of potential difficulties are highlighted, although by no means all. Where possible, an attempt is made to offer a solution that would enable the occupational therapist to maintain professional integrity. Above all, the article is intended to stimulate discussion and debate which will be of benefit to people already working in this field and to those entering it In the future.


1983 ◽  
Vol 46 (7) ◽  
pp. 202-202 ◽  

Each year the College publishes this register of current ongoing research projects, either being undertaken by an occupational therapist or in which an occupational therapist is involved as part of a multidisciplinary team. The register is published so that occupational therapists generally can establish contact with others whose work is of interest to them.


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