Friday, March 8, 2013

An Integrative Approach to Self-Care: Occupational Therapy


Occupational Therapists are skilled at activity analysis, and coming up with adaptations of activities and environments, so that people can do the things they need to do or want to do, better.  When life gets hard due to illness, disability, or even stress, modifying the expectations for oneself AND the activities one is expected to do every day, becomes essential.  With knowledge of how the brain and body interact to accomplish every day tasks, including self-care and other activities of daily living, occupational therapists have the skills to make recommendations about HOW to do activities, the TYPES of activities to do that will promote recovery & optimal function, and how to change WHERE the activities are being done.  Simple principles of energy conservation, biomechanics, and sensory processing may be applied to every day life to improve a person’s daily experience so they “feel” better.  When people “feel” physically better they may become less anxious and may be more motivated to participate in their every day activities. Occupational Therapy offers practical strategies and can be a way of supporting people of all ages to live their lives to fullest.


Kelly Beins, OTR/L can be contacted at 301.712.9015, ext. 1028, or kbeins@otc-frederick.com, www.otc-frederick.com



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