Occupational therapy and mental health are linked as OT strives to address barriers people with mental health illnesses face and help them live more independently. OTs perform assessments, design strategies, and teach people how to perform everyday tasks and interact socially.
Mental health issues can affect many aspects of life, disrupting daily routines, relationships, work or school and even favorite hobbies. According to the National Institute of Mental Health, over 23% of adults in the U.S. have a mental illness, such as depression or anxiety, that may significantly limit their daily lives.
If you are considering a career as an occupational therapist or occupational therapy assistant, mental health OT is a specialty area that allows you to improve someone’s quality of life, both mentally and physically.
The Online Occupational Therapy Assistant Program at St. Catherine University can help you take the first step toward a career in this field in as few as 16 months. Interested in learning more? Here’s an overview of the occupational therapist’s mental health role.
The Impact of Mental Health
Of the 59.3 million people with a mental illness in the U.S., about 15.4 million of them, or 6%, have been diagnosed with a severe mental illness, including schizophrenia, bipolar I disorder with psychotic features, obsessive-compulsive disorder and others. Mental illnesses can also frequently coexist with other health issues.
Dealing with symptoms of a mental illness can lead to work absences and disruptions in daily routines. ComPsych Corp., a leading provider of mental health and absence management services worldwide, reports that during the first quarter of 2024, about 11% of leave requests in its system were for mental health reasons — a 22% increase compared to the same period the previous year.
With this growing problem, an integrated approach that includes occupational therapy is beneficial.
The Role of Occupational Therapy in Mental Health
According to the American Occupational Therapy Association, a healthy community depends on the mental health of all its members. Occupational therapy professionals help their clients manage both their mental health and their physical needs, providing them with the necessary tools to meet their goals.
The practice of OT generally includes:
- Helping people restore or develop a skill
- Recommend tools to support medication compliance, time management, and sleep hygiene
- Helping people develop habits and routines to support their wellness
- Improving community engagement through social skills training
A study titled Occupational Therapy in Severe Mental Disorder found that occupational therapy intervention and medicinal treatments helped improve daily functioning for patients with severe mental disorders. The occupational therapy employed in the study used a collaborative approach involving healthcare professionals, patients and family or caregivers.
In some cases, occupational therapy focuses on activities of daily living (ADLs), such as:
- Developing a regular schedule and healthier eating habits
- Establishing a bathing routine
- Establishing better personal and dental hygiene
- Using public transportation
- Managing money
- Cooking, including purchasing ingredients, using appliances, washing utensils and using different cooking techniques
- Organizational skills
- Using technology like computers or cell phones to support ADLs
The main goal of these efforts was to improve patient’s autonomy. Occupational therapy is about more than just physical rehabilitation; it is about holistically improving patients’ lives. This occasionally crosses the boundaries into other fields and leads to collaboration among specialists.
Mental Health OT Skills
According to the AOTA, OTs possess specialized skills and unique perspectives, enabling them to deliver care that bridges the gap between behavioral and medical care. These practitioners are trained to understand how mental illness and substance use can impact how individuals function in their daily lives.
Mental disorders can limit a person’s ability to perform ADLs like personal hygiene or cooking. The role of the occupational therapist is to assess and intervene to improve ADLs. Occupational therapy can help improve a person’s independent living skills, demonstrate how to use coping skills learned in treatment and reduce mental illness symptoms through healthy routines.
Assessing a Person’s Needs
First, occupational therapy practitioners must assess clients’ needs and evaluate environmental and other factors that influence their mental health. Assessment areas can include:
- Social skills, including how a person interacts in social situations or at their workplace
- How the client manages pain and stress
- Cognitive abilities and impairments, such as attention span, memory and problem-solving capabilities
- Environment, such as how the person’s home affects their health, safety and independence and whether adaptations or equipment are needed
- Sensory processing patterns, such as when the client feels overwhelmed in loud environments or avoids touching certain materials
Once the person has been evaluated, the occupational therapy practitioners can suggest adaptations.
Increasing Autonomy in Everyday Life
After a patient’s situation and skills have been assessed, occupational therapy practitioners will typically design interventions aimed at improving their mental health and increasing participation in everyday activities. Examples can include:
- Creating goals like medication management with minimal assistance four out of five days
- Training and implementing activities like creating and following a calendar
- Implementing activity-based social skills like recognizing emotions and expressing them appropriately
OTs and OTAs also help people with community living, such as using community resources, managing their time, shopping, volunteering and other activities. They also help people become more independent with ADLs like hygiene, cooking, cleaning, money management, driving, medication routines and more.
Career Outlook
While there are no statistics for mental health occupational therapy practitioners specifically, the field of occupational therapy in general is in high demand. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, occupational therapy assistants are in demand, with jobs expected to increase 21% by 2033 and a mean salary of $68,170.
Start Your Journey to Becoming an OTA at St. Kate’s
If you’re ready to make a meaningful impact on people’s functional and mental well-being, St. Catherine University’s Online OTA Program can help you acquire the necessary skills and earn your associate degree in as few as 16 months.
Our curriculum combines online and on-site learning. Online courses cover the key material you will need to know as an OTA, including medical terminology, psychology, psychosocial approaches and more. This is followed by skills labs, where you will practice what you’ve learned in a hands-on setting. The skills labs will help prepare you for fieldwork, where you will work with clients of all ages in real-world situations.
Steps to Enrollment
- Speak with an admissions advisor about eligibility and requirements.
- Complete any prerequisites.
- Fill out the online application.
We offer three OTA program start dates in Winter, Summer and Fall. The earlier you apply, the better your chance of starting on your preferred date.
Contact Us
St. Kate’s is committed to inclusivity, advancing wisdom and justice and empowering meaningful lives, which we aim to instill in our students. By earning your OTA degree at our university, you prime yourself for a career built on the values of service and integrity, with a dedication to improving the lives of your clients.
If you’re ready to earn an associate degree and begin your journey in the field of occupational therapy, contact our admissions team today.
