Occupational Therapy at Mountain Valley

What is OT?
Occupational Therapy (OT) is a rehabilitative healthcare profession focused on helping individuals restore function so they can engage in everyday activities (or “occupations”) that give their lives meaning and purpose. At the core of OT philosophy is the belief that all human beings have an innate drive to be “meaningfully occupied” and that engagement in meaningful activities is essential to human health and well-being.

Therefore, OT practitioners work in various settings, helping individuals overcome barriers (physical disabilities, cognitive disabilities, mental health challenges, etc.) so they can participate in daily activities that support their health and well-being. These activities can range from “small” everyday tasks like brushing teeth, getting dressed, and taking a shower to more complex activities like working, building relationships, or engaging in leisure interests.

Given that the core principles of OT focus on human engagement as a key pillar of health and well-being, OT uses activity engagement as both a “means” and an “end” to therapy. OTs engage individuals in activities as a form of therapy to facilitate healing, with the goal that, by the end of the therapeutic process, the individual is better able to engage in the activities they value within the natural context of their everyday life.

What is Mental Health OT?
Many people associate OT primarily with individuals who have physical disabilities (OT is like PT, right?). However, what many don’t know is that OT was founded in the field of psychiatry and mental health. In fact, OT’s “founding father” was a psychiatrist!

At the turn of the 19th century, the “moral treatment” movement shifted the way care was provided to those facing mental health challenges. Asylums and hospitals began to focus on treating individuals with mental health issues more humanely, including providing patients with opportunities to engage in meaningful activities (cooking, gardening, arts and crafts, woodwork, etc.). The results were profound, and the psychiatrist at the forefront of this movement recognized the innate need for humans to be occupied and the curative power of engaging in meaningful activities.

After World War I, when the need for rehabilitation increased due to the number of soldiers returning with “shell shock” (i.e., PTSD), the profession was officially established.

“Our role consists in giving opportunities rather than prescriptions. There must be opportunities to work, opportunities to do and to plan and create, and to learn to use material. There are bound to be valuable opportunities for timely and deserved approval and encouragement. It is not a question of specific prescriptions, but of opportunities…”
– Adolf Meyer, Psychiatrist and President of the American Psychiatric Association (1928)

Although it is less common to see OTs working in mental health settings than it was in the early days of the profession, the role and value of OT in mental health care remain the same:

1. OTs are experts in the therapeutic use of activities and use them to help those with mental health challenges heal, recover, and restore function.
2. OTs help individuals overcome their mental health challenges so they can functionally re-engage in the daily activities that give their lives meaning.

OT at Mountain Valley
OT plays a significant role in the treatment provided at Mountain Valley, both at a micro and macro level.
On the micro level, Mountain Valley has an OT as part of its clinical team. Our OT provides group and individual services to residents in our program, focusing on:

• Promoting and assessing functionality in ADLs (hygiene, dressing, etc.) and IADLs (time management, cleaning/chores, etc.)
• Promoting healthy lifestyle habits and routines (sleep, exercise, leisure activities, socialization, etc.)
• Engaging residents in activities that provide them with a sense of meaning and purpose
• Sensory processing assessment and intervention
• Mind-body practices such as mindfulness, yoga, and biofeedback
• The practical application of therapeutic skills within everyday living
  On a macro level, OT informs our treatment philosophy, milieu design, and overall approach to care:
• The intentional use of meaningful activities as a means of healing and recovery (animal care, gardening, cooking, adventure, art, etc.)
• The creation of a healthy and supportive environment that fosters community, connection, and a sense of belonging
• A client-centered approach focused on restoring or improving functioning, rather than merely treating a disorder
• The design of a structured daily routine and schedule that replicates normal adolescent/young adult life (e.g., school, work, etc.)
• The use of an environment that is sensory-informed and sensory-enriched to promote healing, regulation, and healthy human development