Role of Occupational Therapy in Vocational Rehabilitation

Occupational therapy, a medically oriented rehabilitation profession, has extensive and well-documented experience in developing components of an effective rehabilitation program.

Vocational Therapy

Vocational rehabilitation helps those people who have suffered injury, or disability to return in their professional vocation. It involves a wide range of possible assessments, interventions, and services that are provided by a team of health care specialists. Vocational therapy may include:

• Individual assessment at home, work, or school
• Job analysis and workplace evaluation
• Support for self-management of health situations
• Workplace modifications
• Planning goals and intervention
• Prevention of injury
• Health advise enhancing functional ability at workplace or home
• Psychological intervention
• Career counselling and job placement services
• Alleviate the medical consequences of a disability or injury

Role of Occupational Therapy in Vocational Rehabilitation

The educational process of occupational therapy involves course work and supervised field experience in human development, basic work-related skills, work simplification techniques, task and activity to promote physical and mental restoration, daily activities, and adaptive equipment. Occupational therapists widen the scope of knowledge and practice in the vocational rehabilitation process to ensure the successful transition from the evaluator phase to the work environment for clients or patients.

Occupational therapy allows people to engage in purposeful activity, including both the interpersonal and environmental dimensions, to prevent or correct disability and obtain maximum performance at the workplace. The therapy is related to the vocational process, are applied through the provision of planned services created to prepare an individual for vocational evaluation, training, and eventual employment, or the highest level of independent function.

The team of occupational therapists works with adults and children of all ages with a range of disability to provide support in their recovery from illness and in overcoming barriers that prevent the pursuit of occupations or activities. These activities belong to one or more life areas such as self-care, leisure, and work.

Occupational therapy includes vocational rehabilitation, which addresses these life areas, involving purposeful interventions that encourage recovery and conquer your weakness to participate in the daily activities of life. Before recommending an intervention to an individual, the occupational therapist will evaluate the functional, psychological, emotional, and physical capacity to complete their employment duties. The physicians collect detailed information about their health, employment, or medical history as well as the current ability with daily job-related tasks. The occupational therapist will visit the house or workplace of an individual (client) to evaluate him/her. This is termed as Vocational evaluation.

Numerous tools and approaches are available to assist occupational therapists in carrying out the best possible assessment of an individual’s vocational circumstance. Individual assessment can be conducted either at home or at their workplace. During the assessment, full attention will be given to an individual’s background, nature of injury or illness, as well as the input of an individual’s employer whose support is essential to determine the success rate.