Occupational Therapy Treatment Plan: Fill & Download for Free

No. There is no one therapy or treatment that is appropriate or effective for all mental health issues.A person needs a specific diagnosis and a treatment plan that is tailored to that specific disorder and that person’s unique situation.And in fact, ‘one treatment’ rarely is appropriate even for one person with one diagnosis(and in fact, many people have multiple diagnoses). For example, a person with schizophrenia, ideally, has medication, weekly counseling, occupational therapy, monthly appointments with a psychiatrist, remedial cognitive therapy, social skills training, an intensive medical care plan(possibly a visiting nurse program), medication management training, a nutritional plan, a fitness program, quit smoking aids, substance abuse/alcohol abuse prevention or cessation, a suicide prevention/safety plan, and meaningful activities.

Original Question: “I have a slightly bulging disk in my lower spine between L3 & L4. Can I still do push-ups?”I am currently off work recovering from spinal surgery to excise a herniated disc L4/L5.If you’d any inkling of the excruciating pain and disruption caused by a herniated disc, you would not risk substituting expert personalised advice for that of armchair pundits on Quora. Think about being unable to drive, work, care for your family, do your own shopping. Then add in the concept that you might not be able to stand, wash, use a toilet, or even think clearly because you will be so fogged by pain and medication. You could be left with permanent nerve damage, resulting in numbness and muscle weakness.Treatment for a herniated disc is likely to require an MRI scan, surgery, physiotherapy, occupational therapy, equipment to help you around the house while you recover. Also, very understanding friends and family and substantial savings.Even medically qualified Quorans cannot give you advice on what to do without examining you, referring to your medical notes and considering proper courses of treatment.If I were you, I’d get a proper diagnosis and treatment plan pronto. Perhaps that will include suitable exercises so your core muscles support your spine. Don’t guess what these are - get expert advice. If you’re lucky, this might avoid some of what I’ve been through recently.

I think you might have a limited understanding of what occupational therapy is. I've been an OT for almost 5 years and I've certainly never taught anyone to make pasta!I think to understand the way OTs work you need to understand what occupation is - occupation is any activity that is meaningful or useful to a person's life. OTs work to help people get back to occupations they value despite barriers such as injuries, conditions or disabilities. They also recognise that occupation is a useful means of therapy (wouldn't you rather regain abilities doing a task that you find meaningful rather than a seemingly pointless set of exercises?) and help people regain their functional capacity using that approach. OTs have a very functional approach to healthcare that is unique to occupational therapy as a health profession.OTs also use occupation as a means of assessing somebody's capacity. Where a physiotherapist might assess a patient using a series of physical examinations and exercises (e.g. lift this, bend this way, repeat this task 10 times) to look for issues around their physical capacity, OTs are trained to be able to assess a person's ability by observing them engaging in occupation or small activities that represent a larger occupation.If, for example, you have observed an OT in a rehabilitation hospital working with a patient making pasta - it's just as likely that the OT is using this task to assess the patient's capacity and what that will mean for their rehab goals and supports needed. Making pasta is a simple task - I'm sure it's simpler that the pre-admission four course meals the patient was probably making, but OT time is costly - but it still contains many of the same components that are needed for more complex tasks around the home, so the OT is able to assess the physical capacity of the patient to mobilise, lift and carry, manipulate objects and perform gross and fine motor skills, etc etc., as well as cognitive aspects of the task such as planning (e.g. turn stove on before heating water, heat water before pasta...) orientation, attention, concentration, the list goes on. Most OTs would explain that this simple task is a small 'test run' for their usual at-home activities.People who have dementia and other cognitive impairments often respond well to this more familiar means of assessment rather than a series of tasks that don't bear any resemblance to their everyday activities.Of course a lot of OTs don't work in this context at all! I have colleagues in my graduating year who work with children to help in their development (sensory, motor, social development), in mental health and counselling, in disability (assessing people's ability and providing adaptive 'hacks' and equipment to help them continue to engage in valued tasks), in traumatic accident rehab, and in workplace rehab, where the OT uses the work tasks to help the worker increase their capacity to return to their normal tasks.As for me - I currently work in hand therapy, where I help people regain hand function (and therefore everyday function) using assessment and treatment strategies such as splinting, local treatment, scar and contracture management, exercise and desensitisation programs, as well as advice on what activities can help or harm the rehab process. I don't think this is condescending at all!