Occupational therapy
Occupational therapy services
Occupational therapists (OTs) are registered health professionals who address impairments in a person's ability to perform everyday activities or occupations - for example, showering, driving and cooking.
The World Federation of Occupational Therapists says:
"Occupational therapy is as a profession concerned with promoting health and well being through occupation. The primary goal of occupational therapy is to enable people to participate in the activities of everyday life. Occupational therapists achieve this outcome by enabling people to do things that will enhance their ability to participate or by modifying the environment to better support participation."
Occupational therapists work in both physical and mental health, in the hospital and in the community.
Occupational therapists can help with:
- Wheelchairs and seating
- Driving assessments
- Pressure care
- Stress management and relaxation strategies
- Fatigue management and energy conservation
- Upper limb therapy
- Enabling and restoring function in the home environment
- Memory and other thinking problems
Some of the people we work with include newborn babies and children, people with neurological conditions, strokes, dementia and mental health conditions, among others.
Related information/resources
- otnz.co.nz Occupational Therapy New Zealand
- otboard.org.nz Occupational Therapy Board of New Zealand