Occupational Therapy & Our Roots In Mental Health

By Jessica Jordan, MS, OTR/L

Today on World Mental Health Day we’d like to share a bit about the roots of occupational therapy. Most people don’t know but occupational therapy began its practice in mental health back in the eighteenth century. Occupational therapists focused on the mind-body connection by utilizing arts and crafts in order to improve a clients self esteem and participation and engagement in one’s daily activities.

In 1963, President Kennedy signed the Community Mental Health Act which was pivotal because it shifted our practice from the hospital to the community. Just as we are seeing today, the delivery model changed from a medical model to a recovery based model.

Many graduates programs, including the one Erin, our CEO and myself graduated from included a clinical rotation focusing on mental health with a variety of populations/settings. Occupational therapist are here to continue to bring awareness and mobilize efforts to support accessibility to mental health care.