What is Occupational Therapy??

Hi readers:

To start, occupational therapy is profession more and more popular, but some people still do not know what it is! Occupational therapists are certified professionals that "help people across the lifespan participate in the things they want and need to do through the therapeutic use of everyday activities" (AOTA). These skills they could help a patient learn to do could be as simple as getting dressed or eating if they have some form of a restriction. Occupational therapists work with the fine motor skills while physical therapists work with gross motor skills. Occupational therapists work a variety of patients and in a variety of settings, in which I hope to go into more deatails in other posts.

To become an occupational therapist, one has to obtain a masters degree in occupational therapy. Obviously before that, one has to have a Bachelors degree. Many people receive a general Bachelors of Science degree or a health sciences degree, then go on to graduate school to receives their Masters. However, there are some universities that have a combined undergraduate and graduate program for occupational therapy. Saint Louis University is one of the schools. You spend 4 years as an undergrad and 1 year as a graduate student. After 5 years you would have your Master of Occupational Therapy. Once you have received your degree from an accredited program, you have to pass the NBCOT, National Board for Certification in Occupational Therapy. After passing the NBCOT you have to apply and pay for a license. OT licenses are per state, so if you wish to practice in more than one state, you need to have more than one license.

Hopefully this information about what occupational therapy is and how to obtain the degrees and license was helpful!

Thanks for reading!
Megan

Work Cited
American Occupational Therapy Association. (2015). "About Occupational Therapy." https://www.aota.org/About-Occupational-Therapy.aspx