I need 2-3 paragraphs for a peer response with 1 article based on this post. Thank you

Your agency, ‘A Bridge to Growth’ is doing a tremendous duty in helping clients with mental health problems recover to their normal best. However, the therapeutic services offered would be more efficient if you would consider incorporating occupational therapy services within your recovery programs.

Occupational therapists are adequately trained to assist clients to critically assess their daily routines and evaluate how they affect their state of health (Creek & Lougher, 2011). Occupational therapists can help clients understand how their mental health affects the roles that are meaningful to their lives. The identification of those links enhances the clients to shift towards the occupational roles and patterns they intend to achieve. An OT will evaluate the habits and behaviors of the clients daily for a week. The OT will then show the client how his behaviors and thoughts are tied to the addictive behaviors and how the client loses identity because they lose the roles most meaningful to them. The practitioner then reconstructs the occupational roles by recognizing the occupation that brings joy and a sense of well-being to the client without substance abuse (Creek & Lougher, 2011).

For instance, an occupational therapist can evaluate the roles that are meaningful to clients with depression and assist them with adapting their responsibilities in a manner that provides the opportunity to participate and gain a sense of accomplishment. Occupational therapy practitioners will then help the clients in determining what interferes with their ability to achieve the responsibilities. The OT will then strategize on how the clients can achieve the tasks in a meaningful way (Hees, Koeter, de Vries, Ooteman & Schene, 2010).

Clients with Eating disorders are disengaged from meaningful occupations and roles and become preoccupied with the eating disorder and the rituals and behaviors necessary to maintain the disorder. Occupational therapists have adequate knowledge to assess and reestablish previous healthy meaningful roles such as socializing with friends, participating in leisure activities, volunteering, spending time with family, and engaging in work or school (Creek & Lougher).

2

Cultural Sensitivity

Culture refers to the beliefs, customs, values activity patterns and behavior standards acceptable to the society (Cara & Macrae, 2012). Occupational therapists in their practice will be culturally sensitive to their client’s culture because culture creates meaning, enhances identity, and provides structure and organization. To be culturally sensitive the occupational therapists will be aware of their culture and that of the served population. The OT’s will be equipped with the various models that address culture in the therapeutic process, and they will select the best model that fits the cultural identity and cultural contexts relevant to the client (Cara & Macrae, 2012). The culture of the client will be a critical consideration in the evaluation and diagnostic process. The perspective of the clients with regards to their conditions will be considered. For example, the clients will be requested to state their preference on the mode of identification because it varies between cultures.

Cultural and Environmental Appropriateness

A culturally appropriate language will be used while addressing the clients and will consider the geographical, situational, generational, and personality differences in the choice of terminologies (Cara & Macrae, 2012). Additionally, during the communication process, there will be an appropriate use of verbal and non-verbal cues, sensitivity to the cultural standards of speech, and appropriate use of body language and posture. Values such as formality, individuality, independence, the locus of control, and authority in the therapeutic process will be tailored towards the clients’ culture. Occupational therapists will demonstrate an increased awareness of the time sense of the served population. Multicultural and individual client perspectives of time will be an essential consideration (Cara & Macrae, 2012).

The physical, cognitive, and sensory aspects of the clients’ environment will be analyzed in the therapeutic process. The therapist will cooperate with the client in analyzing and adapting the environment of the client to facilitate the recovery process. Appropriate tools such as the Allen Cognitive Levels screening assessment that determine the structural and environmental cues required to engage the client in task completion will be applied. Also, the Brown and Dunn’s Adolescent/Adult Sensory Profile Assessment determine the clients’ optimum environment their sensory processing preferences will be used in the evaluation of the clients (Cara & Macrae, 2012). Community-based therapists will follow up clients from the organization to ensure they apply the coping strategies they learned in the recovery program. The institution and the clinics of the therapists will be arranged to create a sense of comfort, familiarity, safety and balance of sensory stimulation to the clients.

Cultural Competency

In recognition of the diverse population the organization serves and the need for a client-centered approach, the occupational therapy services will be tailored to be culturally competent. Occupational interventions will acknowledge, honor, and address the complex cultural backgrounds of the clients. Occupational therapy assessments will be standardized to incorporate the client’s views, and beliefs, in addition to cultural style. The personal meaning of an individual culture will be an important consideration. The occupational therapists working in the organization will have a diverse intercultural mindset to increase their capability of responding efficiently to cultural differences. Minimization, acceptance, and adaptation within the intercultural development continuum will facilitate the intercultural approach employed by the therapists (Cara & Macrae, 2012).

3

1990’s Developments that Facilitated OT Inclusion in Recovery Programs

The ‘Laboratory for Living’ made psychosocial rehabilitation to focus on training individuals life skills such as social skills, prevocational skills, independent living skills, assertion, and stress management (Cara & Macrae, 2012). The proposal that occupational therapy could stabilize clients with multiple personality disorder by providing developmental play, daily living skills management, role management, and prevocational support enhanced OT incorporation into recovery programs. The studies by Cottrell (1990) that emphasized that some occupational therapists could adapt their skills to the changing practice and mental health system promoted incorporation of OT into mental health (Cara & Macrae, 2012). Articles written during that time indicated that changes would occur in the occupational therapy for mental health, but the result will be a creation of opportunities to work in diverse areas, that some of them would include recovery programs in the community (Cara & Macrae)

Do you need a similar assignment done for you from scratch? We have qualified writers to help you. We assure you an A+ quality paper that is free from plagiarism. Order now for an Amazing Discount!
Use Discount Code "Newclient" for a 15% Discount!

NB: We do not resell papers. Upon ordering, we do an original paper exclusively for you.