Members of our Occupational Therapy (OT) Department examine how OT can positively impact mental health recovery.
OT is a healthcare profession that enables people of all ages to participate in daily living. The American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA) explains that OT uses occupations, or everyday life activities - including taking care of yourself and your family, working, volunteering, going to school, among many others - to promote health, wellbeing, and people’s ability to participate in the important activities in their life. Occupational therapists recognise that engaging in meaningful occupation can promote good mental health, assist recovery, and help people achieve personalised outcomes.
OT has its origins in mental health. There is an increasing understanding of the impact that mental health difficulties can have on a person’s ability to function in their daily life. OT can help people improve their ability to function effectively in their environment, which can play an important role in coping, treatment, and recovery.
The practical, recovery-focused approach used by occupational therapists addresses not only a person’s diagnosis, but how the person may experience mental ill-health and the impact it has on their ability to function in daily life; for example, a person’s ability to work, manage household responsibilities, participate in schooling, sleep, personal care or engage with others. This makes OT ideally suited for people experiencing complex mental illness or when someone’s day-to-day life is significantly impacted as a result of their mental health condition.
Occupational therapists play an important role and work with a variety of service user groups in different areas of mental healthcare and recovery.
We asked some members of our OT team to explore some of the areas they work in and to discuss the positive impacts that OT can have on journeys of recovery.
Substance use and recovery
Deirdre Ryan - Senior Occupational Therapist with St Patrick’s Mental Health Services (SPMHS).
The OT team has worked within the Addiction and Dual Diagnosis teams in SPMHS for over 15 years. However, at present, occupational therapists do not widely work in the area of substance use or addiction treatment, so it continues to be seen as an emerging area of practice for OT.
Occupational therapists support people who use substances or who are looking at ways to reduce or stop their substance use. As occupational therapists have expertise in assessing and facilitating daily function and routine, interventions regularly focus on supporting service users to consider how they believe substance use has impacted their daily function. Once service users have identified the lifestyle changes they would like to make, the occupational therapist can use their skills of active analysis and goal-setting to support service users to create new and more supportive habits and routines, away from substance use.
Interventions can focus on building or improving on skills that service users believe will be supportive to their wellbeing and recovery. Lifestyle re-design principles are used to support service users to build recovery focused routines. This may help the service user to engage or re-engage in activities that are important to them which may have been negatively impacted during periods of substance use. This work might also look at recovery-focused activities that can be effectively and sustainably included in their routine after discharge from hospital.
Substance use can sometimes also result in physical or cognitive (the mental process involved in knowing, learning, and understanding things) difficulties, declining health, or increased accidents and injuries that may have longer-term impacts on a person’s function. An occupational therapists role when working with this service user group could include assessing the impact of these challenges on a service user’s daily functioning and engaging them with appropriate support services and community organisations to enable them to live as independently as possible after leaving hospital.
Psychiatry of later life
Anna McCormick - Occupational Therapist with SPMHS.
In later life, people may encounter life transitions such as bereavement, retirement, and changes in their physical health, and this can have a significant impact on their mental health and daily routines. The role of occupational therapists in this clinical area can support the person to develop and maintain balanced routines and promote engagement in activities which are meaningful to them.
As each person’s experience is unique, a service user-centered approach allows us to work together to identify their strengths, challenges and priorities.
The OT intervention may include exploring new leisure outlets that might help them be more connected and engaged in their community, helping to develop new routines to manage their health, or understanding how they may need to use new equipment or strategies to support their independence.
Some people may present with changes in their cognition (mental process) which require further investigation and occupational therapists play a significant role in this process by carrying out functional cognitive assessment. Through assessing someone completing a task, we can understand more about their ability to plan, initiate, and carry out daily routines effectively. We can then understand more about strategies, interventions, and supports the person may benefit from support with, right through from diagnosis to discharge planning.
Our occupational therapists also run a weekly group psychoeducation session (teaching our in-patient service users and their families about mental health difficulties, their treatments, personal coping techniques, and resources). We discuss topics such as safety in the home environment, the importance of leisure, and energy conservation. This group is interactive and allows for service users to share their own experiences and how they can apply their learning in their own situations.
Special Care Unit and Dean Swift Ward
Olwen Dent - Occupational Therapist with SPMHS.
Service users accessing the Special Care Unit (SCU) and Dean Swift Ward (DSW) at SPMHS can be acutely unwell and so, unlike service users on other wards, have restricted access to items, such as phones and general groups in the hospital.
OT in this environment promotes the re-engagement in meaningful occupations and activities. There is a weekly OT group on SCU and DSW that is developed for all service users on the ward and encourages social interactions. The focus of the group is to promote the engagement in a variety of task-orientated, therapeutic activities that may involve social and creative tasks or relaxation activities. The group provides a safe and structured environment where service users can engage in meaningful occupations and feel better through doing, and it contributes to the development of motivation and improvement of concentration.
Occupational therapists on SCU and DSW can also see service users for one-to-one sessions to support individual needs. An initial OT assessment will be completed with the service user to guide the OT intervention and promote a service user-centred approach. Some interventions may consist of routine planning, sleep hygiene, leisure exploration and self-care.
Eating Disorder Recovery
Laura Griffin - Occupational Therapist with SPMHS
Eating disorders (EDs) affect more than just physical health—they can disrupt all areas of daily life. From struggling with focus at work or school to facing challenges in basic self-care routines, the impact is broad. Everyday tasks like shopping or meal preparation can feel overwhelming, while social events that involve food, such as parties or dinners, often cause stress, leading many people to avoid them altogether. This can result in isolation and can strain relationships, making it harder to feel connected with others. EDs also interfere with emotional regulation, making it difficult for people to manage feelings and develop healthy coping strategies.
OT is key in supporting recovery by helping people rebuild their lives beyond the ED. At SPMHS, we offer a range of interventions to promote independence, build resilience, and help people reconnect with meaningful activities. These include focus groups like psychoeducation groups, meal preparation and community outings, which provide tools for managing daily tasks and emotions. We also offer one-to-one sessions, tailored to personal goals, such as relapse prevention, exploring identity, and returning to exercise.
Our goal is to empower people to live fulfilling lives, participate in social settings, and build confidence in everyday situations.
Through OT, we guide people in regaining control and rediscovering joy in life’s simple pleasures.
Willow Grove Adolescent Unit (WGAU)
Rachel Doyle Occupational Therapist with SPMHS.
Occupational therapists have a significant role in supporting the recovery of young people with mental health difficulties. These difficulties can result in disruption to an adolescent’s everyday life, engagement in meaningful activities and social participation. This disruption can negatively impact the development of skills and competencies necessary for a successful transition from the roles and responsibilities of an adolescent to those of adulthood.
Occupational therapists work to support the recovery of adolescents through occupation-based and occupation-focused interventions, both individually and in groups. We are members of the multidisciplinary team and work closely with other disciplines, such as nursing and psychology.
In WGAU, we work collaboratively with young people to complete an assessment of their strengths and challenges, identify goals and develop strategies to improve functioning and engagement in their valued roles, responsibilities, and everyday activities. This can include supporting engagement in activities of self-care, hobbies, school, friendships, independence skills, and sleep and rest.
We work holistically, meaning that we consider the whole young person, including their social, cultural, physical environment, relationships, roles, interests - whatever is important to them.
We also support young people in WGAU to engage in two groups a week: the OT sensory group and the OT outing. Our sensory group offers adolescents the opportunity to explore their senses and develop tools to aid their self-regulation. Our outing group offers young people the opportunity to engage in activities which are meaningful to them. The adolescents are given the opportunity to take on various roles, identify activities which are important to them, and then choose and organise an outing.
Occupational therapists have an important role in supporting adolescent mental health through collaboration with families, adolescents, the MDT and providing intervention informed by what is meaningful to every individual.
Supporting recovery
There are many ways occupational therapists can support people with different mental health difficulties at different stages in their recovery. These supports can have a positive impact on these journeys of recovery, and can empower service users to live fulfilling lives.
