ABSTRACT
ROLE OF OCCUPATIONAL THERAPY IN PSYCHIATRIC CASE MANAGEMENT
WITH EMPHASIS ON SCHIZOPHRENIA MANAGEMENT.
BY
SUBHASIS SARKAR ( OCCUPATIONAL THERAPIST )
DEPTT. OF REHABILITATION
IBN SINA HOSPITAL
AL-AMERAT
The central tenet of occupational therapy, since its inception, has been the
promotion of a balanced and satisfactory lifestyle. By guiding a patient
through activities, they can learn new skills and practice positive ways in
which to focus on their improvement. The use of occupational therapy
programs is widespread throughout mental health settings. Providing a
creative outlet can be a way to open the door to a greater recovery, and
increased confidence. The results of the clients' efforts can be a great source
of pride, as well as a way to learn new skills. By taking the time to carefully
work through all the steps of a project, the patient will learn to focus on the
task at hand. The process can let them practice life skills such as frustration
tolerance and gain patience while taking part in an enjoyable pursuit. By
helping a person take part in a worthwhile pursuit such as a craft project,
their mind will be more active, and in a more focused and positive way. This
focus has been found quite important in slowing the progress of dementia.
Using the mental faculties in a concentrated way reinforces the neural
pathways on a deep level, and can be vital to maintaining or achieving good
mental health.
The national institute of mental health (nimh) has categorised schizophrenia
as a developmental disease resulting when neurons form inappropriate
connections in the foetal stage of development. However these faulty
connections can remain dormant and tend to affect only after puberty when
changes in the brain seem to get adversely affected by these dormant faulty
connections. Certain biochemical changes have been found through brain
imaging techniques as preceding the onset of disease so changes in neural
circuits as well as molecular changes exploring the genetic basis of brain
abnormalities have all been linked as causes of schizophrenia . Occupational
therapists are capable of assisting people with schizophrenia to help
reshaping the environment and help them to regain roles that involved
interacting with the external environment. Social and life skills training are
facilitated by occupational therapists who aim to bring schizophrenics back
to a regular life where they can sustain themselves as independently as
possible. Occupational therapists thus play an important role in early
intervention as they emphasize on improving people's ability to perform
tasks in their daily living and in their working environments through skilled
intervention.