Occupational therapy

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Occupational therapy
US Navy Occupational therapists providing treatment to outpatients
ICD-9-CM	93.83
MeSH	D009788
[edit on Wikidata]

Occupational therapy (OT), also known as ergotherapy, is a healthcare profession. Ergotherapy is derived from the Greek ergon which is allied to work, to act and to be active. Occupational therapy is based on the assumption that being active is a basic human need and that purposeful activity has a health-promoting and therapeutic effect. Occupational science the study of humans as 'doers' or 'occupational beings' was developed by inter-disciplinary scholars, including occupational therapists, in the 1980s.

The World Federation of Occupational Therapists (WFOT) defines occupational therapy as ‘a client-centred health profession concerned with promoting health and wellbeing through occupation. The primary goal of occupational therapy is to enable people to participate in the activities of everyday life. Occupational therapists achieve this outcome by working with people and communities to enhance their ability to engage in the occupations they want to, need to, or are expected to do, or by modifying the occupation or the environment to better support their occupational engagement'. ^[1]

Many of the Member Organisations of WFOT have agreed a national definition of occupational therapy. In New Zealand occupational therapy is translated into Maori as 'whakaora ngangahau'. 'Whakaora' means ‘to restore to health' and 'ngangahau' is an adjective meaning 'active, spirited, zealous'.^[2]

Education programmes leading to entry to practice as an occupational therapist can be at diploma, baccalaureate, bachelors, masters or doctoral level. Information about entry level education programmes, currently or previously approved by WFOT, is available on the WFOT website

Occupational therapy is an allied health profession.  In England, allied health professions (AHPs) are the third largest clinical workforce in health and care.^[3] Fifteen professions, with 352,593 registrants are regulated by the Health and Care Professions Council in the United Kingdom.^[4]