Exploring the professional experiences of mental health occupational therapists during a period of COVID-19

Abstract

Purpose: The COVID-19 pandemic has brought about disruption in the way health-care professionals carry out their day-to-day practices across communities. The purpose of this research paper is to explore the professional experiences of occupational therapists working in community and rehabilitation mental health settings during a period of the COVID-19 pandemic and to help gain an understanding of how their day-to-day work practices have been affected. Design/methodology/approach: A qualitative phenomenological research study explored the lived experiences of ten occupational therapists working within Health Service Executive community and rehabilitation mental health services during the COVID-19 pandemic. Participants included eight community mental health occupational therapists and two rehabilitative mental health occupational therapists. Data was collected through semi-structured interviews and analysed using reflexive thematic analysis. Findings: Three themes were identified: holding on to what we do;technology: friend and foe;and COVID as a catalyst to clarify the occupational therapy role. These themes capture the community changes, challenges and frustrations experienced by the occupational therapists while striving to provide quality mental health occupational therapy services during the pandemic. Originality/value: The findings demonstrate the adaptive nature of the profession, the importance of traditional observation methods of community-based care, the experiences with telehealth approaches and an opportunity to clarify misconceptions of aspects of the profession’s role in relation to employment-related issues and occupational therapy group work within such mental health settings. © 2021, Brendan Culleton.