Recovery and Occupational Therapy in the Community Mental Health Setting

Abstract

The purpose of this essay is to describe how occupational therapy operates in a community mental health setting focused on recovery and wellness, from the perspective of a first year occupational therapist. The philosophy of recovery and wellness coincides with a philosophy of intervention that is consumer centered and consumer driven. Occupational therapy began in this setting through a fieldwork relationship between the mental health center and an occupational therapy education program. As the first occupational therapist hired as staff, the author developed an occupational therapy program that corresponds to the principles of recovery. The relationship between occupational therapy and recovery and wellness is described by outlining the occupational therapy process. From referral to discontinuation, the unique aspects of practicing in a recovery and wellness setting are depicted. Finally, a case study illustrates one example of the relationship between recovery and occupational therapy in the community mental health setting.