Is Occupational Therapy Beneficial to Modern Day Societies?

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Occupational Therapy is important to societies in modern times. Evaluate this statement. Occupational Therapy (OT) is “the art and science of enabling engagement in everyday living, through occupation; of enabling people to perform the occupations that foster health and well-being; and of enabling a just and inclusive society so that all people may participate to their potential in the daily occupations of life” (Townsend& Polatajko, 2007, p. 372). Whilst many people are under the impression that occupational therapy is a relatively new occupation, this isn’t the case. Occupational Therapy dates back to the 18th Century but it disappeared during and after the Civil War in America. It remerged in the 20th century, where Occupational Therapists were required in high demand during both World War One and World War Two to treat wounded soldiers. Occupational Therapists work in both hospitals and community space such as the patient’s house, prisons or schools where they engage with the patient by helping them regain their confidence and independence in everyday life tasks which they may have lost due to physical or psychological injuries and issues or simply due to old age. (Sensory Processing Disorder, N.D) Occupational Therapy has played an important role in countries such as the UK and USA. Occupational Therapists have been useful to the Americans as they have played a major role in some of the catastrophic events which have taken America in recent years. On September 11, 2001, the 9/11, A SMART-SM team were deployed to deal with the events taking place at the Pentagon and army occupational therapists made up a vast majority of the team. The team helped with supporting the survivors by giving them the opportunity to talk to them about their struggles and taught them how to adjust to an abnormal situation. Occupational Therapists would’ve been highly involved in

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