Description of Occupational Therapy Career

Occupational therapy is projected to be one of the fastest growing jobs in the upcoming years. This job has the potential to be an exciting career for someone interested in a healthcare profession. One of the rewarding things about being an occupational therapist is the ability to help people reach their goals while earning a good salary and benefits. Occupational therapists help people across their lifespan by increasing their range of motion on their joints and helping people get back to their daily lives. Learning more about the origins of occupational therapy, what an occupational therapist does, how to become an occupational therapist, and what the job outlook is for this career may help someone make an informed decision about their potential career path.

Occupational therapy has been around for a long time. There is proof of occupational therapy methods for the mentally ill found in ancient times as early as 100 BCE (Quiroga). These therapies included: therapeutic baths, massages, exercise, and music. By medieval times the humane treatment of people considered to be insane was almost non-existent. By the 1900’s, the reform of healthcare for the mentally ill was refreshed through the work of occupational therapy. During World War I, soldiers returning from the field were treated by “reconstruction aides” made up primarily of women trying to “do their part” to help the country during war time. Their treatments included many of the techniques used in modern occupational therapy. After the war many people abandoned these therapeutic practices because the emphasis became more on financial and professional gain rather than helping the war effort. To help bring people back to the profession the American Occupational...

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