Making Sense Occupational Therapy offers OT services to adults at the clients home, workplace or in the community. As with the children services, the treatment is client and family centred, is based on development of skills that enable the client to participate fully in everyday activities. The treatment is goal directed and outcome measured. This can include prescription of equipment, advise on work simplification techniques, social skills, leisure skills. We can complete the necessary assessment and paperwork that the NDIS require when considering assistive technology/equipment.

We also offer Functional Capacity Evaluations to assist with consideration of supported independent living options for adults with disabilities. 

MENTAL HEALTH

Anne has experience working with adults, assisting them to live with Generalized Anxiety Disorder, Depression, mixed anxiety and depression and alcohol and/or drug use disorder.

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As services for individuals with mental illness have shifted from the hospital to the community, there has also been a shift in the philosophy of service delivery. In the past, there was an adherence to the medical model; now the focus is on incorporating a client centered recovery model. This model acknowledges that recovery is a long-term process, with the ultimate goal being full participation in community activities. These activities may include obtaining and maintaining employment, going to work, and living independently. The philosophical base of the recovery model is a good fit with occupational therapy because the purpose of occupational therapy in community mental health is to increase an individual’s ability to live as independently as possible in the community while engaging in meaningful and productive life roles. Because occupational therapy facilitates participation and is client-centered, it plays an important role in the success of those recovering in the community (American Occupational Therapy Association [AOTA], 2010; Scheinholtz, 2010).

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There is evidence that occupational therapy interventions improve outcomes for those living in the community with serious mental illness (AOTA, 2012). Such interventions can be found in the areas of education, work, skills training, health and wellness, and cognitive remediation and adaptation. Examples of occupational therapy interventions in community mental health include:

• Evaluation and adapting the environment at home, work, school and other environments to promote an individual’s optimal functioning

• Provide educational programs, experiential learning and treatment groups to address assertiveness, self-awareness, interpersonal and social skills

• Working with clients to develop leisure or voluntary interests and pursuits

• Facilitating the development of skills needed for independent living such as using community resources, managing one’s home, managing time, managing medication, and being safe at home and in the community

• Providing training in activities of daily living (e.g., hygiene and grooming, cooking, healthy meal preparation)

• Providing evaluation and treatment for sensory processing deficits for individuals of all ages who are diagnosed with a mental illness. Furthermore, friends and family members can also benefit from these services to learn ways to deal with the stress of caregiving and how to balance their daily responsibilities to allow them to continue to lead productive and meaningful lives.

We are able to work with the client to  address barriers to optimal functioning through interventions that focus on enhancing existing skills, creating opportunities, promoting wellness, remediating or restoring skills, modifying or adapting the environment or activity, and preventing relapse.

To achieve the above outcomes, we can see the client in the clinic or in their own home or school environment.