Showing papers in "Occupational Therapy in Mental Health in 2006"

Why Addiction Has a Chronic, Relapsing Course. The Neurobiology of Addiction

Abstract: Approximately 200 million people in the United States have an addiction disorder that significantly disrupts employment, family relationships, financial stability, and personal health. As a result, addiction has become one of the most critical health care challenges presently facing the American health care system. Research in the last five years has provided substantial evidence that addiction is a neuro-biological condition rooted in genetic factors. During the addiction process neurologic changes occur that are responsible for tolerance, craving, and relapse. It appears that once addiction becomes chronic, the brain enters an addicted state that may be irreversible without pharmaceutical intervention. Such alterations in neurochemistry-rather than poor volitional control-account for why addiction is characterized by a chronic, relapsing-remitting course. This paper discusses (a) the neurobiological factors underlying the addiction process, (b) available pharmaceutical treatment, and (c) how re...

Daily Occupations of Persons with Mental Illness

Abstract: Persons with mental illness often experience disruption in daily occupations, routines, and habits. This article presents results of two separate studies designed to explore time use and occupations of persons with mental illness living in Japan and America. Common themes emerged including the importance of engagement in normalizing occupations, the role of productive activities in contributing to life satisfaction, the need for structure amidst opportunities for personal occupational choice, and the relationship between a lack of daily routine and personal dissatisfaction. The literature is reviewed, and the studies are summarized, compared, and discussed in relation to implications for occupational therapy.

Helping the Homeless

Abstract: The emergence of occupational therapy in the community has led a number of practitioners to work in homeless shelters. The purpose of this article is to examine how the profession of occupational therapy became involved in treating the homeless population and to describe how the profession offers help for this particular population. In addition, this article takes a historical look at the early development of the occupational therapy profession, its involvement in mental health, how changes in society brought about changes in mental health practice, where the profession is today, how occupational therapy students are involved as part of fieldwork experiences, and the consideration of future needs related to occupational therapy among the homeless population.

Employment Skills and Domestic Violence Survivors -- A Shelter-Based Intervention

Abstract: Domestic violence impacts women's ability to work. Women's ability to function and maintain employment skills are often diminished by the experience of repeated abuse. In domestic violence shelter settings, staff does not have enough time, adequate training, or sufficient materials available to develop or deliver life skills interventions related to employment. This article describes an occupational therapy intervention designed to increase skills needed for employment for domestic violence victims residing in a shelter. All women completed a self-assessment prior to participating in the four-week group and individual intervention. Challenges and strategies learned are discussed. Suggestions for replication are provided.

The Role of Occupational Therapy in the Treatment of Adolescents with Eating Disorders as Perceived by Mental Health Therapists

Abstract: The purpose of this study was to explore occupational therapists' perceptions of how they contribute or may contribute to the treatment of adolescents with eating disorders. A naturalistic type inquiry with a phenomenological design was used to complete the study. Three occupational therapists (OTs) participated in the study. The findings of the study indicated that OTs saw their role in the treatment of adolescents with eating disorders as consisting of functioning in a multidisciplinary team setting, addressing co-morbid problems associated with eating disorders, using occupational therapy (OT) interventions to enable clients to cope with and manage symptoms, and using therapeutic relationships in their interventions.

The Dilemma of Psychosocial Occupational Therapy in Public Schools: The Therapists' Perceptions

Abstract: This article presents the textual analysis of the responses of 373 occupational therapists working in school systems across the United States of America who responded to the question “List any obstacles to providing occupational therapy services to school aged students with severe emotional disturbance” on a recent survey. The purpose of the analysis is to describe some of the barriers and solutions to the provision of occupational therapy services to school aged students with emotional disturbance. The 754 responses received were categorized into themes. The themes which emerged from the occupational therapists' responses were: (1) role confusion; (2) limited knowledge base; (3) identification and provision of occupational therapy services; (4) administrative factors; (5) lack of efficient teaming; (6) classroom factors; (7) the behaviors of the student with emotional disturbance; and (8) parental factors. The respondents' suggestions for improving the provision of occupational therapy services ...

Using Creativity to Experience Flow on My Journey with Breast Cancer

Abstract: The author, Susan G. Nesbit, was diagnosed with breast cancer in March 2000. Facing the possibility of death, she used everyday creativity and self-actualizing creativity to tackle the inherent challenges of battling a chronic disease and to experience flow-as supported by the literature on “flow.” Many of her personal qualities, including courage, openness to experience, risk taking, and intrinsic motivation, contributed to her everyday creativity and her self-actualizing creativity. Flow activities enabled her to restructure her consciousness with positive rather than negative experiences, so she often was unaware of being on a journey with breast cancer. Examples of her flow activities included walking, socializing, art, music, writing, and even participating in routines. With flow, Nesbit found ordinary, everyday experiences to be spiritual-she found meaning in life. To celebrate her fifth anniversary post diagnosis, Nesbit moved from Portland, Maine to Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. She enjoys ...

A Comparison of Situational and Dispositional Coping After a Stroke

Abstract: The purpose of this study was to examine the coping behaviors of persons who were undergoing inpatient stroke rehabilitation. Constructs from the Transactional Model of Stress and Coping were applied to this population and further examined using a case series methodology. Specifically the study examined the strength of the relationships between the dispositional coping style of people who have had a stroke and situational coping strategies which they used during the stroke rehabilitation process. This study provides initial evidence that the number and frequency of strategies used during the stressful situation of engaging in stroke rehabilitation are most often not consistent with self-reports of Strategies usually used in times of Stress.

Reach Out and Have Some Fun: Combating Isolation in the Aftermath of Terror: A Program for Psychiatric Patients

Abstract: The scene at the psychiatric outpatient program of St. Luke’s/Roosevelt Hospital on September 11 was pretty much like any of the other places in New York where people were lucky enough to be out of the direct line of fire. Information trickled in from radios, telephones, and horrified patients and staff members who had seen the towers fall, or had been stuck downtown. Staff and patients desperately tried to locate loved ones and find out more information. Agitated therapists tried to calm patients. As the day wore on, there were tears of relief as friends and relatives were contacted and panic, as the vast number of missing became clear. It was a day when some of the boundaries between patient and therapist blurred and we were all citizens of a stricken New York. Additionally, during the first days when it was still unknown how many (or few) wounded there would be, our hospital, like other hospitals in the city was on disaster alert. Some of the psychiatry staff was diverted to around the clock emergency room duty to counsel the injured and family members seeking their loved ones. Due to transportation disruptions patients and staff members alike were either unable to get to

Rebuilding Lives Through the Employment Placement Program of 9/11

Abstract: (2006). Rebuilding Lives Through the Employment Placement Program of 9/11. Occupational Therapy in Mental Health: Vol. 21, No. 3-4, pp. 107-119.