Occupational Therapy
What is occupational therapy?
Life is made up of meaningful daily activities or occupations, such as walking your dog, gardening, cooking a meal, painting, doing laundry, and playing games. Hobbies are part of life; they define us and they are a reflection of the way we perceive ourselves. Occupations give meaning to life. When we cannot participate in daily activities due to injury, illness, disability, or social or environmental circumstances, occupational therapists can help us find solutions that will allow us to participate in activities and have meaningful daily life. The occupational therapist works in collaboration with other health professionals when deemed relevant.
Mental Health
Symptoms of mental disorders have a significant impact on daily activities, which for some can lead to temporary disability including being off work. The occupational therapist works with the individual on concrete strategies and supports them in resuming their activities so that they can find a balance between what they want, have to do and are required to do. Through individual sessions, the occupational therapist can provide education, teach and develop different management strategies such as relaxation, sleep hygiene, better management of energy and tasks, etc. The occupational therapist uses coaching strategies to support the client in identifying their values, interests and strengths as well as setting up realistic activities and goals to acquire those different strategies and resume activities.
Specific services
Accommodation in the workplace:
A workplace intervention with the objective of reducing the risk of injury or recurrence and offering specific strategies to the employee to facilitate the return and / or stay at work. This is a service often used to teach safe postural / biomechanical techniques, provide cognitive strategies to an employee who returns to work after a long absence or to reduce risks of absence.
Return to work program:
An individualized and structured program with the objective of favoring the gradual reintegration of the client into his work environment, following an injury, health related condition or illness. Such a program may include outlining a gradual return to work schedule, recommends temporary modifications of tasks, education of healthy postures and manual handling techniques or recommend equipment all to meet the client's unique functional abilities due to their health condition with the goal of returning to work. The occupational therapist provides follow-up and supervision throughout the reintegration process.
Occupational therapy rehabilitation for the management of persistent pain and other chronic conditions (invisible condition):
Designed for the client who is unable to self-manage the persistent pain resulting from physical impairment and who have difficulty doing activities that give their life meaning. The occupational therapist supports the client in learning about their pain system and developing strategies to better manage their time and energy, improve sleep, reduce the impact of stress, fatigue and pain, set up new habits, improve your ability to organize yourself in your day and week as well as build connections to reduce isolation. Often times, integrating new self management strategies result in reducing the experience of pain.
Ergonomic analysis and adaptation of a workstation:
An assessment of an employee’s work environment to identify the risk factors related to work methods as well as to the various elements of at the job including tools, equipment, tasks, organization, technology and the environment. The occupational therapist can then suggest task modification strategies and recommend adaptations and specialized equipment as needed.
Assessment of functional autonomy and home safety:
The occupational therapist visits the home to assess the daily functioning of the individual. With the help of interviews, scenarios and observations, the occupational therapist analyzes the difficulties in performing daily activities (eg: safety in the performance of transfers, bathing, meal prep, etc) and related environmental barriers. This will then offer recommendations for technical aids, possible home renovation and / or strategy to improve functioning and safety when participating in significant activities.
Autres approches offert:
Approche d'art expressive
Les approches d’art sensorimoteur utilisent l’expression créative pour aider les individus à se connecter à leur corps, améliorer la régulation émotionnelle et réduire le stress ou l’anxiété. Elles visent à favoriser la pleine conscience, l’expression des émotions et le traitement sensoriel à travers diverses activités artistiques et exercices somatiques afin de soutenir le fonctionnement quotidien.
L’art sensorimoteur intègre des activités artistiques (ex. : dessin, peinture, sculpture) et des exercices somatosensoriels (ex. : pleine conscience, conscience corporelle, respiration) pour permettre aux clients d’explorer et d’exprimer leurs expériences internes.
Le dessin bilatéral est une modalité thérapeutique souvent utilisée pour soutenir le développement des habiletés motrices, la coordination et le fonctionnement cérébral. Il consiste à utiliser simultanément les deux mains pour réaliser un dessin ou effectuer d’autres tâches. Cette technique encourage l’usage des mains dominante et non dominante, ce qui peut contribuer à améliorer la coordination motrice, les fonctions cognitives et le traitement sensoriel, favorisant ainsi le fonctionnement quotidien et la régulation émotionnelle.
Approche somatique
Les approches somatique visent à augmenter la conscience corporelle en lien avec le mieux-être. Le terme ‘soma’ provient de la langue grecque qui veut dire ‘corps’. Ainsi dite, les approches somatique incluent un ensemble d’approches dites expérientielles qui ont pour but de se réapproprier la conscience de son corps afin d’améliorer le mieux-être.
Services
Le service comprend, entre autres, la conscience de sa respiration, de son corps et des pensées par la visualisation et le mouvement guidés. L’approche est utilisée en partant du principe que nos difficultés vécues sur les différents plans: sociales, biologiques, psychologiques et spirituelles peuvent s’incruster à travers le corps et peut empêcher de vivre une vie en harmonie avec le corps et la tête.
À cet effet, l'intention de l'approche somatique est de vous guider dans l'expérience de moments de connexion corps-esprit en interrompant le cycle de la réponse du stress.