About This Resource Kit

Occupational therapy is the fourth-largest allied health profession in Australia, with OTs working across aged care, mental health, disability, acute care, rehabilitation, and paediatrics. Occupational therapy is a university degree-based health profession and practitioners must be registered with the Occupational Therapy Board of Australia (within the Australian Health Practitioners Regulation Agency) to practice in Australia. Occupational therapy training involves a depth of understanding and implementation of mental health and psychosocial interventions with an extensive evidence base in mental health occupational therapy. Occupational therapy (OT) is a client-centred health profession, regulated by the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA). OTs focus on helping individuals across the lifespan participate in everyday activities and occupations that are meaningful and essential for their health and wellbeing.

The OTA Mental Health OT Resource Kit can be used by OTA members to advocate, raise awareness and support understanding of mental health OT. We encourage members to use this resource in their organisations to shape the narrative of mental health occupational therapy.

Mental health is a key area of focus at Occupational Therapy Australia (OTA). Occupational therapists have a long history of delivering early intervention, prevention, and treatment of mental health disorders in many settings. However, the specific mental health skills of occupational therapists are not always understood or used to their full potential by funding bodies, government, and private insurance schemes.

OTA Mental Health Strategy

OTA’s Mental Health Strategy was launched on 25 November 2022 at the Mental Health Forum, and will see OTA deliver a range of actions over two stages, focused on these key areas:

• Workforce - Improved training to support the mental health OT workforce, and sustainable career pathways for occupational therapists working in this sector to support development and avoid burn-out.
• Awareness – Building awareness of occupational therapist mental health capability across health services, funding bodies, and consumers
• Advocacy – Engaging with government and sector stakeholders to advocate on the value of mental health occupational therapy services You can find more information here: OTA Mental Health Strategy - R2

Mental Health OT Defined

To enable mental health OTs to advocate for themselves and their scope of practice, OTA updated the definition of mental health occupational therapy (Thinking Ahead Project, 2022). The proposed definition below seeks to provide a comprehensive but broadly applicable description of the mental health occupational therapy role. It seeks to encompass key areas of awareness identified as relevant through project consultation activities including education and training, clinical scope and focus, as well as a contrast with other professions. It draws on existing definitions but seeks to expand in key areas. Importantly, the definition should be considered only one component of a broader awareness campaign and associated resources.

Short definition

Occupational therapists working in mental health draw on a broad range of frameworks and models to provide strengths-based, behaviourally oriented, interventions to improve mental health and wellbeing. Occupational therapists draw on, and are trained in, occupational therapy specific tools and approaches as well as the psychological techniques used by psychologists and social workers. Occupational therapists apply a unique, goal-directed occupational focus, addressing the activities and occupations that are important and meaningful to a person’s daily life.

The practical, recovery-focused approach used by occupational therapists addresses not only an individual’s diagnosis, but how the person may experience mental illness and the impact it has on their ability to function in daily life. For example, their ability to work, manage household responsibilities, participate in schooling, sleep, personal care or engage with others. This makes occupational therapy ideally suited for those experiencing more complex mental illness or a significant impact on their day-to-day life as a result of their mental health condition.

Detailed description

Occupational therapy is an internationally recognised mental health profession. All occupational therapists undertake training in mental health and psychosocial disability during their university studies and those working in mental health practice undertake ongoing mental health-focused professional development in areas such as occupational and psychological mental health tools and strategies. Occupational therapists undertake at least 1000 hours of clinical placements to achieve registration.

Occupational therapists can be found in all mental health settings—in youth mental health services including Headspace centres, adult and older adult community mental health services, acute in-patient and forensic mental health units, rehabilitation services, drug and alcohol services, in NDIS provider organisations, as providers of mental health-focused occupational and workplace rehabilitation services, in private mental health practice and within education including primary and secondary schools. Occupational therapists are one of three eligible allied health professions able to provide Medicare Better Access mental health services along with psychologists and social workers.

Occupational therapists draw on a broad range of frameworks and models to provide evidence-based assessments and interventions, which are strengths-based, behaviourally oriented, and goal-directed to improve mental health and wellbeing outcomes for individual they work with. Occupational therapists draw on, and are trained in, occupational therapy specific tools and approaches as well as psychological techniques used by psychologists and mental health social workers. Occupational therapists, however, bring a unique occupational focus, addressing the activities and occupations that are important and meaningful to a person’s daily life.

The practical, recovery-focused approach used by occupational therapists addresses not only an individual’s diagnosis but how the person may experience mental illness and the impact it has on their ability to function in daily life. For example, their ability to work, manage household responsibilities, participate in schooling, sleep, personal care or engage with others. This makes occupational therapy ideally suited for those experiencing more complex mental illness or a significant impact on their day-to-day life as a result of their mental health condition.

Occupational therapists work with:

• Children and young people experiencing behavioural issues as a result of diagnosed or undiagnosed mental health conditions such as anxiety, depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, developmental trauma, Autism Spectrum Disorders, ADD/ADHD, intellectual disability and sensory processing differences.
• Adults experiencing mental illness, including anxiety and depression as well as more complex mental illness such as schizophrenia and borderline personality disorder. 
• Older adults, including Behavioural and Psychological Symptoms of Dementia (BPSD)

While any person can access privately funded mental health occupational therapy services, occupational therapist practise under the following Commonwealth, state and territory programs and schemes:

• Medicare Better Access
• Department of Veteran’s Affairs
• Traffic accident and worker’s compensation schemes such as WorkSafe Victoria or TAC
• National Disability Insurance Scheme
• State and territory funded in-patient and community mental health services

These definitions are intended to provide a foundation for the development of additional consumer and referrer-focused content, including online information hosted by OTA. The intention is that this core definition is expanded to provide additional detail relevant to key settings such as private Medicare-funded mental health practice, paediatric mental health practice, and NDIS psychosocial services. In doing so, it will be important to draw on examples and case studies to illustrate outcomes more effectively.

For example, the definition above may be expanded with a dropdown section of content or additional page titled ‘Medicare-funded mental health occupational therapy’. This would provide specific information about the types of services typically provided by mental health occupational therapists for particular cohorts, how to access services (including increasing awareness that consumers are able to choose their Better Access provider, regardless of what is specified in the GP referral), and how to find a practitioner through Find an OT. It should also include or link to any information developed with consumer input including examples or case studies, focusing particularly on anything that may be unique to the scheme. For example, the limitations of NDIS psychosocial services in relation to the clinical symptoms of mental illness.

Please find further resources in this kit to help you raise awareness and advocate for the role of OT in mental health.