What is the Occupational Therapist’s Role in Childhood Mental Health?

Intervening early with children who have mental health issues is not only the sensible thing to do but is also crucial for healthy development.

As occupational therapists, the role we play in helping children with mental health issues is unfortunately not so clearly delineated. I believe it’s unfortunate because so many children we see have various forms of mental illnesses, whether diagnosed or undiagnosed.

When treating any child we are part of a team, and when coming across a child with mental health issues we shouldn’t be scratching our head wondering where occupational therapy, as a piece of the puzzle, fits in.

I stumbled upon a recent podcast by The American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA), in which AOTA’s pediatric coordinator, Sandra Schefkind and Dr. Susan Bazyk, professor of occupational therapy at Cleveland State University, discuss the role of occupational therapy in childhood mental health.

I would like to share a couple of points discussed on the podcast. Click here to hear the podcast in its entirety (15 minutes in length).

Occupational therapists’ three primary roles in childhood mental health

1). Promote children’s positive mental health: By definition, the promotion of physical health and of mental health is done by looking for opportunities to engage children in activities that encourage healthy participation and child development.

2). Be on the lookout for preventable mental health related issues: This can be done formally or informally. While evaluating children we should listen closely to what the caregiver reports regarding any indicators the child may have mental health issues. Informally, when working with children be in tune with their affect and with what they say. Occupational therapists are sometimes the only professional, after teachers, that are likely to pick up if a child is having a hard time in areas related to mental health.

The key message regarding childhood mental health is that positive mental health is essential for a child’s healthy development from birth.

3). Intervention for those children who have mental health issues: The primary role for occupational therapists is intervention, or treatment. We do not practice psychotherapy yet we have great background in mental health and in childhood development (I would even go as far as say that, as a recent graduate, I believe the mental health portion of the occupational therapy curriculum is the most underutilized by the profession. But I digress.)

Intervention can be done either individually with the child we treat, in consultation with the teacher, or even with larger groups of teachers and professionals. After all, the push today is for all treatment to be a team effort and a coordinated approach, not scattered and splintered.

Examples of how occupational therapists treat children who have mental health issues

• For children who have attention difficulties such as ADHD, occupational therapists implement various strategies to help these children pay attention and participate in classroom activities. Sensory integration therapy is high on the list of tools used successfully in helping children with ADHD and related mental health disorders. Occupational therapists also consult with teachers to collaborate on strategies to help these children, for example letting children take movement breaks to help them attend.
• Occupational therapists run social skills groups for children who have a hard time making and keeping friends. Some occupational therapists also incorporate into their treatment sessions specific social skills activities and coaching to help the child develop meaningful relationships.
• Some children with mental health issue such as ADHD or autism spectrum disorders have sleep issues. Occupational therapists can provide intervention in collaboration with the parents to help the children with getting a good night’s sleep.
• Other mental health areas occupational therapists provide services in include: Prevention of bullying, helping children experiencing loss, anxiety, depression, and thought disorders, and helping children be functional in common everyday activities and self-care.

Occupational therapists are involved on so many fronts, working with children who have various disorders and disabilities. Childhood mental health should not be an area overlooked by us, regardless of the primary reason the child is being seen by us. As AOTA’s pediatric coordinator, Sandra Schefkind puts it: “The key message regarding childhood mental health is that positive mental health is essential for a child’s healthy development from birth.”

Here are some additional resources from The American Occupational Therapy Association

• OT for Children with Psychosocial Deficits
• Helping Children Learn through Play
• How Parents can Avoid Parenting Time Traps

Are you an occupational therapist, physical therapist, or speech language pathologist? What do you think our role as related service providers is in childhood mental health?

Photo  credit: mishimoto

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3. How to Help Your Clumsy Child in 4 Simple Steps

Tagged as: ADD, ADHD, Autism, Childhood Mental Health, Classroom Function, Occupational Therapy, Social Skills