History of Occupational Therapy

Occupational therapy is founded on the understanding that occupations (or meaningful everyday activities) can be used therapeutically to engage people in recovery or preventative care for the management of health and wellness. Today, occupational therapists (OTs) practice all over the world, and work in a variety of settings including (but definitely not limited to) community based care, schools, skilled nursing and elderly care facilities, hospitals, rehabilitation, early intervention, shelters for people experiencing homelessness and private practice. OTs have experience in analyzing everyday activities (like brushing your teeth, folding clothing, holding utensils, driving a car) and breaking down those activities to be adapted or modified. OTs

Founded on the theories of “moral treatment and occupational” created by French physician Phillipe Pinel, and “moral treatment” Englishman William Tuke in the 1970’s, a movement began as a challenge for the moral treatment of individuals experiencing mental illness who were forced to live in institutions or asylums. Both Pinel and Tuke advocated for the engagement of people in activities with meaning and purpose, such as literature, music and exercise, or leisure activities, and worked to change societal perceptions of people experiencing mental illness. [i]

Susan Tracy, a nurse in the early 1900’s, focused on the care of persons experiencing mental illness, was the first person to bring occupation and activities into the healthcare setting.  Tracy wrote the first textbook on using occupations therapeutically[ii] and trained nurses in the use of occupation, coining the term “occupational nurse”.

The National Society for the Promotion of Occupational Therapy (NSPOT) was formed in 1917 by six individuals of varying backgrounds, including Eleanor Clarke Slagle (social worker), Susan Cox Johnson (teacher), Isabel G. Newton (secretary), Dr. William Rush Dunton (psychiatrist), George Edward Barton (architect and patient), Thomas Bessell Kidner (architect). [iii]  Together, those six individuals started on a path of recognizing a morality and humanity that comes when a person engages in activities, and advocated for the engagement of occupation as practice for healing. In 1923 NSPOT was changed to the American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA)[iv] which is currently the member led association of occupational therapists within the United States. Occupational therapy has long since expanded beyond the U.S. and has leading educational centers and research happening around the world.  In 1952, the World Federation of Occupational Therapy was formed, and currently has 92 membership organizations around the world. [v]

Sources: 

[i] History of Occupational Therapy. (6 October 2010.) Occupational Therapy New Zealand – Whakaora Ngangahau Aotearoa. Retrieved February 26, 2017. http://www.otnz.co.nz/public/occupational-therapy/history-of-occupational-therapy/

[ii] Tracy, Susan. Studies in Invalid Occupation. https://www.forgottenbooks.com/en/books/Studies_in_Invalid_Occupation_1000017274

[iii] Lyon, OTR/L, S. (n.d.). The Founders of Occupational Therapy. Retrieved February 26, 2017, from https://www.verywell.com/the-founders-of-occupational-therapy-2510010.

[iv] http://www.aota.org/Education-Careers/Accreditation/Overview/History.aspx

[v] http://www.wfot.org/Membership/MemberOrganisationsofWFOT.aspx

Updated as of March 5, 2017.