Theories and principles of occupational therapy

In the course of their education, occupational therapy students follow a wide-ranging syllabus. From an early point in professional training, students are exposed to theories pertaining to health, illness, learning, development and adjustment, all of which need to be integrated and evaluated. In this book, the authors review the theories and principles that appear to be most relevant to occupational therapy and indicate how these bear upon practice. Thus, Chapter 3 identifies and discusses influential frames of reference, and subsequent chapters deal with concepts relating to development, learning and activity. Elsewhere, they consider the general relationship between theoretical perspectives and appraoches to health care, and the relevance of occupational therapy to work and leisure. However, the greatest emphasis is on the nature and role of activity as the authors believe that it is the therapeutic use of activity that gives the profession its unique identity. The text, uses terms such as theories, concepts, frames of reference and paradigms. Chapter 1 deals with these abstract issues, including that of the nature of theories. The authors have elaborated arguments in this area to help students to understand more fully the nature and limitations of theories and to promote insight into why competing theories prevail in any given field. Changes in the field of health are underway in Western countries. Traditions of care, particularly institutional care, have been criticized and found wanting, and health care policies now focus on the community. The final chapter includes a review of the issues raised by the change to community care and considers possible implications of this for occupational therapy.