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Models of Practice

We use the following frameworks and models to inform the practice as Occupational Therapists.  If you’re interested to know the how and why behind what we do, read on!

The World Health Organisation defines health as follows: “health is a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity”.  YOU are more than the sum total of your diagnoses! ‘Occupation’ refers to all activities that individuals do day to day. Occupational Therapy is client-centred and promotes health and well-being through occupation.

Occupational Justice principles support equal opportunity, rights and access to participate in activities that are meaningful,  in order to meet a person’s physical, emotional, spiritual or psychological needs.

The goal for occupational therapy is to enable you to rightly participate in the occupations that you want to, need to, or are expected to do.  Of course we also modify the occupation or the environment if needed. (WFOT 2012)

Occupational Rights support persons to experience meaning and enrichment in their occupations; to participate in a range of occupations for health and social inclusion; to make choices and share decision-making power in daily life; and to receive equal privileges for diverse participation in occupations.

Occupational Injustice occurs “…when participation in occupations is barred, confined, restricted, segregated, prohibited, underdeveloped, disrupted, alienated, marginalized, exploited, excluded, or otherwise restricted.”

The Person-Environment-Occupation (PEO) occupational therapy model considers how occupational performance is shaped by the interaction between you, your environment, and how you express who you are in what you do day to day.

Similarly, the Model of Human Occupation (MOHO) explains how occupations are chosen, organised and done within the environment you live in (Kielhofner, 2008)

This model was developed to explain how Motivation, Organisation, Performance and the Environment influences what you do in your everyday, occupations. It also helps to explain why problems arise with chronic illness and impairments, or when environmental factors interrupt occupation.

You can CHOOSE occupations when:

  • You’re confident & feel capable of using your abilities
  • You believe activities are important, meaningful & valuable
  • There are things that you like to do

You can ORGANISE your activities when you understand:

  • Your familiar routines or habits
  • Who you are
  • What it is you are required to do

You can DO your occupations when you understand:

  • How your physical body works
  • The mental and cognitive aspects such as memory & concentration
  • Your own interpretation and mindset

Understand how the ENVIRONMENT helps to either support or constrain your occupations:

  • Access to natural and urban/built spaces
  • Things and tools that you use
  • Community, culture and context
  • Defined methods and ways of doing things

The Clinical Framework for Health Services Delivery guides healthcare professionals in best practice for managing injury or ill health by:

  • Measuring how effective treatment is
  • Using a biopsychosocial approach
  • Empowering the injured person to manage their injury
  • Implementing goals focused on optimising function, participation and return to work
  • Basing treatment on best available research evidence.

Health Benefits of Good Work. We have pledged her commitment to collaboration that encourages and enables Australians and New Zealanders to access the health benefits of good work. Realising the Health Benefits of Work Consensus Statement from the Australasian Faculty of Occupational and Environmental Medicine (AFOEM) and the Royal Australasian College of Physicians (RACP), presents compelling evidence that work is generally good for health and wellbeing, and that long-term work absence, work disability and unemployment generally have a negative impact on health and wellbeing.

If you make listening and observation your occupation you will gain much more than you can by talk.

– Robert Baden-Powell

The most worth-while thing is to try to put happiness into the lives of others.

– Robert Baden-Powell

Unfortunately, my books are closed to new clients/referrals. Please contact your local OT, or use the Find an OT service provided by OT Australia.