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Inspiration from a famous doctor: How Eleanor Clarke Slager became the 'mother' of occupational therapy"
Occupational Therapy (OT) is a health profession focused on improving meaningful occupations for individuals, groups, and communities. Specialists in this field, occupational therapists (OTs) and occupational therapy assistants (OTAs), focus not only on assessment and intervention for physical and mental health, but also on supporting people to participate in the everyday activities they need and want to do.
In the late 18th century in Europe, with the reform of mental health care, the prototype of occupational therapy began to emerge. French doctor Philippe Pinel and German doctor Johann Kiel liberated mentally ill patients from suffering and allowed them to return to "meaningful life." By the early 20th century, American social worker Eleanor Clark Slager was considered the "mother" of occupational therapy. The habit training theory she proposed, which emphasizes the importance of meaningful daily activities to personal health, has become one of the basic theories of occupational therapy.
The goal of occupational therapy is to help people participate in their lives through therapeutic daily activities, thereby improving their quality of life.
The development of occupational therapy
Occupational therapy began to gain widespread attention when Slager became director of the occupational therapy department at the Henry Phipps Psychiatric Clinic in Baltimore in 1912. She opened the first occupational therapy training program in the United States in 1915, laying the foundation for the professionalization of occupational therapy education. Slager and other pioneers, such as British-Canadian Thomas Kidner, helped to transform the medical model from one focused on the treatment of mental illness to a broader health profession.
After World War I, occupational therapy faced rapidly growing demands as rescue missions proliferated. The National Society for the Advancement of Occupational Therapy (NSPOT), which Slager co-founded, recruited more than 1,200 reconstruction assistants in 1917 to help injured soldiers return to normal life after the war. This historic step marks the transition of occupational therapy from being a treatment exclusively for people with mental illness to a medical profession that supports people with all types of disabilities.
Combination of theory and practice
The practice framework of occupational therapy has also moved further towards diversification and specialization. Over time, the definition of occupational therapy has expanded to include a wide range of activities that affect people's lives, including daily living, education, work and social participation. These activities not only affect individuals’ health and well-being, but are also closely linked to their identity and social integration.
Occupational therapists focus not only on their patients’ physical injuries but also their mental health and social environment in their treatment.
Challenges and future of modern occupational therapy
With the advancement of health technology and society's increasing attention to mental health, occupational therapy faces new challenges. How to effectively apply technology in treatment and continue to promote society's understanding of the value of occupations is an important task that occupational therapists currently need to face. This year, U.S. News & World Report ranked occupational therapy No. 19 on its list of "100 Best Jobs," reflecting the profession's growing importance.
Thinking about the future of occupational therapy
The philosophy of occupational therapy emphasizes the diversity of human life and seeks flexibility and patience in the application of dosage. Slager's legacy is not only the therapeutic ideas she developed, but also her profound influence in the fields of education and training. As society's needs continue to evolve, how occupational therapy can adapt to this change and continue to improve patients' quality of life will undoubtedly be a key challenge in the future.
From concept to practice, how can occupational therapy realize its greatest potential in the future to respond to diverse social needs?
