Self –Management
A central tenet of occupational therapy practice is working with people to support self-management of their daily occupations (activities).
These occupations may have become inhibited due to short or long term mental and/or physical health difficulties.
There are a growing number of self-management approaches for people who use health and social care services in all UK nations utilised by occupational therapists. Such as; coaching, Technology Enabled Care Services, social prescribing, co-production and asset based community development.
For occupational therapists supporting self-management involves:
- Giving advice and guidance that supports people in adopting healthy behaviours, maintaining social interactions and adaptive strategies that enable participation in occupations.
- A co-production approach that moves people from being passive recipients of health and social care services, to collaborative partners to achieve outcomes that have meaning for them.
- Supporting people with complex needs to overcome barriers to accessing existing opportunities such as social prescribing.
Occupational therapists have a unique approach in the promotion of self-management and in supporting people with complex health and social care needs. The Royal College of Occupational Therapists encourages members to show leadership, to ensure the profession demonstrates its value in this area and is seen as a key partner in local health and social care delivery.
The following member-only resources outline how occupational therapists work with different populations of people, living with different health conditions to improve their health and wellbeing.