Arguments Against Occupational Therapy

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According to O’Brien (2018), Occupational therapy is “therapy based on engagement in meaningful activities of daily life, especially to enable or encourage participation in such activities despite impairments or limitations in physical or mental functioning” (pg. 3). It hasn’t always been a norm that people with physical and mental impairments or limitations had access to therapies that would continue to give their life a purpose. Dating back to the 18th century, the moral treatment movement, marked a growing idea that all people, mainly the mentally ill, should be treated with kindness and compassion. Mental hospitals started to treat these individuals by using hands on activities that would work to improve their mental health through having …show more content…
The ACA was passed through legislation in order to help provide more accessible insurance to Americans who did not have it before. The overall idea is that it will end up decreasing health care cost because now people can take preventative medications as well as have preventative care to stay healthier (Amadeo, 2017). Occupational therapy is a service that helps individuals have an improved quality of life which is why ACA covers OT services to an extent for those who qualify for the therapy (O’Brien, 2018). ACA does not drop individuals with pre-existing conditions, which includes mental health, from insurance which helps the Occupational Therapy field because now OT is accessible to those with pre-existing conditions with insurance (Amadeo, 2017). Occupational Therapy can help a widespread of people and communities by enhancing quality of life and being a preventative of bad health. Occupational Therapy can help elders become less of a fall risk, and can set up work environments to be safer for the employees which would decrease health issues from the job, and set up programs in a community to get more handicap accessible parks which will benefit the health and quality life of children with physical or mental disabilities (O’Brien, 2018). I believe that the ACA has helped expand the Occupational Therapy field by giving more individuals the ability to have preventative care, which would include Occupational therapy, regardless of a mental illness or other pre-existing