title: The challenge of providing occupational therapy in mental health.
abstract: Although the number of occupational therapists working in mental health has dwindled, the number of people who need our services has not. In our tendency to cling to a medical model of service provision, we have allowed the scope and content of our services to be limited to what has been supported within this model. A social model that stresses functional adaptation within the community, exemplified in psychosocial rehabilitation, offers a promising alternative. A strongly proactive stance is needed if occupational therapists are to participate fully. Occupational therapy can survive without mental health specialists, but a large and deserving population could ultimately be deprived of a valuable service.
authors.affiliation: Department of Occupational Therapy Education, University of Kansas Medical Center, Kansas City.
authors.forename: B L
authors.initials: BL
authors.lastname: Kleinman
mesh_terms: D000203:Activities of Daily Living / Q000523:psychology; D003688:Deinstitutionalization / Q000639:trends*; D006301:Health Services Needs and Demand / Q000639:trends; D006801:Humans; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D009788:Occupational Therapy / Q000639:trends*; D010348:Patient Care Team / Q000639:trends; D012917:Social Adjustment