Description of occupational therapy education in Europe
European Network of Occupational Therapy in Higher Education (ENOTHE)
Council of Occupational Therapists for the European Countries (COTEC)
Trondheim 2006-01-18
Introduction to the subject area
Occupational therapy is a profession whose primary goal is to make it possible for people to
participate in the occupations of everyday life. An occupation is “a group of activities that
has personal meaning, is named within a culture and supports participation in society.
Occupation can be categorised as self-care, productivity and/or leisure”
1
. Participation
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in
occupations promotes people’s identity, health and well-being. People may be restricted from
participating in occupations due to impairment of body structure or function
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caused by
physical and mental health conditions and/or due to restrictions created by the physical,
social, attitudinal, or legislative environments. Occupational therapists understand and use
the therapeutic potential of participation in occupation and activities in order to enhance the
person’s abilities and skills, enabling the occupations of their choice in their environment.
Additionally or alternatively, the occupational therapist works towards changing aspects of
the environment in order to support participation. Occupational therapists may work in
health, education or social settings, and with individuals and groups of people of all ages.
Occupational therapy education is based on a broad understanding of occupation, and the
unique integration of empirical and phenomenological knowledge from the social,
technological, human, biological and life sciences. Occupational therapy contributes to the
development of the emerging discipline of occupational science. Occupational science is the
systematic study of the human as an occupational being including the need for and capacity to
engage in and orchestrate daily occupations in the environment over the life span .
Occupational therapy is