Introduction to the Person

What do you think about when it comes to a person from a recovery-oriented perspective?

• hearing the Person’s unique story

• Respecting the person’s expertise of lived experience

• Relating to the person as an equal member of society

• Eliminate judgement

• Be empathetic

• Be compassionate

• Be loving

What are the performance skills that are important in the mental health practice?

• cognition (skills and beliefs)

• Cognitive beliefs

• Sensory processing

• Communication

• Coping and resilience

• Motivation

• Emotion

• Communication and socialization

• Pain

• Time use and habits

What are cognitive skills?

Cognitive skills refers to underlying cognitive functions, such as attention, memory, and executive functions.

What are cognitive impairments?

• Alzheimer’s disease: memory loss

• ADHD: attentional impairment

• Autism: attentional impairment

• Autism spectrum executive functioning (flexibility and planning)

• Depression: concentration

What are cognitive beliefs?

Concerned how people think about themselves and world. Distorted cognitive beliefs can lead to impaired occupational performance problems.

What are examples of cognitive beliefs?

• Eating disorders: body image can lead to perfectionism

• Schizophrenia: paranoid delusions

What was cognitive behavior therapy an intervention originally created for?

Depression

What does cognitive behavior therapy state?

The theory is that distorted thoughts cause depressed mood and other maladaptive behaviors. Interventions are aimed at altering cognitive distortions.

What is sensory processing?

There is evidence suggesting that people with psychiatric disabilities have sensory processing preferences.

What are examples of sensory processing?

Individuals with schizophrenia tend to avoid and miss sensory information

Visual overstimulation- sensory processing

Bright lights, busy patterns, or crowded environments can feel chaotic and distressing

Tactile sensitivity-sensory processing

Clothing tags or certain fabric textures may feel irritating or unbearable, leading to discomfort or agitation

Difficulty with sensory integration

The brain may have trouble filtering or organizing sensory input, so multiple stimuli become overwhelming (example: music playing while people are talking in a cafe)

What do occupational therapists looks at during sensory processing intervention?

Look at person/enviroment (PEO) as framework to design intervention. This can be done with symptom management such as decreasing aggression and agitation by meeting sensory needs with strategies such as reducing noise levels, creating calming environments, and using weighted jackets.

What is emotion focused coping?

People seek to reduce the negative emotional consequence

• such as dealing with loss

What are problem focused coping?

Involves changing or confronting the stress

• such as dealing with performance

What is approach-oriented?

Involves dealing with issues.

• here and now

What is avoidance approach (oriented)?

Involves escaping from the situation by distraction, denial, or some other method of avoidance

What is motivation?

• Impairment in motivation is one performance skill that interferes with performance of meaningful occupation

• At times some clinicians label clients as unmotivated and consequently underserving of therapy

• However, if motivation is seen as a performance skill, then the approach is different. Treatment can be focus to address lack of or no motivation at all

What is emotion regulation?

• Every moment of every day is colored by our emotional state. The experience of emotions is primary to our understanding of who we are as humans.

• Some individuals with psychiatric disabilities or traumas find it challenging to regulate their emotions. Yet the ability to regulate emotions is essential to health and successful occupational engagement.

• In addition, people with mental illness/ traumas tend to experience unpleasant emotions for much longer periods of time.

What is an example of emotional regulation?

Borderline personality disorder is associated with emotional regulation sensitivity and maladaptive emotion regulation strategies such as self-harming.

What is the development of emotional regulation sensitivity regulation strategies deeply related to?

Connected to temperament and early childhood experiences

What is the importance of communication in a mental health practice?

People with psychiatric disabilities can experience challenges with communication. Barriers with communication can interfere with play, work, socialization, public transportation, shopping, and attending medical appointments.

What is the important of communication and socialization in mental health practice?

• Individuals with psychiatric disabilities can experience challenges with communication

• Anxiety disorders can cause people to avoid social situations due to feeling uncomfortable, embarrassment, fearful or shame/

• Depression: isolative behaviors during periods of sadness

• Schizophrenia: difficulty interpreting social cues

What is the importance of pain in mental heath setting?

Chronic pain can contribute to psychiatric disabilities as depression

• Pain can also interfere with occupational engagement for example such as social activities ADLS employment and personal occupations. Lack of engagement can lead to depression.

The importance of time use and habits?

• Persons with mental illness, time use patterns often reflect difficulties in activity initiation, occupational balance, maintaining desired levels of participation and engagement in daily activities, and developing sleep habits.

• Occupational therapists working in mental settings often evaluate and design interventions that support clients in spending more time in valued occupations and developing performance patterns support health and well-being.