What Does an Occupational Therapist Do? A Guide for Families

While many people are familiar with physiotherapy, the role of an occupational therapist can sometimes be less clear. In simple terms, occupational therapists take a holistic view of the whole person — not just the diagnosis — to identify the barriers to the activities that matter most to you, then find practical, meaningful ways to help you re-engage. It’s about enabling you to do the things that give your life purpose and joy.

Understanding ‘Occupations’ in Daily Life

When occupational therapists (OTs) talk about ‘occupations’, they aren’t just referring to a person’s job or career. The term covers all the meaningful activities we do every day. It’s helpful to think of these in three main categories:

• Self-Care: These are the essential tasks we do to look after ourselves, such as washing, dressing, getting to and from the toilet, and preparing meals.
• Productivity: This includes activities related to managing your home, such as cleaning, shopping, or managing personal finances.
• Leisure: This covers the hobbies and interests that bring joy and fulfilment, from gardening and reading to socialising with family and friends.

A change in health can make any of these occupations difficult, impacting a person’s confidence, independence, and sense of self-worth. The goal of an OT is to identify exactly what’s preventing you from doing something — whether that’s a physical limitation, an environmental barrier, anxiety, or a cognitive challenge — and problem-solve a way to help you re-engage.

The Occupational Therapy Process at Home

Receiving therapy in your own home allows the OT to see the real-world challenges you face. Rather than being in a clinical setting, the therapist can provide relevant, practical advice that works for you and your environment. The process typically involves:

• A Holistic Assessment: The OT will spend time talking with you and your family to understand your daily routines, your emotional wellbeing, your cognitive needs, and your personal aspirations — not just what you’re finding difficult, but what you want to be able to do. They’ll look at how your home environment helps or hinders you. This is a truly whole-person assessment focused entirely on your goals.
• Barrier Identification and Problem-Solving: The OT identifies the specific barriers to each activity — perhaps a chair that’s too low, furniture that blocks your path, anxiety about falling, or a tremor that makes holding cards difficult — then works with you to find creative, practical solutions. Rehabilitation is built around meaningful activities, so it feels purposeful rather than like exercise.
• Empowering You and Your Carers: The therapist provides ongoing support and empowers family members and carers with strategies and techniques. Rather than doing things for you, the goal is to build your ability to do things for yourself — because every small task you manage independently restores confidence and self-worth.

Who Can Benefit from Occupational Therapy?

Occupational therapy can provide invaluable support for people with long-term conditions and those recovering from a sudden illness or injury. An OT can help older adults who are:

• Recovering from a stroke, operation, or fall and needing to rebuild daily routines.
• Living with a long-term condition such as Parkinson’s disease, arthritis, or dementia and finding that activities they once enjoyed are becoming harder.
• Finding it harder to manage everyday tasks like getting out of a chair, getting dressed, or making a cup of tea.
• Feeling anxious about their safety or mobility around the home, or struggling with confidence after a health setback.
• Experiencing social isolation and wanting to re-engage with hobbies, friendships, or activities that bring purpose.

The focus is always on the whole person — enabling them to live safely and with dignity, rebuilding the routines and activities that give life meaning, and restoring a sense of independence and self-worth.

A Practical Approach to Restoring Independence

Ultimately, an occupational therapist is a practical problem-solver who sees beyond the diagnosis. They consider your environment, your emotional wellbeing, your cognitive needs, and your personal aspirations — then find ways to remove the barriers to the activities that matter to you. Whether that’s helping someone take off their own socks for the first time since their stroke, rearranging furniture so a care home resident can reach their walking frame, or finding a card holder so someone with a tremor can play cards with a friend again — it’s about rebuilding independence and self-worth, one meaningful activity at a time. Our occupational therapy services aim to empower you to re-engage with the daily life that gives your world meaning.