'Occupational Therapy - what’s that?” “Never heard of it” “Is that like career counseling or something?” “Does not sound like something related to healthcare”.

 

These are some of the statements I got to hear when I told the people around me I wanted to study Occupational Therapy. I have to be honest, I have not always been able to explain to others this profession that I have come to love so much. I used to say things like “it’s on the lines of physiotherapy” or “it’s something related to paramedical sciences”. But occupational therapy is so much more than that. And it was not until the final year of my bachelors that I was able to advocate for myself and this profession- truly explain its uniqueness to the world around me, be that friends, family or even other professionals!

 

I strongly believe that the work we do as occupational therapists has a great impact on every life we touch. Over the past few years, I have seen the joy that occupational therapists have brought back to so many lives coming from such differing backgrounds. Be it an elderly woman who suffered from a fracture and could not cook for her family, or a man in his mid thirties who had a debilitating stroke which prevented him from even getting out of bed, or a child who could never walk properly due to spasticity, or a young woman afflicted with depression who started isolating from friends and family, occupational therapy has been able to understand what is most important to these individuals and see them for what they truly value and desire. It continues to amaze me how holistic and inclusive this profession is.

 

Being an empath, the core values of occupational therapy do not lie very far away from my own life philosophies. And it is this quality that continuously draws me back and makes me want to learn more. I hope to be able to spread the word about the magic that we hold as occupational therapists, and maybe help others see the world through our lens.