The Nature of Psychosocial Occupational Therapy in the Public Schools

One of the top ten emerging practice areas as reported by the American Occupational Therapy Association is psychosocial occupational therapy. The purpose of this research was to examine the psycho-social practice of the school-based occupational therapist. The research intent was to provide qualitative data to identify and analyze the extent of the occupational therapists understanding and Application of psychosocial occupational therapy in meeting the needs of the students in special education. The first study, a pilot, utilized a structured interview method to investigate the understanding and practice of psychosocial occupational therapy within the public school. The second study utilized a structured interview to identify the extent of the special education administrators understanding of the school-based therapist in meeting the psychosocial needs of the students in special education. The third study utilized a structured interview to identify and analyze the extent of the occupational therapists understanding and application of psychosocial occupational therapy in meeting the needs of the students in special education.