Occupational therapists work with people of all ages who, for a variety of reasons, are not able to do the things (or the occupations) in life that they want, or need to do. These might be considered to be essential occupations, such as dressing, eating/drinking, cooking and shopping. Or occupations that help us to define who we are, such as our jobs, leisure interests and relationships. Occupational therapy enables people to participate in these practical and meaningful occupations and live the life they want to.
Watch these short films about occupational therapy, and find out how occupational therapists make a real difference to people's lives.
The profession
Occupational therapists work with individuals and their families to identify where change is needed. The individual might not be able to feed or dress himself independently if he can only use one hand following a stroke, or they may be too depressed to get out of bed to go to work. Occupational therapists try to discover what the impediments are, and how the person might be able to resolve them practically.
This often involves demonstrating new techniques that allow the individual to undertake everyday activities independently again. Alternatively, occupational therapists might introduce new activities, such as cooking or pottery, for the individual to find enjoyment or improve their self-confidence.
Occupational therapists believe that humans are creative beings who thrive when engaged in a balanced range of enjoyable activities. We seek to understand peoples' motivations and needs and try to match activities to a person's existing skills.
'Activity analysis' exposes that although the things people do may seem deceptively simple, human occupations are actually incredibly complicated. Occupational therapy is the study of what people do, how they do things, the effect these activities have on human health, and the reasons why people choose to do what they do (the meaning behind the doing).
Occupational therapists work in an ever-widening range of mental health and physical disability settings including acute hospitals, long-term rehabilitation, social care, local communities, schools, factories, residential homes, institutions for older or more profoundly disabled people, voluntary organisations and prisons.
The programmes
Our school has occupational therapy educational programmes at several levels.
Two courses prepare people for occupational therapy practice:
- The part-time Occupational Therapy BSc(Hons)
- The accelerated graduate-entry Health through Occupation MSc (Occupational Therapy PGDip gives licence to practice occupational therapy)
We also offer the following post-registration programmes:
- Occupational Therapy MSc
- Occupational Therapy and Education MSc
- Occupational Therapy and Management MSc
- European Master of Science in Occupational Therapy
- Clinical Research MRes
- Professional Doctorate in Occupational Therapy
- Doctor of Philosophy in Occupational Therapy
Educational philosophy – problem-based learning
Our educational philosophy mirrors the philosophy of occupational therapy. We believe that an individual's positive engagement in (learning) activity leads to advanced productivity, increased perception of self worth, improved quality of life and enjoyment (of the course).
Our occupational therapy courses use problem-based learning (PBL), a technique recommended by authorities around the world. All subjects covered are integrated around problem-solving within a real life situation. We find that learning in this way significantly increases our student's engagement with the subjects.
Read more about our educational philosophy and PBL
Excellence in teaching and learning is the prime concern for the occupational therapy course team. Sessions are designed deliberately to stimulate deep approaches to learning, associated with optimal human experience and personal growth. Our Health through Occupation MSc course and part-time Occupational Therapy BSc(Hons) course are fully problem-based, which encourages reflection both clinically and academically, activating theory/practice integration. Problem-based learning (PBL) is considered to be the most educationally sound learning process, recommended by major authorities around the world. Sessions are held in small-groups, they are interactive, integrated, self-directed, and focus on problem-solving, using real-life situations as the focus of learning. The use of PBL is considered crucial to students' fast attainment of master's level standards, and for critical evaluation.
Other learning experiences are arranged according to the need of the problem; these may be lectures, practical sessions, skills classes, debates or seminars. Most importantly, all subjects are integrated around the problems.
Our postgraduate programmes are taught by a wide variety of methods - small active learning groups, seminars, action learning sets, PBL, lectures, self-directed literature searches.
The School of Health Professions offers an exciting and dynamic learning environment, with dedicated staff who have a wealth of experience in their field.
Photo gallery
The pre-registration occupational therapy programmes encorporate the experience of doing and making, in order to engage analyse and develop skill in therapeutic media. We have creativity studios for cooking, ceramics, crafts, and performing arts, and we have developed gardens for the practice of horticulture.
Around the world, many academic courses in occupational therapy are losing this aspect of their education, to give over more time to ‘theory’, but here at Brighton we believe that it is vital to retain these embodied learning experiences – which utterly link theory and practice - as they are indeed central to the understanding of the true essence and potential of occupation. Recent research has revealed the connection between skilled hand use and the development of thinking. As one student, who could not imagine a course without these sessions, said “how can we learn about doing without doing?” These classes are central to the philosophy of our occupational therapy education at Brighton and they have become one of its hallmarks.
