Occupational Therapy

In terms of modern needs-oriented and integrated health care, the occupational therapy degree programme opens up attractive and future-proof work and career opportunities. In addition to fields of activity in direct patient care for all areas of health care in inpatient and semi-inpatient care (clinics, rehabilitation centres, old people's and nursing homes, hospices and facilities for people with disabilities of all kinds), fields of work in the outpatient sector are becoming more and more relevant for occupational therapists, with health aspects mixing with social aspects. A Bachelor's degree also opens up paths to jobs in administration (e.g. at health insurance companies), teaching (e.g. at schools and universities) or industry (e.g. in workplace ergonomics).

The occupational therapy degree programme qualifies you for versatile tasks in dynamically developing occupational fields, such as:

• the implementation of classical occupational therapy interventions for complex therapy, counselling and care situations of patients and relatives
• the new possibilities and requirements for shaping the lives of people with disabilities in view of the social goal of "inclusion"
• working with children who often experience limitations in their educational and professional development
• accompanying the ageing elderly and the challenges this poses for their activities and participation in everyday life
• the consideration of psychological aspects of everyday life in the professional or private sphere, such as health promotion and prevention at work and in the leisure sector, in order to prevent restrictions and impairments in social participation
• research and teaching in occupational therapy in order to continuously develop the profession, society and its social systems

Typical fields of activity of practical occupational therapy work are in the following areas:

• Occupational therapy work with children and adolescents is about positively influencing their physical, cognitive or social development because they are impaired compared to their peers or they have difficulties in their ability to act or cope with everyday life. To do this, you work closely with other therapists and the parents and/or family.
• In the area of inpatient rehabilitation, neurological, orthopaedic or hand therapy, you regularly take part in interdisciplinary rounds and team meetings. You plan and carry out individual and/or group treatments independently, which are oriented towards motor function or activities of daily living (ADL), as well as patient training. You prepare the transition to the outpatient area with training in aids and advice on adapting living space.
• In the case of addiction-related illnesses, you will be responsible for conducting individual and group therapies, especially in the area of home economics, and documenting treatment goals and results. In doing so, you pay attention to quality assurance in the provision of therapeutic services and contribute to the optimisation of treatment processes. You are embedded in an interdisciplinary team, can think and act across professions, and maintain an appropriate therapeutic distance to groups of people despite a person-centred approach.
• For people with dementia, you work in a manageable, almost family-like living area, and thus become part of the living environment of the people cared for there, together with relatives and representatives of other professions. This requires special empathy, consideration and flexibility, and the ability to derive therapeutic benefits for the residents from as many everyday situations as possible.
• As an occupational therapist in a retirement home, you support the residents individually and in groups with regard to activation and participation. This includes cognitive training, perception exercises, sitting gymnastics, games, but also the planning and implementation of parties, celebrations and excursions for the residents. You work closely with the nursing staff, the therapeutic team and the relatives.
• In the field of work rehabilitation, you work as a job coach, for example. In this very diverse and still new field in occupational therapy, you offer individual support for severely disabled people at the workplace. The goal is to jointly adapt the work process and develop assistance, especially to strengthen work performance and resistance to stress.
• In the area of teaching and research, you work as a research assistant at a college or university and take on teaching tasks for occupational therapy or for interprofessional topics, participate in the development of a practice-based research network and contribute to research activities in the area of occupational therapy, occupational science and health sciences.