https://padlet.com/aloffredo5/xsm3pfmz32jfplyi Exploring the interconnection between occupational therapy and mental health through historical milestones. en-us 2024-05-08 17:13:54 UTC 2026-05-12 15:36:18 UTC hello@padlet.com aloffredo5 https://padlet.com/aloffredo5/xsm3pfmz32jfplyi/wish/2985404365 In 1793, Philippe Pinel, a French physician, initiated a significant change in the care of the mentally ill at the Bicêtre Hospital in Paris. He removed the chains of patients, arguing for a more humane treatment based on compassion and understanding. This approach, known as moral treatment, laid the groundwork for modern occupational therapy by emphasizing the importance of environment and activity in healing (Weiner, 1992).

]]> 2024-05-08 17:13:54 UTC https://padlet.com/aloffredo5/xsm3pfmz32jfplyi/wish/2985404365 aloffredo5 https://padlet.com/aloffredo5/xsm3pfmz32jfplyi/wish/2985404366 The National Society for the Promotion of Occupational Therapy, now known as the American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA), was founded on March 15, 1917. This marked the official beginning of the occupational therapy profession. The founders recognized the therapeutic value of occupation and aimed to improve mental health through purposeful activity, highlighting the vital connection between occupation and mental well-being (Anderson & Reed, 2024).

]]> 2024-05-08 17:13:54 UTC https://padlet.com/aloffredo5/xsm3pfmz32jfplyi/wish/2985404366 aloffredo5 https://padlet.com/aloffredo5/xsm3pfmz32jfplyi/wish/2985404367 The 1940s marked the beginning of deinstitutionalization in the United States, a movement aimed at treating mentally ill patients in community-based settings rather than large psychiatric hospitals. This shift emphasized the importance of social integration and occupational therapy's role in helping individuals develop the skills they need for daily living and work, promoting mental health recovery in a community context (George et al, 2023).

]]> 2024-05-08 17:13:55 UTC https://padlet.com/aloffredo5/xsm3pfmz32jfplyi/wish/2985404367 aloffredo5 https://padlet.com/aloffredo5/xsm3pfmz32jfplyi/wish/2985404368 Signed into law by President John F. Kennedy, the Community Mental Health Centers Act of 1963 was a landmark in mental health policy. It led to the establishment of community mental health centers across the country, providing a boost to the field of occupational therapy. Occupational therapists became key players in these settings, using their expertise to assist individuals with mental health issues in improving their quality of life through meaningful activities (Erickson, 2021).

]]> 2024-05-08 17:13:55 UTC https://padlet.com/aloffredo5/xsm3pfmz32jfplyi/wish/2985404368 aloffredo5 https://padlet.com/aloffredo5/xsm3pfmz32jfplyi/wish/2985404370 The introduction of the biopsychosocial model in the 1980s marked a paradigm shift in mental health care. This model emphasizes the importance of considering biological, psychological, and social factors in the treatment of mental illnesses. Occupational therapy aligns with this approach by assessing and addressing the comprehensive needs of individuals, thereby offering a holistic approach to mental health care (George & Engel, 1980).

]]> 2024-05-08 17:13:55 UTC https://padlet.com/aloffredo5/xsm3pfmz32jfplyi/wish/2985404370 aloffredo5 https://padlet.com/aloffredo5/xsm3pfmz32jfplyi/wish/2985404372 The Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act of 2008 (enacted in 2010) requires insurance plans to provide the same level of benefits for mental health and substance use treatment and services that they do for medical and surgical care. This legislation has significant implications for the field of occupational therapy, by increasing access to occupational therapy services for individuals with mental health conditions (Friedman et al, 2018).

]]> 2024-05-08 17:13:55 UTC https://padlet.com/aloffredo5/xsm3pfmz32jfplyi/wish/2985404372 aloffredo5 https://padlet.com/aloffredo5/xsm3pfmz32jfplyi/wish/2985404375 Occupational therapists have increasingly taken on roles as advocates for mental health care reform. In 2017, the AOTA emphasized the profession's commitment to mental health, outlining the significant contributions of occupational therapy to mental health services. These include promoting mental health awareness, advocating for policy changes, and providing holistic care that addresses the psychosocial needs of individuals (Reitz et al, 2020).

]]> 2024-05-08 17:13:55 UTC https://padlet.com/aloffredo5/xsm3pfmz32jfplyi/wish/2985404375 aloffredo5 https://padlet.com/aloffredo5/xsm3pfmz32jfplyi/wish/2985404376 The field of occupational therapy continues to evolve, with emerging trends focusing on digital health technology, holistic and integrated care models, and increased recognition of occupational therapy's role in mental health globally. As we move towards 2024, these developments are expected to further solidify the importance of occupational therapy in promoting mental health, demonstrating the profession's adaptability and commitment to meeting societal needs (AOTA, 2024).

]]> 2024-05-08 17:13:55 UTC https://padlet.com/aloffredo5/xsm3pfmz32jfplyi/wish/2985404376 aloffredo5 https://padlet.com/aloffredo5/xsm3pfmz32jfplyi/wish/3267786250 References

]]> 2024-12-19 12:40:21 UTC https://padlet.com/aloffredo5/xsm3pfmz32jfplyi/wish/3267786250 aloffredo5 https://padlet.com/aloffredo5/xsm3pfmz32jfplyi/wish/3267791182 Quakers aimed to care for mentally ill. They created a newly-opened Pennsylvania Hospital in Philadelphia provided rooms in the basement complete with shackles attached to the walls to house a small number of mentally ill patients (National Institutes of Health, n.d).

]]> 2024-12-19 12:45:58 UTC https://padlet.com/aloffredo5/xsm3pfmz32jfplyi/wish/3267791182 aloffredo5 https://padlet.com/aloffredo5/xsm3pfmz32jfplyi/wish/3267796169 First state hospital named the Public Hospital for Persons of Insane & Disordered Minds in Williamsburg, Virginia in 1773 where treatments included restraint, drugs, electric-shock treatment, "shock" water treatment, bleeding, and blistering salves (Strunk, 2014)

]]> 2024-12-19 12:51:13 UTC https://padlet.com/aloffredo5/xsm3pfmz32jfplyi/wish/3267796169 aloffredo5 https://padlet.com/aloffredo5/xsm3pfmz32jfplyi/wish/3267801783 Treatment of mental illness as something from evil spirits or witchcraft; individuals can be considered as witches or persecuted often treated within asylum using inhumane approaches such as being beat, chained, starved, or bled to keep them in control (Roberts & Farris Kurtz, 1987)

]]> 2024-12-19 12:58:05 UTC https://padlet.com/aloffredo5/xsm3pfmz32jfplyi/wish/3267801783 aloffredo5 https://padlet.com/aloffredo5/xsm3pfmz32jfplyi/wish/3267808559 Shift from suffering and restraint to promoting the use of engaging in occupations to help them potentially reduce or even remove restraints (Friedland, 2003).

]]> 2024-12-19 13:05:58 UTC https://padlet.com/aloffredo5/xsm3pfmz32jfplyi/wish/3267808559 aloffredo5 https://padlet.com/aloffredo5/xsm3pfmz32jfplyi/wish/3267816529 Asylums implementing moral treatment, as reformed by Dorothea Dix, which promoted every state had at least 1 publicly supported asylum focusing on scall caseloads to promote improved relationships, patients of recent onset of illness, and public funding (George et al, 2023)

]]> 2024-12-19 13:14:31 UTC https://padlet.com/aloffredo5/xsm3pfmz32jfplyi/wish/3267816529 aloffredo5 https://padlet.com/aloffredo5/xsm3pfmz32jfplyi/wish/3267820540 Their structural characteristics were subordinated to a certain approach to moral management: exposure to natural light, beautiful views and good air circulation. These hospitals used several architectural styles, but they all had a similar general plan with no more than 250 patients and included occupational tasks (laundry, farming, carpentry) as a form of treatment (Carlson, 2016).

]]> 2024-12-19 13:18:31 UTC https://padlet.com/aloffredo5/xsm3pfmz32jfplyi/wish/3267820540 aloffredo5 https://padlet.com/aloffredo5/xsm3pfmz32jfplyi/wish/3267825240 Patient population in state mental hospitals radically changed from serving primarily acute cases to also serving senile patients, those with chronic mental illness, and other diseases that required long-term or permanent custodial care, such as tertiary syphilis. Resulted in a 240 percent increase in the number of patients admitted to state mental hospitals from 1903 to the mid-20th century. The state mental hospitals again became largely custodial care facilities (George et al, 2023)

]]> 2024-12-19 13:23:04 UTC https://padlet.com/aloffredo5/xsm3pfmz32jfplyi/wish/3267825240 aloffredo5 https://padlet.com/aloffredo5/xsm3pfmz32jfplyi/wish/3267829941 The primary treatment for mental disorders was psychoanalytical therapy, also known as the "talking cure" along with custodia care (Thomason, 2005).

]]> 2024-12-19 13:27:50 UTC https://padlet.com/aloffredo5/xsm3pfmz32jfplyi/wish/3267829941 aloffredo5 https://padlet.com/aloffredo5/xsm3pfmz32jfplyi/wish/3267846499 Introduced in the 1930s and known collectively as "shock" therapies, these treatments consisted of three distinct, albeit overlapping, remedies: insulin, Metrazol, and electroconvlusive therapy (ECT). Insulin differed the most from the other two treatments in that it actually produced a state of physiologic shock but no seizures, while Metrazol and electricity produced grand mal seizures or convulsions but no physiologic shock (Braslow, 1999)

]]> 2024-12-19 13:42:11 UTC https://padlet.com/aloffredo5/xsm3pfmz32jfplyi/wish/3267846499 aloffredo5 https://padlet.com/aloffredo5/xsm3pfmz32jfplyi/wish/3267849759 President Harry S. Truman signed the National Mental Health Act. In addition to its broad purpose of improving “the mental health of the people of the United States,” the act enabled the founding, three years later, of the National Institute of Mental Health (National Institute of Mental Health, n.d.)

]]> 2024-12-19 13:45:36 UTC https://padlet.com/aloffredo5/xsm3pfmz32jfplyi/wish/3267849759 aloffredo5 https://padlet.com/aloffredo5/xsm3pfmz32jfplyi/wish/3267853287 Focus on reforming institutions to promote change to returning individuals back into the community instead of just being trapped in state hospitals for the insane (Bridges, 1928; Toms, 2015)

]]> 2024-12-19 13:48:53 UTC https://padlet.com/aloffredo5/xsm3pfmz32jfplyi/wish/3267853287 aloffredo5 https://padlet.com/aloffredo5/xsm3pfmz32jfplyi/wish/3446392110 During the middle ages those with mental illness was regarded as a punishment from God: sufferers were thought to be possessed by the devil and were burned at the stake, or thrown in penitentiaries and madhouses where they were chained to the walls or their beds. This didn't change until enlightenment when they were provided institutions for support (Rossler, 2016).

]]> 2025-05-12 11:51:05 UTC https://padlet.com/aloffredo5/xsm3pfmz32jfplyi/wish/3446392110 aloffredo5 https://padlet.com/aloffredo5/xsm3pfmz32jfplyi/wish/3446392188 Salem Witch Trials - persecution and execution of individuals, who were mostly women, being accused of witchcraft. Many were believed to be mentally ill, neurological conditions or neurodivergent (Quintanilla, 2010).

]]> 2025-05-12 11:51:09 UTC https://padlet.com/aloffredo5/xsm3pfmz32jfplyi/wish/3446392188 aloffredo5 https://padlet.com/aloffredo5/xsm3pfmz32jfplyi/wish/3747983670 Before the 1700s, drilling holes in the head (trephination/trepanning) was practiced globally from prehistoric times for head trauma, epilepsy, migraines, and mental issues, believed to release evil spirits or pressure

]]> 2026-01-12 13:52:17 UTC https://padlet.com/aloffredo5/xsm3pfmz32jfplyi/wish/3747983670 aloffredo5 https://padlet.com/aloffredo5/xsm3pfmz32jfplyi/wish/3752329870 Mental illness often viewed as supernatural—caused by demons, curses, or displeasure of gods. Treatments focused on religious and magical rituals, including incantations, prayers, and offerings (Parys, 2014).

]]> 2026-01-15 14:14:20 UTC https://padlet.com/aloffredo5/xsm3pfmz32jfplyi/wish/3752329870 aloffredo5 https://padlet.com/aloffredo5/xsm3pfmz32jfplyi/wish/3752332555 Hippocrates treatment focused on the imbalances of the four humors (blood, phlegm, yellow bile, black bile) by diet, exercise, and regulating (Kleisiaris et. al, 2014).

]]> 2026-01-15 14:15:55 UTC https://padlet.com/aloffredo5/xsm3pfmz32jfplyi/wish/3752332555 aloffredo5 https://padlet.com/aloffredo5/xsm3pfmz32jfplyi/wish/3752338623 Start of medication for treatment of mental illness, with the first antipsychotic starting in 1952, and anxiety and antidepressant medications emerging in 1950s such as benzodiazepines, tricyclic antidepressant, MAOIs

]]> 2026-01-15 14:20:18 UTC https://padlet.com/aloffredo5/xsm3pfmz32jfplyi/wish/3752338623 aloffredo5 https://padlet.com/aloffredo5/xsm3pfmz32jfplyi/wish/3909113451 In the 1700s, London’s Bethlem Royal Hospital (known as Bedlam) was notorious for treating mental illness through, and often inhumane, physical coercion rather than therapeutic care. Treatments included cold water immersion, bloodletting, purgatives, and heavy restraints (chains/handcuffs), while patients were notoriously exhibited to the public for amusement until 1770 (Bostridge, n.d.)

]]> 2026-05-12 15:23:18 UTC https://padlet.com/aloffredo5/xsm3pfmz32jfplyi/wish/3909113451 aloffredo5 https://padlet.com/aloffredo5/xsm3pfmz32jfplyi/wish/3909118642 Parrish medical officers in the United Kingdom were required to visit all paupers in their areas four times a year (National Archives, n.d).

]]> 2026-05-12 15:27:25 UTC https://padlet.com/aloffredo5/xsm3pfmz32jfplyi/wish/3909118642 aloffredo5 https://padlet.com/aloffredo5/xsm3pfmz32jfplyi/wish/3909122758 By the late 1800s, the United States had more than 150 mental hospitals, many of which became severely overcrowded as patient populations rapidly increased beyond available space and resources, leading to criticism of asylum conditions and treatment practices (George, 2023; National Library of Medicine, n.d.)

]]> 2026-05-12 15:30:50 UTC https://padlet.com/aloffredo5/xsm3pfmz32jfplyi/wish/3909122758 aloffredo5 https://padlet.com/aloffredo5/xsm3pfmz32jfplyi/wish/3909129859 The passage of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) expanded access to mental health and substance use disorder services by requiring many health insurance plans to include mental health coverage as an essential health benefit and strengthening mental health parity protections (U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, n.d.).

]]> 2026-05-12 15:36:16 UTC https://padlet.com/aloffredo5/xsm3pfmz32jfplyi/wish/3909129859