Exploring the UCLA Occupational Therapy Program: A Comprehensive Guide

Occupational therapy is a dynamic healthcare profession focused on helping individuals participate in the activities they want and need to do daily. The UCLA Occupational Therapy program is a gateway to this rewarding career, offering comprehensive education and training. This article delves into the specifics of occupational therapy, the role of occupational therapists, and how the UCLA program and related resources can help aspiring therapists achieve their goals.

Understanding Occupational Therapy

Occupational therapy (OT) helps people participate in meaningful, everyday activities ("occupations") that they want to and need to do. Occupational therapists work with individuals from birth to old age with a range of injuries, illnesses, and disabilities. Occupational therapists use a client-centered approach to understand the person, their abilities, strengths, challenges, and the factors that influence their participation in occupations.

What Does an Occupational Therapist Do?

Occupational therapists (OTs) are healthcare professionals who help individuals develop, recover, or maintain the skills needed for daily living and working. They focus on promoting independence and participation in meaningful activities.

Occupational therapists assess a patient’s functional abilities, identify barriers to participation, and develop personalized intervention plans. They may provide therapeutic activities, recommend assistive devices, modify environments, and teach compensatory strategies to improve a person’s independence and quality of life.

Occupational therapy focuses on improving someone's activities of daily living (or ADLs), like getting dressed or grooming or eating. OTs look for ways to bridge the gap, so that these patients can start working on being independent again and doing the things they were doing before they got sick.

When and Why Do Patients Need Occupational Therapy?

Patients may need occupational therapy when they experience physical, cognitive, or emotional challenges that interfere with their ability to perform daily activities. There are several reasons why patients might require OT:

Physical injuries or disabilities: After accidents, surgeries, or conditions like a stroke, patients may need OT to regain skills necessary for independent living, such as dressing, grooming, and cooking.
Cognitive impairments: Individuals with conditions like dementia or traumatic brain injury may require OT to enhance cognitive abilities, memory, and problem-solving skills.
Mental health conditions: OT can help individuals with mental health disorders manage symptoms, improve coping strategies, and develop social skills.
Developmental delays: Children with developmental delays may benefit from early intervention OT to improve fine motor skills, sensory processing, and self-care abilities.
Chronic conditions: OT can assist individuals with chronic illnesses like arthritis or multiple sclerosis in managing symptoms and maintaining independence in daily life.

UCLA Resources for Aspiring Occupational Therapists

UCLA and its affiliated organizations offer resources for students interested in occupational therapy.

The Society for Physical and Occupational Therapy (SPOT)

The Society for Physical and Occupational Therapy (SPOT) is the only club on the UCLA campus that facilitates students to pursue a career in physical or occupational therapy. SPOT hosts weekly lectures by clinicians, graduate students, graduate school admission officers, and career guidance counselors. Furthermore, it provides opportunities for students to volunteer in local clinics and other relevant health-related events. By increasing awareness and opening doors for hands-on experience, SPOT equips students to pursue a future as therapists.

Allied Health Careers Information

UCLA provides career area guides for allied health careers, including occupational therapy. These guides offer insights into the roles and responsibilities of occupational therapists, educational requirements, and local schools offering relevant programs.

UC-LEND Clinic Care Team

The UC-LEND Clinic Care Team offers a variety of potential services based on individual’s fluctuating support needs. This includes therapists who create individualized treatment plans according to patient needs and circumstances.

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Occupational Therapy vs. Physical Therapy

When it comes to rehabilitation, occupational therapy (OT) and physical therapy (PT) are two essential fields that both aim to enhance a patient's ability to perform daily activities and improve overall well-being. And while they may overlap in some aspects, occupational therapists focus on helping individuals engage in meaningful activities and tasks, while physical therapists focus on improving physical function, mobility, and strength.

Occupational Therapy (OT)

Focus: OTs focus on helping individuals of all ages participate in the activities and tasks that are meaningful and important to them, often referred to as "occupations" or "activities of daily living" (ADLs). These occupations or ADLs can include self-care activities (such as bathing, dressing, and eating), work tasks, leisure activities, and social participation.
Strategies: OTs use a holistic approach to address physical, cognitive, emotional, and environmental factors that may impact a person's ability to engage in daily activities. They may utilize interventions such as adaptive equipment, environmental modifications, sensory integration therapy, cognitive rehabilitation, and skill-building exercises.
Settings: OTs work in a variety of settings, including hospitals, rehabilitation centers, schools, mental health facilities, community health centers, and private practice.

Physical Therapy (PT)

Focus: PTs focus on helping individuals improve their physical function, mobility, and strength (in order to improve the ability to perform ADLs. They assess and treat movement dysfunctions, as well as neurological and musculoskeletal conditions that may result from injury, illness, or disability.
Strategies: PTs use a variety of techniques and modalities to address impairments, relieve pain, restore mobility, and promote functional independence. These may include therapeutic exercises and activites, manual therapy, gait training, balance training, sensory integration, aquatic therapy, taping, and modalities such as biofeedback and electrical stimulation.
Settings: PTs work in diverse settings, including hospitals, outpatient clinics, sports medicine facilities, skilled nursing facilities, schools, and home health agencies.

Meet UCLA Health Occupational Therapists

Leah Dimalanta

Leah Dimalanta is a UCLA Health Occupational Therapist. She discovered occupational therapy after graduating from college and realized that occupational therapy blended medicine and healthcare with being a teacher.

Common Misconceptions About Occupational Therapy

Occupational therapists provide employment or career advice: Occupational therapists focus on improving activities of daily living, not career counseling.
The occupational therapist will have an easy "fix" or "solution" for the patient: The process requires the patient to be an active participant in problem-solving.
Once you accept occupational therapy, you’ll need it forever: Once a person learns what they need to do, then they can be their own therapist and achieve independence.

How to Be a Successful Occupational Therapist

Flexibility: Every patient, every case, every setting is unique.
Solid Communication Skills: Clearly communicate your recommendations to the interdisciplinary team treating each patient.
Passion for the Profession: Be an advocate for your patient.

Education and Training to Become an Occupational Therapist

What Kind of Degree Does an Occupational Therapist Need?

To become an occupational therapist, one needs a master's degree in occupational therapy from an accredited program though many programs also offer doctoral degrees as well.

How Long Does It Take to Become an Occupational Therapist?

The path to becoming an occupational therapist usually involves completing a bachelor's degree (4 years) followed by a master's or doctoral program in occupational therapy (2-3 years). Overall, it takes around 6-7 years of education and clinical training.

Gaining Experience

Many Master’s and Doctoral programs in occupational therapy require that prospective students observe a practicing occupational therapist for at least 40 hours. Another great way to gain exposure to the field is through volunteer opportunities in various settings. Your local hospitals, nursing homes, rehabilitation facilities, and VA Medical Centers have volunteer programs. These programs may be willing to accommodate prospective occupational therapists who wish to observe licensed staff.

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Occupational Therapist Salary and Job Outlook

According to US News, the median salary for occupational therapists was $93,180. The US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) expects over 16,000 new jobs to be added to the field, which is a growth rate of 12%.

Occupational Therapist Jobs: What Kinds of Places Hire Occupational Therapists?

Occupational therapists work in various settings, including hospitals, rehabilitation centers, schools, community health centers, nursing homes, mental health facilities, and private practice.

Advice for Future Occupational Therapists

Leah suggests volunteering in a variety of different settings to get firsthand experience about what kind of situation might be a good fit: "You can do clinical fieldwork in different settings, including hospitals, rehab or skilled nursing facilities, and pediatric clinics. Even in the community, there's different OT outpatient clinics and mental health facilities." Getting some exposure will help to determine which path is going to be the best for you.

Another thing Leah says an occupational therapist needs to be prepared for is the fact that many people-even individuals working in the healthcare profession-don't really understand what occupational therapy is or what occupational therapists do: "A big challenge is defining who we are and what we do to whomever we're working with."

UCLA BrainSPORT Program Doctoral Residency

At the UCLA BrainSPORT program, a new opportunity is available for occupational therapy students to complete their doctoral residency experience with the team. The doctoral residency program focuses mainly on clinical patient care while providing additional opportunities for research and program development. The resident works closely with the interdisciplinary team to provide evidence-based interventions to pediatric and adult patients.

The occupational therapist also collaborates with Operation Mend, a program focused on supporting veterans with a history of traumatic brain injury. Residents will have the opportunity to develop research studies and will have support in publishing their data.

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