Ok, from a mental health point of view an occupational therapist assists with many things. For starters we refuse to call people victims, sufferers and patients. We refuse to say "This is Sue and shes schizophrenic." Mental illness should not be a label.
In acute mental wards, clients have either been self referred or sectioned against their will by their family or someone else due to them being a safety risk to themselves or someone else. OTs are one of the few trusted professionalsclients feel free to go to as we're the only ones who encourage activity. We are against clients being secluded as there is absolutely no evidence out there that this is therapeutic. We advocate for and run psychoeducation groups, support groups, activity groups and episode management, anger management, cognitive behavioural therapy, art therapy, teaching social, financial and work related skills etc the list will always go on.
We also work in psychiatric prison wards, community rehab, and with clients and their families in their homes.
This area in my undergraduate career has always been an interest of mine. I myself have a history of post traumatic stress disorder so from a professional point of view clients tend to like me as I actually empathise with what theyre going through.
As an enthusiastic academic and lover of Jesus I am still learning however I refuse to believe that this topic is only black and white. My non christian professors have taught me for three years the importance of the four areas that make up our health - phyical, emotional, social and spiritual. People who have not experienced working with these clients and are christian most often believe that all these people need is to be exorcised of demons and thumped on the head with a bible. This is such an ignorant and uneducated view. Majority of people who experience mental illness symptoms usually have suffered trauma in at least 3 of those key areas of health. I DO believe in denomic attacks and I DO believe that everyone needs to be prayed for in this area whether your well or unwell.
Paul said that our bodys are like a temple and we should treat it accordingly. Our body I believe also incorporates the emotional, spirit and social within us as well. You may well be successfully exorcised by a pastor, but whose to say the demons wont come back again? All because the person hasnt been taught how to keep the door closed on that part of their life. For example, you may be a young woman who suffered from being gang raped, constant emotional manipulation by your mother and now deal with severe depression and you were caught trying to end your life and were thus put in a psychiatric ward by said mother. You dont need to be a rocket scientist to know rape will screw up all four of those areas.
In a lock up ward this woman will most likely be put on antidepressants. Depression is such an ugly disease in that in its severest form it actually slows your muscles down and your appetite. These help in that they get the person out of bed and eating. It gets them out of bed yes but its only curing the symptoms not the source. As an OT I would refer her to counselling and a rape support group (with no men) and do cognitive behavioural therapy with her (changing thought patterns around self worth), I would also monitor her recovery and introduce anxiety management, teach her any skill or activity she wanted to learn, relaxation techniques, relationships/boundaries etc I would then find a supportive group of people for her on the outside and get her connected to a community group and services.
I think Christianity has 3 points - Salvation, Fellowship, and Witnessing. In my opinion I think many people just skip straight to the witnessing without actually having practice in building fellowship. There is one important statistic we have here in New Zealand which is very scary and the basis for my ministry when I graduate. Of those who have come through acute wards and then reenter community, those with no family/community support are 4 times as likely to attempt suicide than those with support. And half of those who attempt suicide succeed - if not they end straight back in a psychiatric ward and are back to square one.
Its all about community and guided assistance to make a new life. And the main thing we should do as christians is to be loving, patient, and prayerful. Some people are just not ready and refuse to hear about Christ. Thats under Gods timing not ours and we should not be disgruntled and demand immediate conversion from them. If you want a person recovering from a psychotic episode to convert then include them. Help them feel welcome. Ask them to educate youon what they deal with. Go with them as a friend to a support group. You must be willing to form a relationship with them first if you want them near Jesus. We are after all his ambassadors of love. Lastly medicine for mental illness is not satanic, they are incrediably helpful and medicine has come a long way in improving lives in history. However I do believe doctors should not prescribe pills like candy, like its common to these days. Every case is multifactorial and all sides need to be looked at. I personally deal with anxiety and periodic depression and after praying about it with my family have decided not to take meds. I choose this because I have fantastic loving support around me. Some however are not as lucky, and surviving without medication is just impossible for the time being.
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