INCLUDING THE CONSUMER AND ENVIRONMENT IN OCCUPATIONAL-THERAPY TREATMENT PLANNING

This study was designed to examine the extent to which occupational th erapists include the consumer and the environment in treatment plannin g. Twenty-nine registered occupational therapists who subscribe to the Mental Health Specialty Interest Section or the Physical Disabilities Specialty Interest Section completed treatment plans based on a singl e case study. The treatment plans were analyzed based on goal setting and treatment activities. Data indicated therapists frequently identif ied goals not addressed by the consumer and demonstrated limited consi deration of the context in the selection of treatment activities. Ther apists identified as many short-term goals not related to the consumer 's stated goal as they identified goals that were related to the consu mer's goal. T-test comparisons indicated that therapists significantly more often selected simulated over real activities and activities aim ed at changing the person over activities aimed at changing the enviro nment. These preliminary results from a small, self-selected sample su ggest that current occupational therapy treatment planning is not cons istent with consumer-oriented practice models.