Occupational Therapists' Roles in Treating Substance Abuse

Occupational therapy practitioners intervene in a wide variety of settings with people who abuse substances. Recognition of the effect that the substance abuse has had on the occupational functioning of the individual and the family is a unique dimension that the occupational therapist brings to the interdisciplinary approach. By facilitating the skills, daily routines, and occupational roles that the individual values and helping integrate them into the individual's view of self, the occupational therapist can enhance the life-style and support the abstinence of the newly recovering substance abuser.