Intervention Strategies for Promoting Occupational Participation in Early Mental Health Occupational Therapy in Japan: Focus Group Discussions With Occupational Therapists

TL;DR

This study explores strategies used by Japanese occupational therapists to help patients participate in daily activities during early psychiatric hospitalization.

Contribution

The study identifies four specific intervention strategies used in Japan for promoting occupational participation in early psychiatric care.

Findings

Therapists focus on identifying and understanding clients' occupations.

Educational interventions are used to enhance motivation for occupational participation.

Providing opportunities for occupational experiences helps facilitate change and recovery.

Abstract

This study aimed to identify occupational therapy intervention strategies, specific to Japan, for promoting occupational participation in the early stage of psychiatric hospitalization. Online focus group discussions were conducted with 13 occupational therapists with clinical experience in Japanese psychiatric wards. The transcripts were analyzed using reflexive thematic analysis.

Four themes emerged as strategies that Japanese occupational therapists use (or consider necessary) to foster occupational participation in early psychiatric inpatient care: (1) "Identifying client occupations"; (2) "Enhancing motivation for occupational participation", primarily through educational interventions; (3) "Providing opportunities for occupational experiences that facilitate change"; and (4) "Addressing difficulties in occupational participation arising from mental disorders". Although therapists must contend with the distinctive challenges of an early stage of hospitalization, these strategies represent ongoing iterative efforts to support clients.

The findings underscore the need to deepen clients’ understanding of occupations, boost motivation through early educational engagement, elicit change through actual occupational experiences, and mitigate barriers caused by mental disorders so that meaningful occupational participation can take place. Taken together, these results suggest that occupation-focused interventions can leverage occupational therapists’ expertise and contribute to recovery-oriented practices in Japan, even within the limited timeframe of early hospitalization.