INTRODUCTION TO HOLISTIC REHABILITATION IN OCCUPATIONAL THERAPY

Abstract

Holistic rehabilitation in occupational therapy entails the incorporation of various aspects of wellness into meaningful occupation. The chapter provides a rationale for viewing holistic rehabilitation as an alternative to the reductionist, impairment-based view of occupational therapy by emphasizing the centrality of occupation, participation, and person-centered care. The chapter adopts a conceptual and narrative review approach. It integrates philosophical underpinnings of occupational therapy, theoretical frameworks such as CMOP-E, PEO, MOHO, and EC-PAJ, and selected current literature concerning occupation-based practice, environmental adaptation, mind-body connection, and holistic rehabilitation strategies. The chapter concludes that holistic occupational therapy fosters meaningful participation, functional independence, quality of life, and positive rehabilitation outcomes through occupation-based interventions, collaborative goal-setting, and contextualization. The chapter emphasizes that holistic rehabilitation can enhance the professional identity of occupational therapy by ensuring that occupation remains a core component during assessment and intervention. However, pragmatic issues such as payment, time considerations, competing roles from other disciplines, and the absence of holistic measurement standards remain hindrances in its application within routine clinical practice. These discussions support the need for enhanced education, research, policy development, and evidence-based tools to facilitate the widespread use of holistic occupational therapy. Holistic rehabilitation provides an all-inclusive, occupation-based model for dealing with complex rehabilitation issues in occupational therapy. Through the integration of biological, psychological, social, and environmental variables together with occupation, holistic rehabilitation can achieve sustainability in terms of participation and quality of life. Future advancements in education, legislation, research, and alternative models of service delivery will be critical in promoting holistic occupational therapy.