Becoming an OTA: Mastering the 5 Types of Interventions

Your two-year journey to becoming an occupational therapy assistant (OTA) who is highly skilled (and in-demand) will include learning about the five types of interventions – actions, behaviors, and plans designed to improve a person’s ability to perform daily activities and reach short- and long-term goals.

Having a clear understanding of these interventions will help you as an OTA to collaborate with your clients as they work toward their goals. As a student becoming an OTA, you will study the interventions in-depth. Here’s an overview of them.

5 Occupational Therapy Interventions

Within occupational therapy (OT), there are five primary intervention types:

1. Occupations and activities
2. Preparatory methods and tasks
3. Education and training
4. Advocacy
5. Group intervention.

When you’re a part of the OTA workforce, you’ll likely use a combination of intervention types to ensure each client is making progress toward the goals he or she wants to make. You’ll be working with clients of all ages and from all backgrounds. Everyone you care for will have a unique story and different challenges they’re facing. As you work toward becoming an OTA, pay special attention to the stories you hear and witness unfolding.

A Closer Look: OT Intervention Types

1. In occupational therapy, occupations and activities interventions refer to specific activities that can be done every day or have therapeutic purposes. For example, someone recovering from a stroke needs assistance in how to take a shower while using adaptive equipment.

2. As you’re becoming an OTA, it helps to think of preparatory methods and tasks as ways to warm-up properly for an activity or therapy and support progress they want to make on their goals. Rather than going straight into a physical activity like washing dishes, an OTA might recommend a client use therapy putty to ensure adequate hand strength and flexibility.

3. Education and training may involve not only clients, but also family members, caregivers, and teachers. These interventions may include helping parents understand how their child is using an adaptive tool, such as a weighted blanket, to feel comfortable and secure. Understanding how to wash and dry the weighted blanket (which often has special care instructions) as well as when to offer the child the blanket will increase the effective use and function of the blanket. The OTA might provide this information in both one-on-one or group settings.

4. Clients often need someone to support them in their goals. Advocacy on the part of OTAs could range from personal encouragement to changes involving legislative or civic action. OTAs may also assist clients with methods and behaviors to advocate for their own needs.

5. Occupational therapy treatment sometimes involves participating in group interventions. As an OTA, you’ll be able to identify appropriate, beneficial opportunities in the community or elsewhere that will help keep the progress of clients moving forward. While you’re becoming an OTA, keep your eyes open for collaborative community groups and resources that could benefit future clients.

It Comes Together With Fieldwork Experience

How and when to use each type, and in what combination, will be fully understood after you complete your OTA professional classes and apply that knowledge successfully in the fieldwork experiences.

Becoming an OTA requires many hours of client interaction. The goal of guided fieldwork experiences is to expose you to a wide variety of work settings:

• Schools
• Rehab centers
• Medical offices
• In-house corporate clinics.

The depth of the experience available at a school often depends on the size of the school’s metro area and the structure of the OTA program. Ask questions about the OTA fieldwork experiences to help determine which OTA degree program and school will be the right fit for you.

Getting Started at a Health Care University: CUKC

Cleveland University-Kansas City (CUKC) is a private, nonprofit, healthcare-focused university offering an accelerated A.A.S. in Occupational Therapy Assistant degree program. CUKC is in Overland Park, Kan., a thriving suburb of the Kansas City metro.

The University presents its 8-week OTA courses year-round in a three-semester format. It’s the same amount of learning that takes place in a traditional college program; it just progresses much more quickly. CUKC students can complete the OTA degree in as little as two years.

Once you have your OTA degree and pass the national exam of the National Board for Certification in Occupational Therapy (NBCOT), you will be a Certified Occupational Therapy Assistant (COTA) and ready for one of the top-20 careers for health care support professionals.

Learn more about becoming an OTA and the OTA profession by downloading the free, detailed ebook: Your Complete Guide to an Occupational Therapy Assistant Career.