On March 17, 2017 Occupational Therapy celebrates its 100th Anniversary
The “work cure” as occupational therapy was known at the end of the 19th Century focused on patients completing tasks as a key part of recovery. During this time, the practice of medicine was not as we know it today. The scientific method was not a legal standard in medical practice, and charlatans, and snake oil salesmen were free to peddle any therapies they liked. Many long term treatment options involved sanitariums.
This would all soon change due to the Great War, and the contributions of a TB survivor and arts & crafts man named George Barton.
Working with a group of like minded individuals, Barton founded Consolation House in 1914. There Barton promoted the “work cure” that used productive activity as part of the healing process. Barton used his own experiences with TB and losing toes to frostbite as a measure of determining what care worked best for individuals in concert with medical practices. In 1917 Barton gathered experts together again to promote his work cure that he now called “occupation therapy,” and on March 17, 1917 founded the National Society for the Promotion of Occupational Therapy
With the desire for scientific approaches to medicine, and the growing number of injured veterans and the new scientific approaches to medicine, Barton found himself at the forefront of a new movement. Barton was elected as the first president of the National Society for the Promotion of Occupational Therapy but for unknown reasons resigned within a year.
Occupational Therapy remains as important an idea as it was 100 years ago with 150,000 practitioners in the United States, over 250 educational programs, and a belief that independence and full participation in life are vital components of well-being.
For more information read the blog on The Architect and His Cures.