Industrial therapy

It is a treatment system that encompasses a broad range of treatments based on the principle that a person working in the industry has physical, emotional, vocational, educational, psychological, and social needs that must be met in order to obtain successful full employment or, in the case of injury, rehabilitation and re-employment.

Advantages and aims of industrial therapy –

• To assess the patient's general level of employment.
  

• Working hours, timekeeping and social contacts can be tried out in terms of or in respect of the industry.-
  

• Travelling to work, interacting with others, and being connected to the hospital may necessitate learning to relearn.
  

• Shelter workshops for long-term patients with capacity below industrial standards and function can be considered in assessment training and future planning.

Role of an occupational therapist in industrial therapy –

1. The organisation of an industrial therapy department or unit.
   

2. Assessment of factors affecting the patient’s response to work.
   

3. Application of task-breakdown principles.
   

4. Analyses of therapeutic objectives.
   

5. Organising group activities.
   

6. Determining the method of reward or incentives.
   

7. An occupational therapist develops initiatives, concentration, memory, involvement in work and relationships between colleagues.
   

8. It also evaluates the appropriateness of a return to work, or the first opportunity to improve skills and acquire new ones.