Prospective occupational therapists—those completing their first educational programs—may not be familiar with the full spectrum of occupational therapy specialties.

With this in mind, occupational therapy is a highly diverse field with the potential to make a significant impact on various populations and individuals facing a wide range of conditions.¹ Understanding the different types of occupational therapy specialties can guide students—and occupational therapists exploring new career paths—to discover a niche where they can truly pursue their passions.

This blog is designed to help them do just that; below, we’re exploring seven different occupational therapy types in detail to give prospective clinicians a clear picture of their various career opportunities. We’ll outline common interventions and a few typical work settings related to each specialty. If you’re not sure where to start your search for your perfect match in occupational therapy specialization, read on.

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1. Pediatric Occupational Therapy 

One type of occupational therapy focuses on pediatric care—services designed to support children and teens.² Pediatric occupational therapists (OTs) help young patients develop the skills they need for everyday activities like learning, playing, and socializing with other kids.

Common Interventions

What do pediatric OTs do to help patients accomplish goals? Common pediatric occupational therapy services and interventions include:

• Sensory integration therapy
• Fine motor skill development
• Behavioral techniques

Like other occupational therapist specialties, pediatric work is all about helping kids achieve developmentally appropriate skills that will support their overall quality of life. For this reason, common goals for pediatric OTs include:

• Building functional motor skills for everyday tasks like tying shoes, grooming, and dressing
• Supporting safe play strategies that can help kids flourish in social situations (i.e., using playground equipment safely)
• Helping children and their caregivers build healthy, consistent routines for everyday life

Work Settings

Pediatric OTs can work in a wide variety of settings, including:

• Schools and early childhood care centers
• Pediatric hospitals, outpatient clinics, and primary care offices
• Early intervention programs
• Community health facilities

These options highlight various settings where occupational therapists can work. However, pediatric OTs may work in less conventional settings, too. If you’re considering a career in pediatrics, you can also explore opportunities in home health, mental health, and nonprofit organizations.

2. Geriatric Occupational Therapy 

Occupational therapists can work with patients across the age spectrum—including elderly patients. This age group is the primary focus of geriatric occupational therapists, who devote their clinical practice to helping older adults maintain independence and quality of life as they age.³

Common Interventions

Interventions for geriatric patients—elderly people—look very different from interventions for younger patients. These geriatric occupational therapy treatment services can include:

• Fall prevention – Helping adults develop the skills and preventative measures they need to prevent falls and injuries as their bodies change
• Adaptive equipment training – Teaching older adults how to use supportive devices like wheelchairs, walkers, canes, and other technologies
• Cognitive support – Offering physical support to patients facing lifestyle changes as the result of cognitive conditions (like dementia)

Work Settings

Like pediatric OTs, geriatric OTs can work in a wide range of environments, including clinical facilities and settings like:

• Nursing homes
• Assisted living communities
• Home health

However, OTs with experience in geriatric care can also discover fulfilling careers in non-clinical spaces like:

• Nonprofit organizations (in leadership roles, for example)
• Healthcare technology companies
• Elder care advocacy systems or government agencies

3. Mental Health Occupational Therapy 

The role of occupational therapy in mental health care is expanding. As mental health experts continue to recognize the physical impacts of mental health conditions, they’re increasingly turning to experts with practical physiological knowledge who can support patient success—like occupational therapists.⁴

Common Interventions

Mental health OTs help patients manage their mental health conditions and improve their daily functioning.  So, clinical interventions are often focused on helping patients build:

• Coping strategies – Processes and tools to manage everyday symptoms of mental health challenges (e.g., executive dysfunction, fatigue, or procrastination)
• Stress management tools – Techniques patients can use to manage acute stress episodes (like anxiety attacks) and ongoing, chronic stress
• Daily routines – Everyday procedures for self-care, work, and recreation that can help people with mental health conditions find fulfillment

Developing essential occupational therapist skills like active listening is crucial for those in this specialized area of care.

Work Settings

Mental health OTs typically work in highly specific environments like:

• Psychiatric hospitals
• Outpatient mental health programs
• Community health centers and clinics
• Substance abuse rehabilitation centers

However, mental health OTs can explore even deeper niches specifically related to individual mental health issues (like ADHD or PTSD) or unique symptoms of mental health conditions (like mobility challenges, muscle atrophy, or disordered eating).

Helping patients struggling with mental health challenges discover improved functioning and optimal quality of life can be highly rewarding for OTs looking to make an impact.

4. Rehabilitation and Physical Disability Occupational Therapy 

Many occupational therapists specialize in working with patients with disabilities. These can be:

• Short-term disabilities like injuries or limitations during surgery recovery
• Long-term disabilities like mobility disorders, paralysis, and other chronic conditions

Common Interventions

OTs help patients with disabilities recover from physical injuries and surgeries, but they can also help people with chronic conditions gain (and maintain) physical independence. That can look like:

• Providing mobility training – Helping patients build strength, retrain their muscles, or navigate changing physical capacities over time
• Managing pain – Introducing patients to pain management techniques like physical therapy, exercise, stretching, and other tactics
• Teaching adaptive techniques – Helping individuals unlock new processes and approaches to everyday tasks like bathing, dressing, and transportation

Work Settings

OTs working in physical rehabilitation or with patients with disabilities often work in clinical settings like:

• Short- and long-term rehabilitation centers
• Outpatient clinics
• Hospital and acute inpatient care facilities
• Private practices
• Home health

However, nonprofit organizations, government agencies, and other organizations also benefit from the expertise of OTs in these specialties. Experienced OTs have a unique ability to contribute to programs, policies, and initiatives that could make a difference in the lives of disabled people.

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5. Occupational Therapy in Schools and Educational Settings 

OTs also play crucial roles in educational settings, and this can take a variety of different forms. OTs in the educational space can:⁵

• Support students with exceptional needs as they pursue academic goals
• Contribute to student and faculty health systems in higher education 
• Perform and support research related to the OT field
• Serve as instructors in occupational therapy education programs

If you’re an academically-minded OT, there are endless opportunities available to you in education.

Common Interventions

Educational OT interventions are highly dependent on the specialty an OT pursues.

OTs working in K – 12 spaces often help students:

• Improve their sensory processing skills
• Learn handwriting skills
• Adapt to the classroom environment 
• Build social skills

Some of these skills overlap with the interventions OTs in higher education might use to support students and faculty as a part of on-campus health systems. These OTs often help patients:

• Recover from injuries and illnesses
• Develop unique social and recreational skills needed to thrive in college
• Unlock adaptive techniques for mobility, transportation, and coursework

Research-focused OTs often create and manage studies, collect data, and publish reports that can help the field develop new techniques and modalities. And, of course, instructional OTs create curricula to support the OTs of tomorrow.

Work Settings

OTs with interest in education have a few workplace options:

• K – 12 schools
• Higher education institutions (colleges and universities)
• Professional training programs and technical education facilities
• Research hubs and clinical trial organizations

6. Community-Based Occupational Therapy 

While we’ve touched on community-based opportunities in a few of the sections above, this is a large niche that presents ample opportunities for OTs looking to make an impact on a wide patient population—in many cases, populations underserved by the medical system.⁶

Community health efforts are designed to support overall health and well-being via special programs, low-cost services, and other initiatives.

Common Interventions

Common interventions and services OTs provide in the community health space include:

• Health promotion programs – Special initiatives designed to raise awareness or increase care access to a wide population of community members
• Community education – Efforts designed to inform prospective patients, caretakers, and other community stakeholders on topics related to overall public health
• Accessibility consulting – Expertise that can inform infrastructure, policy, public services, and other publicly-funded efforts to improve health outcomes for communities

Work Settings

OTs working in community health can explore opportunities with a wide range of employers like:

• Community centers
• Nonprofit organizations
• Public health initiatives and task forces

However, other entities may also devote resources to public health advancement. These might include:

• Government agencies
• Private practices
• Colleges and universities
• Hospital systems

7. Occupational Therapy in Ergonomics and Workplace Wellness 

For OTs looking to get outside of the clinical space or work for more traditional employers in the private sector, there are ample opportunities in ergonomics and workplace wellness. OTs can contribute to:

• Workplace wellness programs
• Ergonomic and safety assessments
• Employee health advocacy

Common Interventions

In these scenarios, OTs may:

• Perform ergonomic evaluations – Determine how workers can move throughout the workplace or interact with equipment in safe, efficient, and protective ways
• Support injury prevention – Help companies establish safety protocols, trainings, and standard operating procedures to support overall employee safety
• Create workplace modifications – Build unique, bespoke systems and processes for workers with physical challenges or disabilities

Work Settings

OTs working in this specialty often find themselves in environments like corporate offices or industrial settings. However, OTs working in consulting roles could contribute their knowledge and expertise to a wide variety of industries—from manufacturing to human resources.

Find Your Path in Occupational Therapy 

There are many types of occupational therapy jobs available in today’s healthcare environment. For those wondering, “Is occupational therapy a good career,” the opportunities for making a positive impact are nearly endless.

Whether you’re just starting your career journey or you’re an existing OT looking to pivot to a new specialty, you need an education program that can equip you with the skills you need to make a positive impact.

Our Master’s in Occupational Therapy program provides comprehensive training, a chance to explore specialties, and hands-on learning opportunities that provide a rock-solid foundation for the OTs of tomorrow.

Ready to find your niche in OT? Reach out to our admissions office to learn more about our program.

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Sources: 

1. “What Is Occupational Therapy?” American Occupational Therapy Association. 2024. https://www.aota.org/about/what-is-ot. Accessed August 29, 2024. 
2. “Pediatric Occupational Therapy?” Cleveland Clinic. June 21, 2023. https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/treatments/25094-pediatric-occupa…. Accessed August 29, 2024.
3. “Occupational Therapy for Older Adults.” University Hospitals. 2024. https://www.uhhospitals.org/health-information/health-and-wellness-libr…. Accessed August 29, 2024. 
4. “Occupational Therapy for Mental Health.” Johns Hopkins Medicine. 2024. https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/physical-medicine-rehabilitation/specia…. Accessed August 29, 2024. 
5. “School Systems.” American Occupational Therapy Association. 2024. https://www.aota.org/practice/practice-settings/schools-early-intervent…. Accessed August 29, 2024. 
6. “What Is Community Health?” American Hospital Association. 2024. https://www.aha.org/center/community-health-well-being. Accessed August 29, 2024.