Abstract
Have occupational therapists lost the art of using occupations as therapy? This article proposes that in moving away from its art and craft roots towards an increasingly scientific paradigm over the past 50 years or so, the profession has jettisoned one of its core values ± creativity. The loss of awareness of and appreciation for creativity in the therapeutic dynamic has radically altered and constrained the practice of many occupational therapists and engendered a shift away from using occupations in healing.
An illustration drawn from continuing care for older people demonstrates how occupational therapy is failing the field of chronic disability. It suggests that the profession must urgently consider the establishment of a new kind of practitioner for chronic disability settings, allied to but independent from occupational therapists.
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