Valuing Occupational Therapy as a Complex Intervention

Abstract

This opinion piece introduces a framework for understanding and valuing occupational therapy as a complex intervention. The nature of complexity, particularly non-linearity and unpredictability, is summarised. The factors that characterise occupational therapy as a complex intervention are then presented. These include the visible actions that constitute the occupational therapy process; the centrality of activities and occupation in the therapist's thinking and actions; the shifts of perspectives in occupational therapy intervention; the client-centred nature of practice; and the importance of the therapist's thinking skills. All these factors elucidate why we should be proud of the complexity of occupational therapy and why a simple definition is unattainable.