Occupational Therapy at the Sopimusvuori Association and in the Project Linkki

Abstract

This paper gives an overview of the activities and methods of occupational therapists working in the Sopimusvuori Association in Finland. The Sopimusvuori Association has offered social psychiatric rehabilitation for 30 years utilizing the notion of the therapeutic community. Five occupational therapists work in the Sopimusvuori Association. In this article they describe what kind of activities they implement in the therapeutic communities. The emphasis in this article focuses the work of two occupational therapists in a five-year project called "Linkki", which was set up to expand the social network and enhance peer support among the rehabilitants in the Sopimusvuori Association. The challenge in social psychiatric rehabilitation is to develop suitable methods that raise the client’s motivation and develops his skills to manage in daily life among the people with psychiatric diagnosis. The group method has proved to be a promising model in supporting the rehabilitation process generally and it can be utilized in the occupational therapists’ work, as well. The authors of this article are as follows: Päivi Karjalainen, MHSc, Occupational Therapist, Executive Manager in Sopimusvuori Association has written the Introduction. The team members of the Project Linkki —Minna Koivuranta, MSc, Psychologist, Project Manager; Leena Ulmanen, Occupational Therapist and Anna Yläinen, Occupational Therapist —are the authors of the chapter "The Project Linkki". The author of the chapter Day Center is written by Satu Heinonen, Occupational Therapist, and the chapter about Clubhouse Näsinkulma is written by Leena Salminen, Occupational Therapist.