Short-Term Psychiatric Treatment

With the increasing prevalence of short-term psychiatric hospitalization, brought about in part by reduced inpatient insurance coverage, decisions must be made concerning both the nature of treatment and who will provide services. The impracticality of traditional rehabilitative services in these settings has serious implications for the future role of occupational therapists in psychiatric health care. It is proposed that necessary modifications to treatment approaches must and can be made without abandoning fundamental theories of practice. Recommendations are made to upgrade the current level of practice via improved communication of information concerning short-term methodologies, to develop long-range plans to strengthen professionalism, and to make greater use of community-based alternatives for the delivery of services no longer practical in short-term treatment settings.