EFFECTIVENESS OF OCCUPATIONAL THERAPY FOR PEOPLE WITH SYMPTOMS OF ANXIETY

Abstract

The main objective of the empirical study is to establish the effect of the application of occupational therapy on residents living in an institutional environment, who often experience anxiety, distress, social isolation, sadness, which are processes that often lead to a decline in physical and psychological functioning. The high prevalence of these stress-related disorders has impeded the ability of a high number of individuals individuals to participate in regular life activities (Fox et al., 2019). The experimental base of the present research is the Home for Adults with Physical Disabilities “Ilho Voivoda”, Kyustendil, and the research contingent is 44 adults housed in the Home. The recipients of the social service have a wide range of diseases: multiple sclerosis, spina bifida, muscular dystrophy, limb malformations, cerebral palsy, paraplegia, heart attack, stroke, etc. All of them have preserved mental faculties. A test study was conducted with a personality-based questionnaire, created on the basis of the PAI - Personality Assessment Inventory, intended for the study of adults in order to provide information relevant to clinical diagnoses and screening for psychopathology. For the purpose of the present study, items from the PAI were used, which aim to detect the symptoms and phenomenology of anxiety. The Anxiety scale measures traits commonly associated with the experience of anxiety. Item content includes various characteristics of anxiety, including worry, subjective apprehension, and fear of humiliation, as well as the physical signs of tension and stress. The scale is composed of three subscales corresponding to three main modalities of anxiety: Cognitive, Affective and Physiological. The occupational therapy process was designed to move through multiple cycles of problem identification, followed by solution generation, while the main focus remained on occupation and the human factor in the occupational context (Crouch & Alers, 2014). The results after the occupational therapy are indicative of its significant effectiveness. The improved indicators include: the number of residents with anxiety from 41 (93.2%) before occupational therapy was carried out decreased to 21 (47.7%), i.e. by almost 50%.
In conclusion, according to the results of the present study, it can be assumed that occupational therapy occupies a leading position in rehabilitation therapies in social institutions. It provides an opportunity to get rid of negative emotions such as anxiety, anger, dissatisfaction, disappointment, insult, hostility.