What are the core elements and real-life applications of community-based occupational therapy?
Answer
Community-based OT extends familiar therapeutic skills into the everyday environments where life happens, widening scope and complexity while staying rooted in participation. The core elements include:
Whole-person, context-focused assessment: Therapists consider the full profile—physical, cognitive, emotional, social—within real settings. Unlike clinics, public spaces can’t be modified on demand, so preparation, graded exposure, and collaboration with community partners are key.
Environmental adaptation and advocacy: At home, OTPs may install grab bars or redesign bathrooms; in the community, they advocate for feasible solutions (e.g., stair lifts, safer railings) and coach clients to navigate imperfect environments.
Caregiver and family training: Families learn to reinforce strategies during daily routines, multiplying therapeutic impact.
Graded intervention across compensation and restoration: Plans blend compensatory tools and restorative training, often requiring longer sessions and layered problem-solving (e.g., full grocery trips vs. discrete home tasks).
This Ask the Expert is an edited excerpt from the course, “Community-Based Occupational Therapy,” presented by Krista Covell-Pierson, OTR/L, BCB-PMD.
Krista Covell-Pierson, OTR/L, BCB-PMD
Krista Covell-Pierson, OTR/L, BCB-PMD, founded her private practice, Covell Care and Rehabilitation, which helps clients of all ages become safer, more independent, and engaged in their homes and communities through a mobile outpatient model. Krista developed this model from the ground up. It allows clients to access OT, PT, SLP, Driving Rehabilitation, Pelvic Health Therapy, Fitness Instructors, and Massage Therapy in their home and community settings. It allows therapists to have ownership in their practice, which improves the work-life balance we all strive for. She is always open to speaking to interested therapists about business opportunities. She graduated from Colorado State University with a social work and occupational therapy degree and is also board-certified in biofeedback for pelvic muscle dysfunction. Krista is the former president of the Occupational Therapy Association of Colorado and has been a speaker at the association's annual conference for pelvic health and entrepreneurship. She speaks regularly at community events, senior centers, health fairs, and professional organizations. In addition to her deep passion for working with her clients, Krista enjoys providing coaching services to therapists to assist in developing their private practices, cultivating their passions, and thriving in their careers.
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