Major trends in the use of occupation as therapy in Ireland 1863-1963

Abstract

Purpose-Major gaps exist in the documented history of occupational therapy in Ireland. The purpose of this paper is to contribute to filling these gaps by providing an overview of three major transitions in Irish occupational therapy in the century preceding the opening of St. Joseph's College of Occupational Therapy in 1963. Research on occupational therapy's past is valuable not only for recording and commemorating key events and individuals but also for allowing reflection on and questioning of contemporary practice and assumptions. Design/methodology/approach-This descriptive paper draws on multiple documentary sources to present an overview of the first 100 years of the use of occupation as therapy/occupational therapy in Ireland from 1863 to 1963. Findings-Three major transitions in occupational therapy in Ireland are presented: from moral treatment and the use of occupation as therapy to medical patronage of occupational therapy, from medical patronage to the early/pre-professional era and finally from the pre-professional era to the era of professionally qualified occupational therapists. To illustrate these transitions, a small number of individuals and their contributions are discussed including

An oral history of occupational therapy education in the Republic of Ireland

“…The conflicting perspectives on craft as therapy described in the previous paragraph were partially due to participants' efforts to distinguish themselves from existing pre-professional workers and elevate occupational therapy's status. The findings of this study reveal relationships with pre-professional workers that were challenging but sometimes respectful and positive, which further reflects the findings of Alaszewski and Meltzers (1979) and the literature reviewed in Pettigrew et al (2017).…”

“…This is similar to findings from the mid-1980s by Williams et al (1987), who identified that occupational therapists did not use crafts and other diversional treatment in order to maintain their image with other professionals. This is commensurate with occupational therapy's ambivalent relationship with craft and diversion; however, diversional occupations have also been proposed to have significant therapeutic value (Friedland, 1988) and had a significant therapeutic role during World War I (Pettigrew et al, 2017). Engagement and participation in meaningful occupation is currently a key concern in occupational science and occupational therapy (Morris and Cox, 2017).…”

Eamon O’Sullivan: 20th-century Irish psychiatrist and occupational therapy patron

“…Eamon O'Sullivan started writing his textbook of occupational therapy in 1935; when H.K. Lewis published it in 1955, it was one of the first European psychosocial textbooks on occupational therapy (Pettigrew et al, 2017). It is evident that his book was a success, selling at least 1000 copies (O'Sullivan, 1965(O'Sullivan, /2007c.…”

“…These developments were led by psychiatrists who advocated and supported occupational therapy. Professionally qualified occupational therapists did not begin to practise in Ireland until the late 1940s, so early departments were staffed by nurses, attendants and/or craft teachers (Pettigrew, Robinson, Dunne and O’Mahoney, 2017).…”

Opinion piece: history matters – evidence and proposals for action

“…Infectious diseases illustrate the relevance of history. During the twentieth century, tuberculous, poliomyelitis and HIV-AIDsweresignificant in the development ofthe profession in South Africa (Concha, 2014), Ireland (Pettigrew et al, 2017a), Israel , Mexico (Cascajares, 1998) and Mozambique (Martins, 2016). In March 2020, the World Health Organisation declared the outbreak of coronavirus (Covid-19) as a global pandemic.…”