Service Directory

There is no better place to take in emerging technology in occupation therapy than Rehab Week. I had the opportunity to attend the 2017 conference in London and I am excited to update you on the technology advances that are coming to rehabilitation. Whether you are looking to invest in new rehab tech or simply feel inspired, this post is for you.'

​

Author: Lauren Sheehan, OTD, OTR/L
OT Potential > OT Blog - 14th September 2017

​

[US-BASED WEBSITE; BLOG AVAILABLE WORLDWIDE]

How virtual therapy can lead to real-world healing

​

Virtual reality s promise doesn't end with games and movies. Researchers and doctors are turning to VR for everything from neuroscience, to psychiatry, to occupational therapy. Virtual reality headsets and cameras can supplement - and in some cases even improve - occupational therapy...
 

Author: Evan Thomas
Newsy.com - 19th May 2017

​

[US-BASED WEBSITE - ARTICLE + VIDEO AVAILABLE WORLDWIDE]

Episode 14:Develop VR Games For Stroke Survivors, Interview With Dr Rachel Proffitt
 

In this interview, Dr Proffitt shares her work and the experience that led her to become a passionate “game nerd” working for survivors.

A Stroke Focus Podcast - Episode 14
 

[PODCAST RECORDED IN THE US - AVAILABLE TO LISTEN WORLDWIDE]

Effective implementation of virtual reality (VR) as a treatment modality needs to be practical, accessible, and affordable to the client. The Nintendo Wii and Xbox Kinect are two examples of systems that demonstrate those traits comparatively to the high-end VR products that can cost upwards of $75,000.'

​

Read more >

​

Author: Grant Mitchell - Millennial OT
A guest blog on My OT Spot

​

[US WEBSITE; BLOG AVAILABLE WORLDWIDE]

Rehabilitation professionals have long accepted the belief that engagement in meaningful activity contributes to human development and can enhance health and wellbeing. More recently, theorists have begun to discuss the importance not only of engagement in such activities, but the experience one has while engaging in them. With this shift, it is important for scholars of rehabilitation, in particular occupational therapy theorists and clinicians, to develop better ways to describe and measure occupational experience.

Considering how an understanding of occupational experience can be enhanced by taking up constructs in virtual reality theory that are similar to those in occupational therapy and occupational science, such as immersion, presence, flow, and embodiment. Correspondingly, the growing field of virtual reality can benefit from occupational therapists' and occupational scientists' work on occupational presence, therapeutic occupation, and the adaptation of contexts (including virtual contexts) to fit individual needs.'

​

> To read more, log-in to IJTR with your institution's account - via OpenAthens or Shibboleth - to access the full text.

​

Author: Amanda C Foran
International Journal of Therapy and Rehabilitation (IJTR) - 16th August 2013

​

[AVAILABLE WORLDWIDE]

Borderline personality disorder (BPD) is a severe mental disorder characterised by a dysfunctional pattern of affective instability, impulsivity and disturbed interpersonal relationships (American Psychiatric Association, 2013). People with BPD are at increased risk of self-harm, suicidal behaviours, completed suicides and often have co-occurring disorders, such as depression, anxiety disorders, substance abuse, and eating disorders (Lieb et al., 2004). BPD has been conceptualised as a disorder of the emotion regulation system (Linehan, 1993; Crowell et al., 2009). Even when they try to modulate their own emotions, people with BPD have high negative emotions as their baseline emotional state, they are unusually sensitive, respond intensely, and are slow to calm down (Linehan, 2015)...'

 

'...Immersive VR is proving useful as a new tool clinical psychology therapists can use to enhance the effectiveness of cognitive-behaviuor therapy to treat many psychological disorders. Cognitive Behavioural Therapy using VR exposure therapy has been shown to be efficacious in the treatment of anxiety disorders (Opris et al., 2012), like spider phobia (Garcia-Palacios et al., 2002; Hoffman et al., 2003), fear of flying (Rothbaum et al., 1996; Krijn et al., 2004), social phobia (Kampmann et al., 2016), small animal phobia (Botella et al., 2016), and claustrophobia (Botella et al., 1999)...'

Read more >

Authors: Maria V. Nararro-Haro, Hunter G. Hoffman, Azucena Garcia-Palacios, Mariana Sampaio, Wadee Alhalabi, Karyn Hall and Marsha Linehan.

Frontiers in Psychology - November 2016 - Volume 7, Article 1573 (Case Report)

VR brings dramatic change to mental health care. Author: Charlie Fink
Forbes online > Tech > Medicine - 25th October 2017

​

[US-BASED WEBSITE - ARTICLE + VIDEOS AVAILABLE WORLDWIDE]

Virtual reality in your OT practice. I think we can safely assume that we are only beginning to see the potential that VR has for transforming occupational therapy (as well as physical therapy and speech therapy)...
 

Author: Lauren Sheehan, OTD, OTR/L
OT Potential > OT Blog - 22nd June 2017

​

[US-BASED WEBSITE - BLOG AVAILABLE WORLDWIDE]

Virtual reality therapy for stroke patients is just as effective as standard physical therapy, a new study found. Researchers discovered that virtual reality therapy improved arm, hand and finger movement after a patient had lost muscle control due to a stroke...

​

Read more >

​

Author: Kayla Brantley
DailyMail.com - 15th November 2017

​

[UK-BASED WEBSITE - ARTICLE + VIDEO AVAILABLE WORLDWIDE]

Virtual rehabilitation with video games: A new frontier for occupational therapy' 
 

Author: Jonathan Halton
Occupational Therapy Now - January/February 2008 - Volume 10, Issue 1
 

[CANADIAN ASSOCIATION OF OCCUPATIONAL THERAPISTS - JOURNAL ARTICLE]

RAPAEL Smart Glove is a high-tech rehab device. Starting the training is as simple as wearing the glove, connecting to the “RAPAEL” app and proceeding to play the rehabilitation games.

 

Neofect
'We will build hope for healthier lives as we provide opportunities of rehabilitation through technological innovation to anyone.

​

[US-BASED COMPANY - SERVICES AVAILABLE WORLDWIDE]

Rachel Proffitt, Occupational therapist, assistant professor, stroke researcher extraordinaire, video game nerd. Designing and testing customised video games for rehabilitation.'

 

Follow Rachel Proffitt on Twitter >

​

[US: MISSOURI-BASED OT - TWITTER ACCOUNT AVAILABLE WORLDWIDE]

Special Effect, Levelling the playing field for people with disabilities.

​

We put fun and inclusion back into the lives of people with physical disabilities, by helping them to play video games. By using technology ranging from modified joypads to eye-control, we're finding a way for people to play to the very best of their abilities.
 

But we're not just doing it for fun. By levelling the playing field, we're bringing families and friends together and having a profoundly positive impact on therapy, confidence and rehabilitation.
 

How we can help

​

If you have a physical disability that limits or stops you from playing video games, get in touch.
We have a range of accessible gaming equipment to try out in our Games Room in Oxfordshire, and there’s also the option of a home visit if your disability limits your ability to travel. We may also be able to loan you equipment following an assessment, so you can try before you buy.
 

We’ll do our best to help you play the games you want to play - and if your needs change, we’ll come back to look at alternative solutions that will keep you going to the best of your abilities.

There’s no charge for any of our help, so if you think we might be able to assist, get in touch.

​

[UK: OXFORDSHIRE-BASED CHARITY]