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Unsure about the scope of a mental health OT?

Be Well OT specialises in supporting adults with mental health and psychosocial disabilities.

Check out the diagnoses our experienced mental health OTs are equipped to support:

Anxiety Disorders

Anxiety disorders are a group of mental health conditions that cause fear, dread and other symptoms that are out of proportion to the situation at hand. Anxiety disorders differ from normal feelings of nervousness or anxiousness that often persist well beyond anxiety provoking situations, impacting on a persons ability to function within their day to day life.

There are many types of anxiety disorders including Generalised Anxiety Disorder (GAD), phobias and panic disorders. Some of the more common anxiety disorders have been listed with further information.

  • Generalised anxiety can be classified as excessive anxiety and constant worry about many things. The focus of the anxiety could span across all aspects of life with overwhelming worry and concern, impacting on a person's ability to engage in multiple activities within one day. A person may be diagnosed with a generalised anxiety disorder if:

    • the anxiety and worry have been present most days over a 6-month period

    • the person finds it difficult to control their anxiety

  • People with panic disorders have frequent and unexpected panic attacks. These attacks are characterised by a sudden wave of fear or discomfort or a sense of losing control even when there is no clear danger or trigger. It is important to note that not everyone who experiences a panic attack will develop panic disorder.

    Panic attacks often include physical symptoms that might feel like a heart attack, such as trembling, tingling, or rapid heart rate. They can occur at any time with many people with panic disorder worry about the possibility of having another attack.

  • Somatic symptom disorder is when a person has a significant focus on physical symptoms, such as pain, weakness or shortness of breath, to a level that results in major distress and/or interruptions to their functioning and day to day activities. A person may experience excessive thoughts, feelings and actions relating to physical symptoms, despite the symptoms having no diagnosable medical condition associated with the symptoms. It is important to note that a person with Somatic Symptom Disorder is not faking their symptoms. 

  • Agoraphobia involves fearing and avoiding places or situations that might cause panic and feelings of being trapped, helpless or embarrassed. A person may fear an actual or upcoming situation, for example, fears of using public transport or being in open or enclosed spaces. This disability impacts on a persons ability to engage with others socially, explore new opportunities and learn new skills.

  • Social anxiety disorder is an intense, persistent fear of being watched and judged by others. This fear can affect work, school, and other daily activities. It can even make it hard to make and keep friends. Social anxiety will often keep people from leaving their home, attending social gatherings or exploring new hobbies.

  • Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) can be broken down within the title. Obsessions are unwanted and intrusive thoughts and fears that correspond with compulsions in which repetitive behaviours are engaged in to ease distress. The actions create distressing fear with links to traumatic thoughts that keep people engaged in the recurring function. OCD can isolate people, prevent them from trying new things and even talking about their concerns. 

Mood Disorders

Mood disorders primarily affect your emotional state. They can cause persistent and intense sadness, elation and/or anger. Mood disorders can include diagnosis such as depression and bipolar disorders. 

This category of mental illness impacts on affect and mood resulting in difficulties around motivation, low or manic moods, exacerbated moods and impulsiveness. Functional complications involved with mood disorders can include getting out of bed, engaging in self cares or self management tasks and maintaining routines/ organisation. 

  • Depression involves a depressed mood or loss of pleasure or interest in activities for long periods of time. It is different from regular mood changes and low feelings about everyday life. It can impact all aspects of life, including relationships with family, friends and community. It can also result in an inability to leave the bed, excessive crying and self neglect.

  • Bipolar Affective Disorder causes unusual shifts in a person’s mood, energy, activity levels, and concentration. These shifts can make it difficult to carry out day-to-day tasks. Different types of Bipolar Affective Disorder will impact a person differently, requiring alternative types of interventions to manage their symptoms.

    Functional limitations of Bipolar Affective Disorder might include excessive spending, bizarre behaviours that may cause reputation damage and/or risk to harm of self or suicide. 

Post Traumatic Stress Disorder

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is caused by an extremely stressful or terrifying event, either by being part of it or witnessing it. Symptoms may include flashbacks, nightmares, severe anxiety and uncontrollable thoughts about the event. Symptoms of PTSD can last a very long time and can impact on a person's ability to function within their activities of daily living through keeping them in bed, excessive crying due to flashbacks and developing fears that prevent engagement in activities.

Complex Post Traumatic Stress Disorder

Complex Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (C-PTSD) is similar to PTSD however comes with more severe and complex symptoms.  It can be caused by any type of long-term trauma and can usually involve situations where little control is felt or feeling as though someone is unable to escape. Long-term trauma can have a range of effects that lead to complex PTSD. C-PTSD can impact on daily functioning with severe flashbacks, feeling unsafe and an inability to regulate emotions for engagement in activities

Psychotic Disorders

Psychotic Disorders are a group of mental illnesses that all have signs of psychosis. Psychosis can be identified through a cluster of symptoms and are described as "losing touch with reality”.

Psychosis involves disruptions to a persons thoughts and the way they interpret their thoughts in which it makes it hard to interpret what is reality. Psychosis can interrupt a person's functioning through impaired cognition, reduced ability to understand reality and reduced feelings of safety. 

  • Schizophrenia is a mental health condition that affects how someone thinks, feels and functions. It can result in a mix of hallucinations, delusions, disorganised thinking and strange or uncommon behaviours. These symptoms can come in many forms, along with symptoms including amotivation, lethargy and impaired cognition. 

  • Schizoaffective disorder is a mental health condition that is identified through a combination of schizophrenia symptoms, such as hallucinations, delusions and mood disorder symptoms, such as depression and mania. It can change how people think and function with risks of impulsivity and erratic behaviours. 

  • Delusional disorder is a condition where the main symptom is one or more delusions. A delusion is an unshakable belief in something that’s untrue. The belief isn’t a part of the person’s culture or subculture, and it is often widely know by others to be false. People with delusional disorder often experience delusions that could be within the realm of possibility, however situations have often been misinterpreted with some instances of the delusion being exaggerated. 

  • Psychosis involves a disconnection from reality. People may have false beliefs or experience things that aren’t real. Psychosis involves symptoms of hallucinations and delusions, along with paranoia and disorganised thoughts. It can develop through a range of reasons including drug use, family genetics or trauma. Functioning when experiencing psychosis is very challenging with limitations to organisation, planning and memory.

Dissociative Disorders

Dissociative disorders are conditions that involve experiencing a loss of connection between thoughts, memories, feelings, surroundings, function and identity. These conditions include escape from reality in ways that are not wanted and not healthy. This causes problems in managing everyday life through memory, problem solving, organisation and engagement in activities of daily living. 

Substance Use Disorder

Substance use disorder affects a person’s brain and functioning, leading to their inability to control their use of substances including legal or illegal drugs, alcohol, or medications. Substance Use Disorder impairs a persons functioning through an inability to engage in activities of daily living without access or consumption of the addictive substance. This can lead to severe health complications, along with increased vulnerability, risk and loss of reputation.

Neurodevelopmental Disorders

Neurodevelopment disorders are types of disorders that influence how the brain functions and alter neurological development causing difficulties in social, cognitive, and emotional functioning. Neurodevelopment disorders usually onset during the developmental stages, however can go unnoticed for a very long time. Functioning difficulties include an inability to regulate emotions effectively, difficulties making friends, understanding conversation flow or understanding repercussions to actions. 

  • Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a lifelong developmental disorder that affects how people function and interact with the world around them. The brain does not develop in the same way as a typical person and it presents differently in different sexes. It is important to remember that ASD is not a mental illness or an intellectual disability, but some people with ASD may experience these psychosocial factors. Functional limitations with ASD might include challenges with socialising through understanding communication, executive functioning and emotional regulation. 

  • Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is characterised by inattention and excessive activity or energy. Symptoms of ADHD can include impulsivity, excessive energy that doesn't reflect the environment, inattention, difficulty sitting still and restlessness. ADHD is a life long disability that can impact a persons ability to engage with others, learn within traditional settings or attending to mundane tasks.

  • Intellectual disability refers to a disorder that affects functioning within two areas, including cognitive functioning and adaptive functioning.  Cognitive functioning involves learning, problem solving and judgement with adaptive functioning involving activities of daily life such as communication skills and social participation. Limitations to occupational engagement involve reduced capabilities to maintain information and transfer information across different situations. 

Brain Injuries

A traumatic brain injury (TBI) usually results from trauma or an injury to the head or brain, whereas an acquired brain injury (ABI) refers to any other damage to the brain that happened after birth. Brain injuries can impact on a person's functioning through physical limitations as well as learning difficulties with relevance to relearning skills and possible return to baseline functioning. Further functional limitations can include communication, interpretation deficits and executive functioning difficulties.

Personality Disorders

Personality disorders are a group of mental health conditions involving a pattern of maladaptive behaviours and functioning, and cognitive limitations exhibited across many contexts including relationships. People with personality disorders often have a hard time understanding emotions and tolerating distress with engagement in acting impulsively. There are many types of personality disorders with different characteristics, however living with a personality disorder impacts a person's ability to engage with others, navigate relationships or engage in self-management or self-care tasks due to emotional dysregulation. 

Dementia

Dementia is a general term for loss of memory, language, problem-solving and other thinking abilities that are severe enough to interfere with daily life. Dementia or memory/ cognition related disabilities impact a person's functioning through an inability to organise themselves, remember appointments or special events or how to cook their favourite recipes. Dementia often has a profound impact on family members and loved ones with role dynamics shifting to accommodate a functional deterioration.