Overview of enabling skills and strategies

The concept of enablement is core to the practice of occupational therapy, and underpins the overall goal of enabling people to achieve their occupational potential and be engaged in occupations that promote health and well-being. To achieve this goal, occupational therapists work in a complex and unique way and have to become critical thinkers when applying their enabling skills and planning, designing, implementing and evaluating their enabling strategies. The manner in which therapists work with people involves the use of at least ten enabling skills: adapt, advocate, coach, collaborate, consult, coordinate, design/build, educate, engage, and specialise. The skills are used in a multitude of different ways when implementing six different strategies commonly employed by occupational therapists: remediation, compensation, education, community development, transformation, and redistributive justice. These strategies embrace the traditional therapy focus of the profession, when working with individuals, groups and communities, as well as the more recent political focus, in which occupationally just societies are created for all community members.