Review of complex linguistic and neurobiological function in client outcomes: The relevance of communication in occupational therapy.

Human occupational capacity and repertoire involves adaptation to external and internal influences. Where an individual has suffered some degree of incapacity, occupational therapy provides active intervention by professionals to promote and maintain the health and well being for that individual. Fundamental to active intervention is the teaching/learning process in which the client, under the therapists' direction, undergoes change. Effective and efficient communication is the foundation, which can be investigated and interpreted as part of a Neuro Linguistic Programming framework. What factors are key in the communication process? How are these factors relevant to therapeutic change? The aim of this study is to explore linguistic and neurobiological perspectives of communication in the literature and examine the relationship between language and brain/mind function. Our conclusions indicate that targeted linguistic constructs can have significant impact on events at a neurobiological level, and thus influence physical, cognitive and emotional events for the individual at the occupational level. There are consequent implications for occupational therapeutic intervention.