Occupational therapy can be utilized on campuses of higher education across the globe. In Ireland, many OTs work as support service workers and provide services to students on campus. In the US, the idea of OTs providing services on college campuses is slowly spreading.
In order to transition to this practice area, it would be important to know what is happening on your local campus. The first step in determining how to get into this practice area would be whether your local university or college already has services or if there is an OT program on that campus who might be providing services.
If your local university has OT on campus, it might be helpful to contact the OT program and see if they are providing services on their campus. Here are some examples of OTs working on a college campus:
Cleveland State University: Karen Keptner has been providing OT services on Cleveland State University's campus since 2014. It started with a short term occupation-based group intervention with a handful of college freshmen. Since that time, she has collaborated across campus with disability services and counseling to help with student success. Cleveland State now offers an "Occupation and Well-being" course for undergraduate students. It is a "gamified" course experience for students to work on a variety of occupations that will help them be more successful students and healthier, happier people. Students are referred from various sources on campus - counseling, disability services, and the health center.
Dublin City University: Dublin City University in Ireland provides comprehensive OT services through the Disability and Learning Support Service. Susan Madigan is a pioneering OT in this space.
OT on Campus - Jeanne Eichler provides services through OT on Campus. Check out the brochure of her services here. See her website: otoncampus.com
University of Southern California (USC):
At USC, there are a variety of ways that occupational therapists support college students.
The USC Occupational Therapy Faculty Practice (OTFP) is a private outpatient mental health clinic that specializes in the evidence-based intervention, Lifestyle Redesign®, to promote healthy living and disease management with clients of varying diagnoses.
The USC Kortschak Center for Learning and Creativity is an academic success center that provides transdisciplinary collaboration (including occupational therapy, educational and counseling psychology, and higher education administration) free of charge to students with diverse learning needs, who may not have a specific diagnosis.
The USC Disability Services Program offers support to students who require disability accommodations.
The Occupational Science Minor Program & Occupational Therapy Elective Courses offer undergraduate students an opportunity to learn about occupation from a social science perspective, while engaging in occupations as coursework to improve health and wellness.
Occupational therapists also have found a role as faculty residents to provide occupation-based programming within residence halls. See this article for additional details regarding student testimonials in using OT services throughout campus.