Occupational Therapy

This study programme was designed to answer the needs of occupational therapists who wish to develop specific and advanced skills, adequate to their area of specialization.

In Occupational Therapy, there are four potential fields of specialization:

Occupational Therapy in Gerontology: the main gold of this specialization is to provide students with an intensive and integrated training in Gerontology, taking into consideration the current Portuguese scenario, namely the phenomenon of an ageing population, its implications and requirements; to deepen specific competences adequate to intervene among elderly people and their formal/informal caretakers, considering several perspectives of intervention; developing and applying that knowledge in the field of scientific research and professional practice.

Occupational Therapy in Mental Health: this area of specialization is designed to contribute to the technical and scientific development of Occupational Therapy, promoting the qualified training of Occupational Therapists and leading to the implementation of advanced and specialized professional practices, as well as to the production of knowledge in the context of Mental Health and the psychosocial rehabilitation of socially-excluded groups with difficulties in psychosocial functioning, particularly people with psychiatric dysfunctions.

Occupational Therapy in Children and Adolescents: this area of specialization aims to prepare students to develop innovative professional and scientific thinking, resorting to current theoretical arguments that support the practice of Occupational Therapy in the first stages of life (since the earliest ages to adolescence), contributing in that way to the settlement of knowledge and evidence, based on the occupational nature of the child.

Occupational Therapy in Physical Rehabilitation: this area of specialization enables students to obtain an academic and professional qualification in Occupational Therapy in the field of Physical Rehabilitation of adults. The same qualification is awarded after an intensive teaching and learning process, detailed and inclusive, enabling the acquisition of theoretical and practical competences linked to clinical reasoning based on evidence, seeking for a better quality in the provision of Occupational Therapy services. Therefore, the programme emphasizes the optimization of occupational performance, the environmental impact in participation and the occupational involvement of people with neuromusculoskeletal dysfunctions.