ABSTRACT

The purpose of this paper was to briefly provide an overview of the history of mental health, the current status of occupational therapy, and training curriculum of occupational therapists in Japan. With the marked change in the types of occupation, increasing urbanization, and rapid change in the socioeconomic structure resulting from industrialization, Korea is witnessing transformation in the family system in addition to significant increase in the number of individuals with mental illness. Such drastic change mandates a significant structural change in the mental health system in Korea. This period in Korea, where occupational therapists being only just recently allowed to participate and intervene in psychiatric hospitals and rehabilitation treatment activities is reminiscent of the time in Japan when occupational therapists began to serve in the mental health field during a period when daily living therapy was being offered. It is our hope that the experiences that we underwent in Japan may be able to assist in the formation and development of psychiatric occupational therapy in Korea.