Occupational Therapy Assistants (OTAs)
Rehabilitate Therapy OTA Training and Networking Day - 29th April 2026
Rehabilitate Therapy has a dedicated OTA team, and their role is to support, and enhance, the progress and delivery of the occupational therapy programme and client goals. Our OTAs work with our clients alongside, and under guidance of, our OTs to progress goals in a cost-effective way.
Typically, their role involves face to face client sessions to consolidate and further progress goals with carefully graded strategies that have been developed in the occupational therapy programme. An OTA also can work in the background to support the Occupational Therapist in, for example, research tasks where it does not need a qualified OT and the work can be more advantageously (cost and time) done by the OTA.
OTAs are not general rehabilitation assistants (and not support workers) they work within the remit of OT goals. Although because occupational therapy goals are often wider MDT goals their role will inevitably be integrated with the work of other professionals. For example, they will not be able to carry out specific physiotherapy exercises but would be able to support and provide feedback upon a client’s outdoor mobility, whilst undertaking a community-based task, such as shopping.
OTAs work under the guidance of a client OT and there are regular reviews, guidance, liaison and action planning. Their backgrounds and profile are deliberately varied to align with the needs of our clients, and we therefore have a team rich in variety and interests who can therefore engage clients and be a positive and constructive addition to a client's rehabilitation journey.
Our OTA team is spread geographically to enable them to best support our OTs with their clients.
Their provision of notes and invoicing is through the usual Rehabilitate Therapy processes and therefore is streamlined and simplified from a case management perspective.
Rationale and Advantages of an OTA
> Increased regularity and momentum to intervention
Involvement of the OTA is intended to provide an increased regularity and momentum to intervention, in a cost-effective way, and ultimately to support and accelerate the clients progress and gains.
> Efficient, cost-effective rehabilitation
Supplements the occupational therapist’s role by providing a capable support who can undertake not only direct client therapy but also other related tasks in a time and cost-effective way.
> Facilitates OT focus on higher value
Enables the occupational therapist to always be focussing their expertise and targeting the OTA appropriately and in other OT and client goal areas.
> A cohesive OT programme
Provides clients with a regular, familiar, and affable rehabilitation support who is guided by the occupational therapist and therefore ensuring the cohesion of the OT programme.