Occupational therapist and music therapist Azize Andrea Güvenç and Dr. Rahmi Oruç Güvenç are conducting joint research that combines occupational therapy with Turkish music and movement therapy.

“Ergo” comes from the Greek word “ergon,” which means “to create” or “to make.” Occupational therapy, too, involves creating and implementing methods to aid a patient’s recovery. Based on the belief that everyone has the potential to be treated, it aims to help people.

After World War II, efforts began to develop various methods to help the many wounded people returning home rehabilitate and adapt to daily life. Occupational therapy developed significantly during this period, particularly in Germany. Today, occupational therapists work in many hospitals, rehabilitation centers, and clinics around the world.

According to the current understanding of occupational therapy, the patient has lost their balance. This imbalance may be physiological, psychological, or sociological. Generally speaking, such individuals—whether children or adults—are unable to continue their lives normally. An occupational therapist who works with children knows that children are different from adults. Just as a patient who has had a leg amputated requires different training and treatment than a patient with brain damage.

The center of the brain is the oldest and best-preserved part. All sensory inputs reach the brainstem and are organized there. In occupational therapy, we work to positively modify these sensory inputs after they have been analyzed and organized. The brain’s reaction to stimuli occurs unconsciously and spontaneously. In fact, the brain stem processes these stimuli by filtering them. While all these reactions occur involuntarily, they manifest to us as emotions and thoughts. When there are problems in different parts of the brain, it receives either too much or too little stimulation. For example, in children with ADHD, the inhibitory mechanism does not function properly. Because there is an excess of stimulation, the brain cannot filter it out and responds to all stimuli at once. In autism, however, the opposite occurs, and the inhibitory mechanism is overactive.

The most fundamental difference between occupational therapy and physical therapy is that occupational therapy involves observation, whereas physical therapy involves exercise.