The mental health teaching-learning process in occupational therapy: a literature review

Faria, Isabela Brito Alves de; Constantinidis, Teresinha Cid

doi:10.1590/2526-8910.ctoAR391337831

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Review Article • Cad. Bras. Ter. Ocup. 33 • 2025 • https://doi.org/10.1590/2526-8910.ctoAR391337832 linkcopy

The mental health teaching-learning process in occupational therapy: a literature review

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Abstract

Introduction Contemporary academic training has been demanding updates on the skills and competencies to be acquired by future professionals to keep up with changes in the paradigms of health and psychosocial care. The training of occupational therapists for the mental health context is analyzed from the perspective of the teaching-learning process.

Objective The objective of the research was to analyze scientific productions and identify theoretical-methodological references on the teaching of mental health in the training of occupational therapists.

Method An integrative review of the literature was carried out using the descriptors “occupational therapy”, “teaching” and “mental health” in the Web of Science and Scopus databases of articles published between 2020 and 2024.

Results Five scientific articles were part of the final sample of review, being a reflection article and the other experimental articles. The reflection article (n=1) discussed professional practice based on the concepts of meaningful occupation focused on autonomy and social inclusion of users. The experimental articles (n=4) described interventions carried out with students to bring them closer to professional practice, through the effective inclusion of users in the course and curriculum, and encouraging the use of virtual reality devices.

Conclusion Trends were highlighted for carrying out additional research, such as compliance with global teaching standards and the evaluation of user integration and the use of simulation technologies for teaching in the Brazilian reality.

Keywords:
Teaching; Mental Health; Occupational Therapy; Review

Title	Authors (Year)	Journal	Type of study
Mental health consumer involvement in occupational therapy education in Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand	Scanlan et al. (2020)	Aust Occup Ther J	Cross-sectional study	Identify the level of user involvement in the curriculum, as well as the facilitators and barriers to such inclusion.	An increase in user involvement in the curriculum was identified, but the need to effectively ensure the participation of these users in the stages of preparation, application and evaluation of the curriculum was demonstrated. The study reveals the need to establish strategies to ensure user participation (e.g. financial incentives).
Impact of a virtual role-play simulation in teaching motivational interviewing communication strategies to occupational therapy students for readiness in conducting screening and brief interventions	Sullivan et al. (2021)	Journal of Higher Education Theory and Practice	Quasi-experimental study	Evaluate the benefit of using virtual simulation as a strategy for developing students' skills when conducting motivational interviewing.	The use of virtual reality increased the level of preparation and confidence on the part of the students, as well as the development of the ability to understand the user's needs and the incentive to seek treatment.
Challenges for occupational therapy in mental health: an approach from the teaching experience	Osorio & Montaño (2022)	Cad. Bras. Ter. Ocup.	Reflection Article	Reflect on occupational therapy in mental health from the perspective of teaching practice.	The training process must guide the student to approach subjective occupational needs in the usual contexts, reshaping the use of occupation as a tool for autonomy and social inclusion.
The impact of face-to-face mental health consumer-led teaching on occupational therapy student empathy levels: Two group comparison design	Logan et al. (2022)	Aust Occup Ther J	Quasi-experimental study	Measure empathy levels among students who had classes with teachers compared to students who had classes with mental health users.	Occupational therapy students already showed high levels of empathy towards mental health users in both groups, which did not generate statistical significance between the groups, but in the post-test an increase in empathy in the relationship with users was identified.
Co-design and evaluation of a multidisciplinary teaching resource on mental health recovery involving people with lived experience	Arblaster et al. (2023)	Aust Occup Ther J	Mixed method study (quali-quanti)	Collaboratively develop a teaching strategy for undergraduate health professional programs and evaluate the applicability of the strategy for training focused on recovery.	Collaboration to create teaching strategies based on users' life experiences guaranteed the quality of the product, bringing benefits to those involved.

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Universidade Federal de São Carlos, Departamento de Terapia Ocupacional Rodovia Washington Luis, Km 235, Caixa Postal 676, CEP: , 13565-905, São Carlos, SP - Brasil, Tel.: 55-16-3361-8749 - São Carlos - SP - Brazil
E-mail: cadto@ufscar.br

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