The Future of Occupational Therapy Depends on Advocacy

 

The Future of Occupational Therapy Depends on Advocacy

Advocacy isn't something you pick up after graduation. It's something you start practicing the moment you enter school as an occupational therapy student.

OT exists because people before us refused to stay quiet. They pushed back against exclusion, fought for access, and insisted that participation and dignity aren't privileges, they're the whole point. That work didn't stop. It got handed down.

You're inheriting it now.

Here's what that looks like in practice: For years, OTAC worked to have occupational therapy formally recognized as a Licensed Mental Health Profession in California. It wasn't a quick fix. They first had to modernize the Occupational Therapy Practice Act itself, passing AB 2221 to clearly define OT's role in mental health care, before decision-makers would even come back to the table. Then came more collaboration, more testimony, more sustained pressure. Eventually, both the Department of Health Care Services and the Center for Medicare & Medicaid Services approved a Medicaid State Plan Amendment recognizing California OTs as Licensed Mental Health Professionals and Licensed Practitioners of the Healing Arts. That changes who gets billed, who gets access, and how seriously the system takes OT in behavioral health spaces. It matters.

And it only happened because people kept showing up.

That's the culture we're building here at University of the Pacific. Our faculty do not just teach advocacy, they practice it. They volunteer with OTAC, hold positions within AOTA, and bring that firsthand experience directly into the classroom. Students in this program learn what it actually looks like to sit across from a legislator, make a case for your profession, and walk away having moved something. We take students to Capitol Hill. We get them involved in their local communities. By the time our graduates walk across the stage, advocacy isn't a concept they've studied it's something they've done.

That kind of training doesn't just make better clinicians. It makes practitioners who understand that the work doesn't stop at the clinic door.

OTs who understand how systems work are better positioned to advance equity, defend client rights, and keep the profession moving forward. Silence does not move our profession forward. Informed, strategic advocacy does.

We want graduates who are sharp clinically and engaged civically, people who recognize that their voice matters in clinic rooms, community spaces, and leadership tables. Not someday. Now.

OT has always been a profession built for moments of real change. That's exactly the kind of moment we're in.

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Thinking About Applying? Here's What to Look For

When researching programs:

• Find out how programs actually teach advocacy, not just whether they mention it
• Look into student involvement with professional organizations and policy efforts
• Ask whether the program prepares you to influence systems, or only work within them

Why this should factor into your decision to apply:

• The field needs practitioners ready to lead, not just practice
• Advocacy skills open doors: to leadership roles, broader career options, and real professional impact
• Programs that take this seriously tend to produce graduates who shape the field, not just follow it

The future of OT gets defined by the people willing to show up before they feel ready. Learn more about how University of the Pacific's OTD program prepares students to be agents of change in their communities. 

Author: Natalie A. Perkins