Let Us Help You Find a Job
- Juanita Gnanapragasam
- Jan 23
- 3 min read
Welcome to our monthly blog ‘Ask an Occupational Therapist’ which attempts to answer all of your🔥 burning🔥occupational therapy-related questions.
It’s me again, your friendly, neighbourhood Occupational Therapist, Juanita. Fun fact: years ago, I used to work in the space of career advising and exploration at the University of Alberta. A question I’m often asked by clients is, “when should someone see an occupational therapist for career advising, instead of a career counsellor?”
The answer isn’t necessarily “one or the other.” Both professionals are valuable, but they often bring different perspectives, resources, and approaches to your career journey.
Let’s explore the occupational therapy lens further.
A Functional, Person-Centred Approach to Work, Productivity, and Careers.
OTs focus on helping people participate meaningfully in daily activities, and employment is one of the most meaningful things we do each day. That because most of us spend about a third of our life working, so whether it’s a positive or negative experience, has profound impacts on our health and wellbeing.
OTs focus on helping people participate meaningfully in daily activities, and employment is one of the most meaningful things we do each day. During their education, OTs have also received training on concepts like anatomy, neurobiology, and mental health, that a typical career advisor may not have. This means OT career advising can be especially helpful when:
Health conditions (whether physical, cognitive, or emotional) affect your ability to work;
Returning to work after an injury, illness, or with a disability;
You need help evaluating whether your abilities match specific job demands;
You want strategies to improve work performance, endurance, or workplace participation within real-life contexts.
Given this background, OTs like myself often use structured tools such as functional assessments, task analyses, and job demand evaluations to help you identify strengths and barriers in relation to a specific job or career. These assessments are part of evidence-based vocational rehabilitation practice, shown to support successful return to work and job sustainability.
This is important because career decisions aren’t just about interests, passions, or talents, they’re also shaped by our energy, health, nervous system, and ability to function day-to-day. For those navigating chronic pain, neurological conditions, mental health challenges, or long-standing functional limitations, traditional career advising might tell you what job could fit your personality but not whether your body or brain can sustain it.
OTs, on the other hand...
Evaluate functional capacity in real life;
Help plan a realistic return to work timeline;
Identify environmental or workplace adaptations to support success; and
Collaborate with employers on accommodations when needed.
How an Occupational Therapist Can Help You Find a Job
Research shows that OT involvement in return-to-work and vocational rehabilitation is linked with improved work participation and reduced sick leave days when included in multidisciplinary programmes.
Ultimately, working with an OT to find a job, return to work, or navigate your current employment might be the right choice for you if you...
Experience health-related barriers to work participation;
Want functional, performance-based career supports;
Are recovering from injury, illness, or disability and want to return to work;
Need help matching your actual abilities to real work demands; and/or
Want help planning workplace accommodations or job redesign.
In tangible terms that might look like:
Experiencing chronic fatigue and needing to find energy-sustainable career options;
Returning to work after a concussion and needing to build graded work tolerance; or
Navigating ADHD or sensory processing challenges and needing advice on adjustments to better manage workplace demands;
Now, I do want to emphasize that career counsellors are excellent at things like: exploring labour market options, supporting job search strategies, resume guidance, and interview prep. For folks living without chronic health conditions or neurodivergence, they might benefit from working directly with a career counsellor.
Lucky for clients at YEG Family Counselling--as someone who’s formally worked in the career exploration and development space--I can also support clients with job search strategies, crafting an effective resume and cover letter, and interview preparation, all with the lens of understanding how your brain, body, and mind influence your health.
In short, if your career trajectory is complicated by health, function, or performance issues, working with an OT can make your career path more realistic, sustainable, and enjoyable. And if you choose to work with me, I can help you with it all!
If you’d like to learn more about me and my practice, you can book a free 15-minute consultation with Juanita here.
Sources
Comments