Occupational Profile
What It Measures
The Occupational Profile is the opening conversation of an occupational therapy evaluation, not a test. Using AOTA's template, the therapist builds a summary of the client's occupational history and experiences, patterns of daily living, interests, values, needs, and the contexts they live in. The information comes from the client's own perspective, gathered through both formal interview and ordinary conversation.
It answers why the client is seeking services and what they most want to be able to do, which is what turns a list of impairments into a plan the client actually cares about. The profile shapes evaluation, intervention planning, and discharge planning, and it is a required element of the occupational therapy evaluation and re-evaluation CPT codes.
Additional Notes
Licensing Notes: AOTA publishes the template free in PDF and Word versions and offers it for use in any practice setting, including typing directly into it or incorporating it into an EHR. AOTA's page notes that posting the template requires renewal every year.
