Answer: The COPM was originally designed for use by occupational therapists to address occupation. However, many multidisciplinary teams now use the COPM as an intake tool to identify client’s concerns and which members of the team need to be involved. In doing this, they often expand the nature of the interview to include issues other than occupation. The interview and scoring methods are transferable to other domains of concern, but if the focus is not on occupation, then it is no longer the same as the original COPM. The key is that the COPM interview, even when used by other professionals, still focuses on occupation, i.e., what the client wants, needs, or is expected to do. Other professionals and also OTs, have challenges when identified problems are focussed on impairments. For example, if the problem is labelled as mood or pain or endurance, it is no longer an occupational focus! It is the occupations that those problems are preventing that should be the focus when administering a COPM. Intervention can then focus on addressing issues that are limiting performance of the client’s identified occupations. It is at this stage that other disciplines bring in their specific expertise (e.g., saying sounds, walking a certain distance, strengthening, stress management, language development).
Additional Information: The COPM In Multidisciplinary Teams
Categories: Administration Issues