Mental Health Occupational Therapist
Occupational therapy (OT) is an integral part of mental health care that broadly assists people in the assessment, treatment and management of mental health concerns for the purpose of engaging in meaningful activity that promotes quality of life (Nagashima et al., 2024)
What does a Mental Health OT do?
Occupational therapy (OT) , across all practice areas, is grounded in the understanding that a person’s health and wellbeing are strongly influenced by how they function and use their time. Mental health occupational therapists (MHOT’s) utilise their theoretical, therapeutic, and clinical expertise to help people reconnect with activities that bring meaning to their lives, supporting engagement in personally significant tasks to promote improved mental health. Drawing on specialised assessment skills reflecting this approach to care, MHOT’s provide targeted interventions designed to enhance a person's participation in daily tasks and social connections (Taff et al., 2021). MHOTs apply innovative approaches to support participation throughout a person’s recovery, using their expertise in occupational and task analysis to break activities into manageable components that enhance occupational engagement (Drolet, 2013). Their expertise includes skills such as sensory modulation, how the central nervous system interprets and reacts to sensory information, or therapeutic approaches for children who have experienced trauma, such as play based therapy (Brown et al., 2019).
How to become a MHOT
Undergraduate
In Australia, various universities offer a 4-year undergraduate degree in Occupational Therapy with some including an honours pathway.
Clinical placement
A significant component of the OT degree is experiential, with typically 1000 hours of work-integrated learning required to graduate. Newly graduated OT’s wishing to work as a MHOT are required to complete a credentialing process.
Postgraduate
More recently, Occupational Therapy Australia (OTA) has recognised a range of two-year postgraduate Master's in OT degrees that are accredited by the Occupational Therapy Council of Australia Ltd (OTC) and recognised by AHPRA. This degree provides a pathway into OT for those who hold a non-health degree and are looking for a career change.
Credentialling
OTA has a rigorous endorsement program whereby OT’s wishing to be recognised as holding knowledge, skills and experience in mental health can apply. Details of the credentialing process can be found on the OTA website. The endorsement process provides recognition for the level of competency required to provide mental health care. The process for seeking endorsement via the OTA requires a minimum of 2 years of full-time supervised mental health practice with a demonstrated range of clinical experience.
To maintain OTA Mental Health Endorsement, practitioners must complete 10 hours of mental health-specific continuing professional development (CPD) each year Endorsed practitioners must also maintain formal professional supervision (generally every four to six weeks) and keep records of both CPD and supervision activities (Occupational Therapy Australia, 2024).
Career pathways in occupational therapy
Occupational therapists can gain employment in mental health with their undergraduate degree or postgraduate master's.
Employment is typically under a generic award wage with various pay grade levels and expertise. It highly depends on the employment sector (public, private) and the state within Australia.
In the public sector, occupational therapists are employed under the relevant state health allied health award. In New South Wales, for example, this is the NSW Health Service Health Professionals (State) Award, which provides classification levels from Allied Health Level 1 (early-career graduate) through to Level 5 (New South Wales Health, 2025). Progression through these levels is based on experience, demonstrated competence, and endorsement status. Private practice, NGO, and NDIS roles offer a different range of remuneration structures and may provide greater flexibility but less structured mentorship for early-career practitioners. Telehealth has also significantly expanded the range of practice contexts available to MHOTs in rural areas, enabling access to clients across large geographic catchments (AIHW, 2024).
Once an OT becomes accredited as a MHOT they may be eligible to claim Medicare rebates through the Better Access Initiative. Under this program, OT’s are required to deliver treatment using focused psychological strategies for people experiencing mental health disorders. All registered OT’s can apply to become Medicare providers and must complete this registration before offering Medicare‑funded services.
Medicare rebate amounts for OT’s vary depending on the type and duration of the service provided. Rebates range from $58.00 for sessions lasting 20–50 minutes (or $81.65 for short sessions conducted outside the therapist’s rooms), and $81.90 for sessions of 50 minutes or longer (or $105.55 for services delivered outside the rooms). The full fee for a private MHOT varies depending on geographical location, specialisation and skill level. For an example, the NDIS prices hours rates at $193.99 for a basic initial assessment (NDIA, 2025).
-
Australian Institute of Health and Welfare. (2024). Mental health workforce. Retrieved from Workforce - Mental health - AIHW).
Brown, A., Tse, T., & Fortune, T. (2019). Defining sensory modulation: A review of the concept and a contemporary definition for application by occupational therapists. Scandinavian Journal of Occupational Therapy, 26(7), 515-523. https://doi.org/10.1080/11038128.2018.1509370
Drolet, M.-J., 2013. The axiological ontology of occupational therapy: A philosophical analysis. Scandinavian Journal of Occupational Therapy 1–9.. https://doi.org/10.3109/11038128.2013.831118 ).
Taff, S. (2021). Philosophy and Occupational Therapy: Informing Education, Research, and Practice (1st ed.). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003525660
Knight, L., Bowser, A., Donovan-Hall, M.K., 2023. A Qualitative Synthesis Exploring the Potential Role for Mental Health Occupational Therapists Working with Patients in Seclusion. Occupational Therapy in Mental Health 1–27.. https://doi.org/10.1080/0164212x.2023.2245972.
Milman, T. Z., Bream, S., Delgado, C., McIntyre, E., Scremin, T., Moreno, L., Yeo, M., & Pitts, D. (2024). “Putting on our people lens”: Lived Experience as Pedagogy. Journal of Occupational Therapy Education, 8 (2). Retrieved from https://encompass.eku.edu/jote/vol8/iss2/13
National Disability Insurance Agency. (2025). NDIS pricing arrangements and price limits. Australian Government. https://www.ndis.gov.au/providers/pricing-arrangements#ndis-pricing-arrangements-and-price-limits
Nagashima, I., Hayasaka, T., Teruya, K., Hoshino, M., Murao, M., Matumoto, Y., Maruki, T., Katagiri, T., Imamura, Y., Kurihara, M., Oe, Y., Tsuboi, T., Watanabe, K., Sakurai, H., 2024. Factors encouraging participation in social activities after hospital discharge in people with severe mental illness who received occupational therapy. Frontiers in Psychiatry 15.. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyt.2024.1421390
New South Wales Health. (2025). NSW Health Service Health Professionals (State) Award 2025. https://www.health.nsw.gov.au/careers/conditions/Awards/health-professional.pdf
Occupational Therapy Australia. (2024). Mental health endorsement program: Requirements and ongoing obligations. https://otaus.com.au/site/what-we-do/endorsement/mental-health-endorsement
Disclaimer: The information contained in this download is intended to make career options in mental health more transparent and should only be used as a broad guide only. It illustrates example grades, steps and career directions for health professionals and does not represent an exhaustive or guaranteed career pathway. Progression may vary depending on role, discipline, experience, qualifications, organisational requirements and applicable industrial instruments. Examples of government rebates and general hourly rates for private services are only to be used as a guide and for accurate and up to date figures, please consult original sources.