Forensic psychiatry is a complex and evolving field where users have severe mental disorders and have committed crimes. A multidisciplinary team is involved in their rehabilitation, an important part of which are occupational therapists who pursue the goals of the user with their interventions They provide opportunities for engagement in occupations and strive for occupational balance. Purpose: We wanted to explore the characteristics of occupational therapy in forensic psychiatry. Methods: Descriptive method of literature review has been used. Literature has been searched on Cinahl, Web of Science and OTSeeker. Used keywords were occupational therapy and forensic psychiatry. The focus was placed on articles that contained the selected keywords in the title or abstract and were written in English. Results: Eight articles were included in the final analysis, six were qualitative and two were quantitative. We have formulated the main topics: the use of conceptual models, assessment instruments, the occupational therapeutic paradigm and interventions, and the challenges of occupational therapists in forensic psychiatry. Discussion and conclusion: Occupational therapists use many conceptual models and assessment instruments. The most frequently used model is MOHO, along with assessments derived from it. Commonly used tools include MOHOST, AMPS, OCAIRS, and OSA. In their work, they use various interventions, mainly related to activities. Interventions prepare users for independence and life after discharge, so intervention is often focused on productivity, activities and instrumental activities of daily living, emotional management, and beneficial use of free time. These interventions include a wide range of daily living activities, as well as social, relaxation, physical, educational, and sensory-based activities. Occupations are rarely mentioned. They are carried out with the intention of relaxing users. Despite the diversity of approaches, they face challenges such as environmental restrictions, user stigma, and a lack of empirically guidelines. Greater emphasis should be placed on occupation-centered approaches when setting goals. The findings contribute to a better understanding of the role of occupational therapy in forensic psychiatry and highlight the need for further research focused on user perspectives and the long-term effectiveness of occupational therapy interventions.
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