Introduction: Schizophrenia is a severe mental disorder that significantly affects cognitive abilities, volition, social functioning, and everyday performance. These difficulties often lead to reduced occupational participation and engagement, which makes it difficult for them to find purpose and motivation for carrying out occupations. Occupational therapy plays an important role in supporting individuals with schizophrenia to participate in daily occupations and experience meaningful engagement and improved quality of life. Purpose: The purpose of this diploma thesis was to explore through literature review how occupational therapy can contribute to improved occupational participation and engagement among people with schizophrenia. Methods: A literature review was conducted following the Joanna Briggs Institute guidelines. The search was performed using databases Academic Search Complete, CINAHL and Web of Science. Six studies published between 2006 and 2023 were included in the final analysis. Results: Three main themes emerged from the analysis: (1) support in gaining a sense of self-efficacy, (2) supporting socialization and group-based occupations, (3) enabling occupational balance. The findings indicate that occupational participation and engagement are facilitated through supportive therapeutic relationships, opportunities for social inclusion, development of functional and life skills, and interventions that enhance self-efficacy. Contextual factors, such as performing activities in real-life environments and group activities were identified as particularly important for sustained engagement. Discussion and conclusion: The findings demonstrate that occupational therapy contributes to occupational participation and engagement through a holistic, client-centered approach that addresses personal abilities, environmental factors, and the subjective experience of meaning. Future research should focus on intervention-based studies outside institutional settings that evaluate the long-term effects of occupational therapy approaches on occupational participation and engagement, as well as further explore the role of a therapeutic relationship in mental health practice.
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