The Swedish National Labour Market Administration wishes to acquire further knowledge about how the evaluation process of vocational rehabilitation at the employment service operates as a part of the quality assurance of this activity. The primary task for vocational rehabilitation at the employment service is to investigate the work capacity of unemployed people, to give them increased knowledge and better understanding of their own capacity concerning work or education. The aim of this study was to survey the evaluation process of vocational rehabilitation at the employment service in Sweden. Data were collected through telephone interviews with 15 occupational therapists employed at the employment service, who were working with vocational rehabilitation. The result shows that the investigation of work capacity can take place in different environments and that the space of time for an investigation can vary.

The aims of the present study were to implement and evaluate a three-session Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) stress management intervention in a non-clinical group of university students (N = 25) and to investigate the importance of practice in an ACT-intervention. A design with pre-test and double post-test was chosen. A comparison was made between a nine-hour ACT-intervention containing practice for the participants, a two-hour lecture on ACT and stress management containing no practice for the participants and a control group. Psychological flexibility was assessed with Acceptance and Action Questionnaire-2 and mindfulness was measured with Kentucky Inventory of Mindfulness Skills. Perceived stress level was measured with Perceived Stress Scale.

Aim: The aim is to create a review that examines different forms of massage therapy and their effects on hypertension.Method: Literature review of 10 scientific articles on the subject of massage and its effects on blood pressure. The literature searches were made with PubMed and Cinahl using the keywords "massage therapy", "effects" and "blood pressure".Results: The articles showed that massage had a positive effect in lowering blood pressure. This could be explained by greater extent of relaxation in the participants investigated and an increased activity of parasympaticus and reduced secretion of stress hormones. The articles do not agree on what form of massage therapy is most effective in lowering blood pressure and it is uncertain for how long the effect can remain.Conclusion: Massage is usually seen as a treatment without scientific basis. There is evidence that suggests that massage therapy is an effective treatment for lowering blood pressure.

The study examines the meaning of having a dog in the workplace of personnel who work with therapy. The purpose was to examine the personnel?s view of dogs in their work envi-ronment. The study uses two theories. One is ?psychosocial work environment? and the other theory used is ?symbolic interactionism?.

AimThe aim of the present study was to study possible evidence for shock wave therapy on pain and function in patients with plantar fasciitis.Questions1. Does shock wave therapy reduce pain in patients with plantar fasciitis?2. Does shock wave therapy improve function in patients with plantar fasciitis?MethodA systematic review of the literature was performed in the databases PubMed, EMBASE, Cochrane and Cinahl.

Within psychodynamic therapy the concept of countertransference is considered as valuable to understand the therapy process. Much of the research has focused on countertransference as dependent to therapy outcome (Hayes, Gelso & Hummel, 2011) and less of the research has been dedicated to trainees view on the concept. The object off this study was to examine how trainees define, identify and use countertransference. The study takes a qualitative approach and phenomenological perception of knowledge. Eight trainees has been interviewed and the interviews has been analysed with thematic analysis.

Djur påverkar människors välbefinnande och hälsa på en mängd olika sätt och använts i många andra länder som en integrerad del av klieneters vård och rehabilitering. Ökade kunskaper om de positiva hälsoeffeketerna har lett till en ökad nyfikenhet bland hälso- och sjukvården även i Sverige och användningen av djur inom vård och rehabilitering har ökat de senaste åren. Syftet med denna studie är att beskriva hur djur kan användas på ett målmedvetet sätt som en del av rehabiliteringen. Litteraturstudien bygger på både kvalitativa och kvantiativa artiklar för att skapa en helhetsbild om kunskapsområdet. Artiklarna har analyserats utifrån Graneheim och Lundman (2004) kvalitativa innehållsanalys i syfte att beskriva det mest karaktistiska i data.

Compassion Focused Therapy är en integrativ transdiagnostisk behandlingsform som syftar till att öka self-compassion och minska skam och självkritik hos individer med psykisk ohälsa. Skam och självkritik har i hög grad identifierats hos personer med ätstörningar, som också ofta anses svårbehandlade. Denna studie syftade till att undersöka huruvida CFT kan vara ett behandlingsalternativ vid ätstörningar. En single-subject design med upprepade mätningar användes (n=5). Studien visade på tvetydiga resultat men indikerar att en del individer kan vara hjälpta av denna behandling.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects ofparticipation in an integrated intensive stuttering program (IST) on stutteringbehavior, intelligibility and communication attitude, at individual and grouplevels. Five children aged eight to twelve years participated in the study.Stuttering behavior and intelligibility were judged by two independentstudents in speech and language pathology based on a total of eight videorecordings, before, during and after therapy. Communication attitude wasmeasured by the Swedish version of the self-report questionnaireCommunication Attitude Test (CAT-S). At an individual level, the initialstuttering profile and the changes shown during and after the IST varied. Ata group level, a significant decrease in stuttering frequency and asignificantly higher level of intelligibility were found, after as compared tobefore therapy.

Background: Pet therapy has existed as a concept since 1964 when the American child psychologist Boris Levinson coined the term. Nowadays Animal Assisted Activity (AAA) and Animal Assisted Therapy (AAT) are both recognized concepts, and with progressed research the science of pet therapy increases.Purpose: To summate the most recent science in pet therapy (therapy dog) research with focus on physical, psychical, and social effects.Methods: Literature study/review with descriptive design, research on 21 articles published from year 2003 and onward. Articles used in the study were chosen through beforehand decided criteria, subject to quality rating, and summated in an overview. The main results were summated and presented in similarities and differences.Results: The main result of the summation was that important results could be measured in each of the three fields of research. Physical/physiological effects: pain relief, differentiated results on vital signs, and increased activity.

SammanfattningSyftet: Att sammanställa vad som fanns beskrivet i vetenskaplig litteratur om bedömningsinstrument som kan användas av arbetsterapeuter för bedömning av behov av bostadsanpassning för vuxna med främst fysiskt funktionsnedsättning. Metod: Systematisk litteraturstudie med sökning på fyra sökord i sju databaser. För att få ytterligare information om de funna bedömningsinstrumenten gjordes en manuell sökning via artiklarnas referenslistor för att kunna besvara frågeställningarna.  Resultat: Författarna fann sju bedömningsinstrument som bedömde olika aspekter av miljön i relation till person och/eller aktivitet. Inget av bedömningsinstrumenten var avsett att enbart bedöma behovet av bostadsanpassning. Resultatet styrker behovet av bedömningsinstrument som innehåller både observation och självskattningsmoment för att få en helhetsbild av miljöns tillgänglighet och användbarhet. Konklusion:  Arbetsterapeuter som bedömer behovet av bostadsanpassning behöver bedömningsinstrument som mäter både subjektiva och objektiva aspekter av hemmiljö.

This essay focus on work related stress and psychosocial enviroment in working life. The purpose of this study is to present a detailed description of regulation of the the Occupational Safety and Health Act and investigate how well employees are being protected by the law.I will also explain with the help of statistic which employees that most often suffer from work related stress and the results is discussed from a gender perspective.Work related phycosocial health is a big issue in todays workplaces, and people who suffers from stress are supposed to be protecteded by the the Occupational Safety and Health Act, but is that really the truth? The Occupational Safety and Health Act is a frame law, meaning the law is general and needs binding regulations to define the rules, and there is no such act about work related stress at the moment. No employer has ever been convicted for work related stress. At the same time the Occupational Safety and Health Act explains that the employer has a responsibility to take arrangement to prevent mental illness in working life.It?s mostly women who suffer from work related stress.

The aim of the study was to explore the methods used in horticultural therapy gardens in rehabilitating people suffering from fatigue syndrome. Nine horticultural therapy gardens were contacted of wich three chose to participate. Using case study as method e-mail interviews was carried out with the participants about their establishment and what kind of theories they based their methods upon. The material collected from the interviews was complemented with additional data from the establishments web pages and information pamphlets. Collected data was processed trough content analysis and then formed as background for the development of a program theory for horticultural therapy.

The aim of this study was, that from a view of professional's understand the meanings of including horses in therapy. In order to achieve the aim of the study, qualitative method was used and therewith interviews was performed with professionals who work with equine- assisted therapy. The professionals did also have an education which allowed them to independently treat clients and besides that at least five years of experience of equine- assisted therapy. The issues of the study was to understand the professionals? view of the horses role in equine-assisted therapy, which opportunities and constraints professionals consider that equine-assisted therapy entails and also if the horse could bring something unique to therapy.

Syftet med denna studie var att beskriva arbetsterapeuters erfarenheter av vårdhundar/terapihundar i svensk rehabilitering. Interventionerna med vård/terapihundarna benämndes hundassisterad intervention men den arbetsterapeutiska rehabiliteringsprocessen inkluderar ännu fler faktorer, exempelvis utredning. Nio arbetsterapeuter deltog i studien och semistrukturerade intervjuer användes för att samla in data. Data analyserades med hjälp av kvalitativ innehållsanalys. Analysen resulterade i ett tema, Vårdhunden skapar delaktighet i och efter rehabiliteringen, bildades med tre tillhörande underkategorier.