[The origins of occupational therapy in Spain]

Occupational therapy is a young discipline in many aspects, but since ancient times an important number of reports have appeared in the health sciences literature and in the early days of neurology and psychiatry that can shed light on the origins and the fundamental principles that underlie this profession today. We have gathered examples that show how the philosophy and the clinical practice of the procedures used in occupational therapy stem from the process of humanising medical care.

After analysing the information currently available to us on the history of the influence of humanism on the development of medicine in Spain, the authors believe they have found enough evidence to identify the precursors of occupational therapy at that point in history.

Our study examines facts that appear to situate the earliest evidence of occupational therapy at the origins of Spanish neurology and psychiatry in the 15th century, and which were later to have such a powerful influence on the birth of certain aspects of Pinel's moral treatment.

If we accept 'moral treatment' as being one of the main forerunners of occupational therapy, and if we take into account that the humanitarian way patients were dealt with in Spanish neurological and psychiatric institutions and hospitals in the 15th century had a notable influence on the principles that regulated that 'moral treatment', then it is reasonable to state that the earliest evidence of occupational therapy is to be found in the development of humanisation within Spanish medical care.