Occupational therapists are well placed to work in the field of mental capacity. The very ethos of occupational therapy is to support the individual to participate and engage in their everyday life to the best of their ability. Consent and capacity are everyday considerations in practice. The Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA) has five key principles: presumption of capacity unless established otherwise; taking all practicable steps to assist a person to make a decision for themselves (ie before establishing otherwise); unwise decisions do not by themselves indicate a lack of capacity; acting in best interests; considering less restrictive options.
