So what exactly is the difference between occupational therapy and physical therapy? Many of you have probably heard of both terms, but do not know what to make of them because they sound similar. The difference between occupational therapy and physical therapy is that a physical therapist (PT) focuses on improving a patient’s ability to move their body, whereas an occupational therapist (OT) focuses on improving patients’ fine motor skills to help them improve their ability to perform small but important every day living tasks.