Resources: CPD for Occupational Therapists

We’ve put together a compilation of useful OT resources which may aid you in your CPD goals. The list below covers podcasts, webinars, and books which could help your learning.

Podcasts

OT and Chill

This podcast has over 50 episodes on all things occupational therapy.

Episode 42, for example, looks at unlocking OT Potential in the Criminal Justice System. The hosts are joined by Crystal Dieleman, an associate professor at Dalhousie University in Canada, who has spent most of her career working and researching occupational therapy, mental health, and the criminal justice system. They discuss topics such as ageing in prison, working in and out of institutional systems, challenging perspectives, and the development of a Justice-Based Occupational Therapy Network.

Royal College of Occupational Therapists

The RCOT provides a selection of podcasts on a wide range of issues.

The LD OT Podcast

The LD OT Podcast is run by and for the RCOT Specialist Section for People with Learning Disabilities. It aims to showcase the amazing work of Occupational Therapists working in this area of practice. (Note: no new episodes since June 2021, but we hope they'll be back!)

Occupied

A creative project exploring occupation, occupational science, and occupational therapy. Each fortnight the podcast showcases a topic or therapist and aims to have a discussion exploring OT-related ideas and concepts. The aim is to challenge you, make you think, and provide you with guidance wherever possible.

The OT Roundtable

This podcast presents roundtable discussions about pressing topics related to occupational therapy. They bring in guests from around the world with expertise in the topic areas to broaden the experience and facilitate conversations on a wide range of issues. (Note: again, no new episodes for this podcast since April 2021, but the earlier discussions are still worth a listen)

Webinars and Online Courses

Royal College of Occupational Therapists

RCOT offers a range of virtual and face-to-face learning sessions. Their full list of events can be found here. These include topics such as:

Explain Pain

To teach biologically based pain management skills under a framework of the sciences of clinical reasoning and evidence from clinical trials, neurobiology and education research; to reconceptualise pain in terms of modern neuroscience and philosophy; to stimulate an urgent reappraisal of current thinking in rehabilitation.

Assistive technology and its application to eating, drinking and activity challenges for people with complex needs

This online course explores how assistive technologies can enable clients/patients with complex needs to eat, drink and gain upper limb mobility. Legislation and funding is also explored, with live demonstrations and video testimonials.

NATSPEC

NATSPEC is the membership association for organisations which offer specialist provision for students with learning difficulties and disabilities. It provides CPD to the wider sector through its Transform and TechAbility training programmes. There are plenty of resources available via their YouTube channel, such as:

Using yoga within occupational therapy for young people with autism

Emily Kellett, Occupational Therapist at Seashell Trust, uses yoga as a therapeutic tool to support young people with autism and sensory processing difficulties.

In this webinar, she explains the benefits of using yoga with this population to help teach skills of self-regulation. Emily talks through some of the postures and breathing exercises, and looks at what to consider if delivering a yoga session at college and for a home-learning setting.

All About Occupation

The University of Brighton Occupational Therapy Team has launched the All About Occupation seminar series.

They aim to bring you free seminars featuring speakers presenting on a range of topics - all as individuals who understand people as occupational beings. This therefore will include those who explore or promote people’s engagement in activities, the meaning of this, the relationship between occupation, equality, health, justice, well-being, and identity, as well as those chartering the less known, under-acknowledged, complex aspects of occupations.

Ncore

Ncore, the National Centre of Rehabilitation Education deliver over 150 CPD events per year. See their full list of events which include online and classroom-based courses across the country.

Books

Some of the more recent publications in the field:

Illuminating The Dark Side of Occupation - International Perspectives from Occupational Therapy and Occupational Science - edited by Rebecca Twinley

ISBN: 9780367218140

This innovative volume introduces Twinley’s concept of ‘The Dark Side of Occupation’. Focused on less explored and under-addressed occupations, it is an idea that challenges traditional assumptions around the positive, beneficial, health-promoting relationship between occupation and health.

This book is an essential purchase for students in occupational therapy and science, and valuable supplementary reading for practitioners. It is also relevant to a wide interdisciplinary audience with an interest in human occupation, encompassing anthropologists, councillors, criminologists, nurses, and human geographers.

Occupational Therapy Activities for Kids: 100 Fun Games and Exercises to Build Skills - by Heather Ajzenman

ISBN: 978-1646110766

Occupational therapy uses simple, fun activities to help kids learn the skills they need for daily life, from eating meals and writing the alphabet to socialising with friends and family.

Occupational Therapy Activities for Kids is designed to help children at all developmental ability levels strengthen those skills by playing their way through 100 exciting exercises that are easy to do at home anytime.

This family-friendly guide offers concise information on how occupational therapy works and shows you how to apply it in a way that benefits your child. The games are even divided into chapters based on different types of occupational therapy skills - sensory processing, motor, social-emotional, and cognitive and visual processing - so you can focus on the ones that are most important for your child.

Philosophy and Occupational Therapy: Informing Education, Research, and Practice - by Steven D. Taff

ISBN: 978-1630916763

Philosophy and Occupational Therapy: Informing Education, Research, and Practice provides an overview of the most influential philosophical movements from past to present and shows how these philosophies are a foundational, yet underutilised, element of occupational therapy education, research, and practice.

Each chapter offers a basic description of a philosophy, outlines major thinkers and concepts and ultimately summarises the implications for occupational therapy education, research and practice.

This is a unique and essential book for occupational therapy educators, researchers, and clinicians that will enrich the teaching-learning process, ground research with depth and clarity, and spark discussion among professionals about reviving the use of philosophy in current occupational therapy practice.

Do you have any resources that other OTs would find useful?

Please let us know on Twitter and we’ll update our list so everyone can benefit. If you've tried any of these resources, tell us how you found them - and remember to record and reflect on your CPD evidence too!

Please note that Julia is not affiliated with any external content nor is it endorsing any particular resources as successful CPD practice.

Article originally published 23rd July 2021 but updated to include current resources.