May Interest Group highlights: Guest speakers and upcoming sessions

Mark your calendars! OTA’s May’s Interest Group sessions are here to inspire, energise and connect you with like-minded OTs across Australia.

These sessions bring together OTA members working across diverse areas of practice to explore relevant topics, with peer-led and expert insights about emerging best-practice thinking.

Guest speakers will join us across several groups, sharing their perspectives and strategies for contemporary occupational therapy practice.

Whether you’re looking to deepen your knowledge, broaden your perspective, or simply connect with others who get what you do, Interest Groups offer a welcoming space to do just that. They are one of our most-loved member benefits!

Sessions are free to attend, and registrations close approximately 48 hours prior to each event. Agendas and resources are made available to download ahead of time to help you get the most out of each discussion. Please note, online meetings are not recorded.

Check out all the upcoming IG meetings in May and join the conversation.

Here are just some of the highlights you can look forward to this May.

Yoga, Mindfulness & Body-Based Practices Interest Group | 4 May

Curious about how yoga and somatic, body-based mindfulness can be meaningfully integrated into OT practice? Join Sarita Sloane, Kim Reese and Jennifer O’Brien for an engaging, practitioner-led discussion exploring how these approaches are being applied across Australia. This session invites you to share your own experiences, ask questions and exchange ideas, with a focus on real-world practice, emerging research and practical resources you can take back into your work.

Occupational Therapy in Schools Interest Group | 5 May

Thriving Kids and resource sharing are the topics of this session, featuring Daniel White, Strategic Government, Stakeholder Relations & Policy Specialist at Occupational Therapy Australia, alongside Lindsey Duffield, Convenor OT in Australian Education Networking Group.

Together, they will provide an update on the rollout of the Thriving Kids Initiative (commencing 1 October 2026), discuss the Australian Government’s National Model, and share an update on OTA’s policy and advocacy work related to the Thriving Kids Initiative.

Perinatal & Infant Mental Health Interest Group | 6 May

Guest speaker Dr Pieta Shakes will talk about working with parents who receive unexpected news about their unborn baby's health, development or genetics. Pieta is a mental health nurse and researcher dedicated to improving psychosocial support for parents receiving unexpected fetal health or genetic news. She has postgraduate qualifications in mental health nursing, child and adolescent mental health, applied statistics, diagnostic genomics and higher education innovative teaching and learning, and is now studying health policy and planning. She is a Teaching and Research Academic with James Cook University, the founder and Executive Director of Through the Unexpected, and the co-Chair of the Perinatal Society of Australia and New Zealand Perinatal Ethics Committee.

NSW/ACT Paediatrics Interest Group | 12 May

Guest speaker Dr Karen Ray is an occupational therapist, lecturer and researcher whose work focuses on improving children’s participation and educational outcomes through school‑based interventions and handwriting assessment. She is also the author of the Letter Form Assessment Version 2 (LFA-2), a free tool for assessing handwriting fluency in beginning writers – the topic of her presentation. Karen leads an active research group who have established the LFA-2’s psychometric properties and developed Australian norms, and her doctoral research examined Write Start-K, a whole-class Kindergarten handwriting intervention, demonstrating its positive impact on handwriting fluency, reading and writing composition.

Mental Health Interest Group | 13 May

Occupational therapist and University of Sydney lecturer Dr Melissa Aguey Zinsou will share insights about how to support young people experiencing psychosis with their careers and employment. Melissa has extensive experience working as an occupational therapist in mental health services in Queensland, NSW and the UK. She has worked with a range of age groups from adolescents to older adults in a variety of settings spanning community to intensive care, and in clinical and leadership roles including rehabilitation coordinator, Strengths Model trainer and Recovery College clinical educator. Melissa’s research endeavours to transform services to be recovery and participation focused.

Women's Health Interest Group | 21 May

Guest speakers Sian Griffiths and Mary Butler will explore the under-examined concept of calibration, using Alice in Wonderland as a reflective framework to understand changes in occupational participation and self-identity. Drawing on their work in women’s health, they will consider how social, cultural and political environments – and their often-unspoken expectations – shape how individuals adapt (or recalibrate) through different life stages and roles. This session will unpack how the idea of calibration can deepen our understanding of the changes that clients navigate, and offer practical opportunities to discuss how occupational therapists can apply this concept to support participation and adaptation during significant life transitions.

SA Driving Interest Group | 21 May

Join Tina Doherty for a session on anxiety and driving, with particular focus on the role of exposure therapy in supporting clients return to the road. Tina is a driver trained occupational therapist specialising in supporting injured workers within the SA Return to Work Scheme, with additional experience assisting clients across other compensation pathways. Her practice focuses on restoring independence in daily life, guiding individuals through rehabilitation, return‑to‑work planning, long‑term adaptation, and driver assessment and rehabilitation following injury or illness. Tina has been an OTA member since 2019 and was an invited speaker at the 2023 Australian Hand Therapy Association National Conference, where she presented On the road again: Driving after an upper limb injury.

OT Dementia Interest Group | 27 May

What does best-practice OT look like in dementia care today? Hear from an OT spokesperson from Dementia Australia as they share insights into current approaches, priorities and supports for people living with dementia, their families and carers.

Dementia Australia is the national peak body supporting people living with dementia, their families and carers.

Expect a collaborative discussion where you can connect, contribute and learn from others about OT in dementia practice.

Registe here.

Mental Health Interest Group | 27 May

Members are invited to a reflective and thought-provoking journal club to explore the role of spirituality in mental health practice. Guest speaker Sarah Suthers Clarkin is an advanced‑career occupational therapist in regional Queensland whose private practice provides capacity‑building therapy across the lifespan, with a particular focus on how mental health affects daily functioning.

This is an opportunity to engage in rich discussion, share perspectives and deepen your understanding alongside peers working across mental health settings.

About OTA Interest Groups

OTA brings members together through national and state-based Interest Groups. Members can join by selecting a community that aligns with their practice interests and start engaging in discussion, learning and collaboration with peers across the profession. You can join as many groups as you like.

OTA Interest Groups are an exclusive member benefit and a simple, meaningful way to stay engaged, informed and connected within your area of practice.

Start connecting, sharing, and learning alongside fellow professionals!