MH SIG - The Family Sensory Environment: An Intervention Area for OTP’s in Family Therapy

DATE: Thursday, October 24, 2024

TIME: 6-7:30 p.m.

CHAIRPERSONS (s): Emily Walker, OT, OTR, Allyson Lewis, OT, OTR, Rosa Colorado, OT, OTR, 

LOCATION: Zoom – the link will be sent out day before the event (through MAOT)

REMINDER You must sign up/register through MAOT events page no later than the morning of Wednesday, October 23, 2024.

Title: The Family Sensory Environment: An Intervention Area for OTP’s in Family Therapy

Learning Objectives: 

1. Participants will identify 2 examples of collaborative practice between OT practitioners and family therapists.
2. Participants will critically compare sensory profiles of various members in a family system and identify 2 areas of potential relational strength and conflict.
3. Participants will practice communicating and interpreting results of Sensory Profile assessments to colleagues and professions outside of occupational therapy.

Bio/Focus

Carli DiMeo is an occupational therapist and occupational therapy educator with 3 years of experience practicing in community-based and inpatient mental health. Carli’s experience spans the lifespan including both pediatric and adult mental health care with an emphasis on family-centered care. Through her time practicing at the Home for Little Wanderers, Carli has collaborated with family therapists to address environmental and personal factors impacting occupational performance. Through this collaboration, Carli has seen the impact of different sensory processing patterns of familial conflict and opportunities for attunement and familial joy. During this presentation, Carli will present approaches to use sensory-based assessments to enhance the understanding of children and their caregivers of their own capacity for modulating their sensory experience while working toward meaningful and safe relationships with one another. Through simulated case examples, Carli will invite participants to examine the strengths and areas of conflict amongst different sensory processing profiles and identify areas of intervention with an emphasis on interprofessional practice.

References:

1. Hanna, K. and Rodger, S. (2002), Towards family-centred practice in paediatric occupational therapy: A review of the literature on parent–therapist collaboration. Australian Occupational Therapy Journal, 49: 14-24. https://doi.org/10.1046/j.0045-0766.2001.00273.x
2. Li, Z., Sturge-Apple, M. L., & Davies, P. T. (2021). Family context in association with the development of child sensory processing sensitivity. Developmental psychology, 57(12), 2165.
3. Li, Z., Sturge-Apple, M. L., Jones-Gordils, H. R., & Davies, P. T. (2022). Sensory processing sensitivity behavior moderates the association between environmental harshness, unpredictability, and child socioemotional functioning. Development and psychopathology, 34(2), 675-688.