Pediatric Pioneers Episode 1: What Is Occupational Therapy’s Distinct Role in School Mental Health?

Dr. Susan Bazyk, an esteemed expert in occupational therapy’s role in addressing the mental health needs of children and youth, joins us to explore how therapists can play a pivotal role in promoting mental well-being within school settings. In this episode, she and host Nicole Quint highlight the unique contributions occupational therapy practitioners bring to school mental health through success stories from the field, focusing on practical strategies that go beyond traditional one-on-one interventions. Tune in to discover actionable insights on applying a tiered approach to mental health and how to advocate for OT’s full scope of practice in school settings. Learning Objectives Interpret the evidence around applying a tiered approach, such as Every Moment Counts, to mental health in occupational therapy practice Apply evidence-based, practical strategies for promoting positive mental health throughout the school day, including lunch, recess, and extracurricular leisure Develop universal and targeted mental health promotion and prevention services using the Every Moment Counts website and downloadable resources Timestamps (00:00:00) Welcome (00:03:19) Initial Attraction to Occupational Therapy Practitioner’s (OTP’s) Role in Children’s Mental Health (00:07:08) Challenges and Opportunities in School-Based Practice (00:10:25) Articulating the Full Scope of OTPs in Schools (00:19:32) Implementing Tiered Approaches to Mental Health in Schools (00:30:28) Practical Implementation (00:37:48) Actionable Takeaways (00:43:40) Success Stories (00:52:25) Final Thoughts Resources Mentioned In This Episode https://everymomentcounts.org/ Pediatric Pioneers is brought to you by MedBridge. If you’d like to earn continuing education credit for listening to this episode and access bonus takeaway handouts, log in to your MedBridge account and navigate to the course where you’ll find accreditation details. If applicable, complete the post-course assessment and survey to be eligible for credit. The takeaway handout on MedBridge gives you the key points mentioned in this episode, along with additional resources you can implement into your practice right away. If you’d like to subscribe to MedBridge, visit https://www.medbridge.com/pricing/