OT Potential Podcast | Occupational Therapy CEUs
by Sarah Lyon, OTR/L
Earn your OT CEUs by listening to our episodes for free, then logging into the OT Potential Club to take a short quiz and download your certificate. Each week (with breaks for major holidays), we host a live-recorded conversation exploring cutting-edge trends, timely hot topics, and the most impactful developments shaping occupational therapy today. Our expert guests help you pull out actionable insights you can apply immediately in practice. Designed for both occupational therapists, occupational therapy assistants, and OT students the OT Potential Podcast is your go-to source for AOTA-approved, evidence-driven occupational therapy continuing education.
Episodes
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#157 Motivational Interviewing with Sabina Kahn
At the heart of rehab therapy is often behavior change. That powerful lever is how therapy is able to deliver such long-term, life-altering results. But let's be honest—it's also hard. I know I, for one, have sat in a therapy office as a patient, pledging to do my home exercise program, and then...
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#156 Risk Factors for Cognitive Decline with Ganesh Babulal
As we've covered on the podcast, the world is heading toward a dementia crisis. The number of people living with dementia is projected to nearly triple by 2050, and low- and middle-income countries will be hit hardest. But there is real hope for changing that trajectory: prevention. The 2024…
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#155 Marketing Your Therapy Practice with Erica Stevens
More than 2.4 billion people around the globe live with a health condition that would benefit from rehabilitation, and more than 1 billion are living with a mental health condition. But how do they find the right therapist among the roughly 2.8 million OTs and PTs out there, not to mention SLPs…
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#154 OT as Mental Health Providers with Halley Read
For as long as I've been an OT, I've been hearing about occupational therapy's advocacy to be recognized as behavioral health providers. This is frankly a little confusing, since OT has deep roots in mental health care — and many of us became OTs because of the unique way the profession...
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#153 Rehab Tech Abandonment with Christopher Gaskins
On one hand, it truly feels like we are on track for health technology to transform healthcare as we know it. On the other hand, we have to weigh the reality that many health tech solutions end up abandoned. This is especially true of consumer-facing health tech. Some of the latest research shows...
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#152 OT and Aging in Place with Dawn Heiderscheidt
Healthcare has many challenges right now, but so many of them stem back to one looming global reality: By 2050, the number of people on our planet over age 65 is projected to double. It’s almost hard to wrap your head around the financial impact, the caregiving demands, and just how profoundly…
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#151 Caregiver Training Codes with Rachel Wiley
Over 53 million people in the U.S. provide unpaid caregiving services. That's a stunning 1 in 6 people. The complex role of caregiving can entail everything from behavior management, symptom detection, and nutritional guidance to medication administration and transfer skills. As you can imagine,...
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#150 Medicare Advocacy for 2027 with Dana Strauss
The 2027 Physician Fee Schedule signals a continued restructuring of clinician payment-redistributing funds towards primary care and behavioral health while providing signals for what's coming next. OTs and PTs can no longer sit on the sidelines. As straightforward, low-complexity care…
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#149 Neurodiversity Affirming OT for Adults with Samantha Valasek
The latest clinical practice guideline for occupational therapy for autistic people across the lifespan urges us to shift away from deficit models toward neurodiversity-affirming, strengths-based care. But, what does this look like in practice? We know from the research that there are barriers at...
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#148 Musculoskeletal Treatment Pathways with Chad Cook
As we’ve interviewed expert clinicians on the podcast, clear trends have emerged. These clinicians have two things in common: They have a pretty set arc to their treatment sessions. They tend to work from “menus” of intervention options. I’m pretty sure they do this- because this is what they’ve...
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#147 OT and Vision in Schools with Jaime Spencer
When you look at the intersection of vision and reading in schools, the gaps are impossible to ignore. Consider the data: Two-thirds of American fourth graders cannot read at grade level. One in four school-age children has a vision problem. School vision screenings miss up to 75% of children…
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#146 Prenatal Therapy with Marissa Ruhl
Only in this past year did it come on my radar that some therapy clinics are offering prenatal therapy. While I can personally relate to the desire to have a therapist guide you through such a complex stage of health, I thought that because it isn't offered widely, the evidence base would…
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#145 What is Therapy & How Do We Measure It? with Megan Cornish
The rapid rise of AI chat presenting as therapists has spurred a reaction to differentiate what AI can do versus the work of a licensed therapist. This is causing many people to look more closely at the question: What Is Therapy? In today’s discussion, we’ll both look back at how therapy has been...
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#144 Therapy and Value-based Care Models with Dana Strauss
It’s hard to overstate how important it is for OTs and PTs to understand the new value-based care models. But, let’s be honest—they are an overwhelming and confusing alphabet soup (TEAM, LEAD, GUIDE, ACO REACH), and that’s just the acronyms. For OTs and PTs, understanding these models will be the...
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#143 Home Health Therapy Documentation with Rohit Shetty
We all know that documentation is a heavy burden for therapists. But home health therapists arguably face one of the heaviest loads, with mandated OASIS reporting layered on top of standard clinical documentation — a dual requirement unique to this setting. They also face challenges that...
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#142 The Vagus Nerve and Stroke with Sarah Blair
It feels like in every practice area, the importance of the vagus nerve is being talked about. But nowhere is it being researched as much as vagal nerve stimulation post-stroke. And the initial results are promising — as long as it is paired with rehabilitation. The stimulation sets the body up…
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#141 Therapy Credentialing and Billing 101 with Kara Welke
In talking to therapy start-ups this year, I've heard a common stumbling block: Credentialing. And, honestly, I was shocked when I dug into the space. It feels like the seemingly boring task of getting credentialed with insurance has turned into what honestly feels like a world of sharks. It…
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#140 Suicide Prevention for OT, PT and SLP with Christine Weible-Cruz
In the United States, approximately 49,000 people die by suicide each year. And, unfortunately, the rate of suicide has increased substantially since 2000, up about 30%. Suicide remains among the 10 leading causes of death among persons aged 10-64 years and is the second leading cause of death...
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#139 Healthcare, Therapy, and the Senate with Dan Osborn
Fixing healthcare is simple: More people need preventative, conservative care earlier. But getting to this fix is a massively complex web of structural policy choices. The reality is that our modern healthcare system often misaligns incentives, rewarding the management of chronic sickness over…
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#138 SEO for Therapists with Saroosh Khan
SEO has long been the absolute best way to maintain a consistent therapy client caseload for outpatient therapists. But, for therapists in all settings really, understanding and optimizing your digital real estate is often a secret sauce for career growth. In today's course, we want to help you:...
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#137 OT in Primary Care with Ashley Halle
For years, "Occupational Therapy in Primary Care" has felt like a professional aspiration-a "gold standard" we discussed in classrooms but rarely saw in job postings. Today, that reality is shifting. Following the 2020 statutory mandates in Norway and Sweden that solidified OT as a required…
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#136 Osteoarthritis of the Thumb with Preston Lockwood
Thumb osteoarthritis is a common condition in older adults. By age 50, the prevalence is about 8% in men and 25% in women-and it increases with age, with meta-analysis data suggesting that by age 80, approximately 39% of women have radiographic signs of thumb base OA. Conservative treatment is...
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#135 The Ethics of AI as Therapists with Megan Cornish
The landscape of healthcare has been changed forever with the introduction of AI. Already, 1 in 3 adults are turning to chatbots to ask health related questions. For younger adults under age 30, the shift is even faster-nearly 30% now use AI specifically for mental health and emotional support....
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#134 Starting an OT Practice in 2026 with Christopher Gaskins
The landscape of private practice changed forever this year. With Amazon officially adding physical therapy to its marketplace, accessing rehabilitation services is now as easy as ordering a pair of shoes. This shift signifies a massive rise in public awareness of therapy services-but it also...
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#133 Intro to Travel Therapy with Laura Latimer
Travel therapy offers some of the highest compensation in rehab, yet it remains one of the most logistically challenging practice areas. Succeeding on the road requires a distinct mindset shift, balancing clinical flexibility with savvy career management. Whether you are eyeing your first…
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#132 Deciding if a Child Needs OT with Alyson Stover
Most parents start their OT journey with a frantic Google search: “Does my child need OT?” Unfortunately, the answers they find are often buried in vague recommendations about “missing milestones.” In this one-hour course, former AOTA President and pediatric practice owner Alyson Stover, MOT, JD,...
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#131 OT and Multiple Sclerosis Treatment with Makeda N. Jackson
Multiple Sclerosis (MS) remains the leading cause of non-traumatic disability in adults aged 18–65. Because of its prevalence and the vital role of therapy in management, it is a clinical area we return to often at OT Potential. We previously explored this topic through the inspiring lens of Dr....
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#130 How OTs and PTs Get Paid with Dana Strauss
Why does therapy often feel undervalued by the systems we serve? To change the future of our professions, we must first understand the forces that shape today’s Medicare and private payer models—and ultimately, your reimbursement. In this session, we sit down with DPT and policy expert Dana…
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#129 Therapy Documentation in 2026 with Pedro Teixeira
While the landscape of healthcare is shifting beneath our feet, the most tangible change in daily practice since the arrival of AI has been our documentation. Over the past two years, we have moved beyond the initial excitement of AI scribes and chat interfaces. As we look ahead to Therapy...
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#128 How to Plan a Great OT Session with Rachel Egan
There is a foundational skillset essential to occupational therapy that often isn't covered in school: The ability to design a 60-minute session that is both clinically transformative and operationally sound. Bridging the gap between high-level evidence-like task-specific practice for stroke...
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#127 Intro to NICU OT with Nicole Bazinet
Occupational therapy in the NICU is one of the most specialized and sensitive practice areas in our profession. The transition from traditional clinical settings to the high-stakes, high-tech environment of neonatal care requires a fundamental shift in how we approach both assessment and...
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#126 Neuro Recovery After Stroke with Henry Hoffman
Are you fully using the critical window of opportunity after stroke to support neuro-recovery during your OT sessions—or are you unintentionally devoting valuable rehab time to compensation? In today’s episode, we’re joined by Henry Hoffman to explore why prioritizing recovery—when...
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#125 Intro to Mental Health OT with Michelle Burlyga
Mental health is one of occupational therapy’s smallest practice areas. Because relatively few OTs work in traditional mental health settings, it can feel like an enigma: What does mental health OT actually look like day to day? Where do we fit on interdisciplinary teams? And how does occupation...
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#124 What is OT in 2026? with Katie Jordan and Angela Macauley
Through OT Potential, we’ve released more than 124 podcast episodes exploring the research, ideas, and conversations shaping occupational therapy. Each year, we pause to step back and ask a foundational question: What is occupational therapy—and how is it evolving? In this special episode to kick...
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#123 Selective Eating and Autism with Britt St. John
Research suggests that anywhere from 46% to 84% of autistic children experience selective eating. And the downstream risks are substantial: selective eating is linked with nutritional deficiencies, psychosocial impairment, and increased risk of developmental and psychiatric comorbidities, with...
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#122 AI in Education with David Foster and Melissa Kimmerling
AI is going to reshape OT education—rapidly and profoundly. The real question is: How do we harness its strengths for good? How do we protect the parts of learning that are best done without it, while also leveraging AI in areas where our profession has historically struggled? One promising area…
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#121 Negotiating with Payers with John Hutchinson and Chad Herzog
For many of us, payer negotiations feel distant—something handled “somewhere up the chain,” far removed from the day-to-day work of helping patients. But here’s the truth: nothing shapes our practice more than the reimbursement rates and contracts negotiated on our behalf. Reimbursement…
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#120 Vision Remediation and OT with Alicia Reiser
We, at OT Potential, keep hearing stories of more and more OTs teaming up with optometrists to provide vision remediation interventions. (Vision remediation focuses on retraining the eye and brain connection. This is in contrast to low vision therapy, which focuses on compensation and adapting…
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#119 OT and PT Collaboration with Rebeca Segraves
OTs and PTs compete in many ways. We can be found competing over: Patient time Who gets to bill which code on which day Recognition And scope of practice But, as looming outside forces like AI and decreasing reimbursement rates threaten our professions, it is critical to change our postures…
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#118 AI Chat and Clinical Decision Support with Jen Weaver
One year ago, we released an OT Potential Podcast episode exploring what AI could conceptually mean for clinical decision support. Fast forward to today—and AI chats have become a regular part of the decision-making process for many healthcare providers. In fact, OpenEvidence now reports that 40%...
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#117 OTA Hot Topics with Amy Mahle
Occupational therapy assistants are the bedrock of treatment provision in many OT departments throughout the country. In fact, In large rural SNFs, around 58% of OT staffing minutes are by OTAs. And, in rural and underserved communities, about 48% of all Medicare outpatient therapy services are...
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#116 OT and Heart Disease with Sabina Khan
Heart disease is the most common serious chronic condition among adults. In fact per the latest report staggering 1 in 3 US adults received care for a cardiovascular risk factor or condition in 2020. The same report projects that annual inflation-adjusted health care costs attributable to...
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#115 Intro to SNF OT with Trent Brown
Hot take: I loved working in a Skilled Nursing Facility. Skilled nursing facilities are one of the highest paid settings for occupational therapy professionals. And about one-fifth of us work in one. But, work in one can have a bad rap. In today’s intro to SNF OT course, we’ll walk through the...
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#114 OT, Nitrates, and Cancer Prevention Post with Jesse E. Bell
It’s no secret that I believe occupation therapy is entering its prevention era. We are starting to leverage our skillset not after a terrible health incident has occurred, but at the first sign of trouble. As I imagine this not-too-distant reality, there is one deeply personal area that I am so...
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#113 AI’s Potential in Child Development with Mati Kochavi
Artificial intelligence is rapidly transforming healthcare—and pediatric occupational therapy is no exception. This course aims to spark your imagination about AI’s potential to strengthen how we support child development. From enhancing your assessments with rich data to making interventions…
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#112 Intro to School OT with Bryden Carlson-Giving
School-based OTs is one of occupational therapy’s most distinct practice areas. The style of practice and the systems you work within, all take a mindset shift. Whether you just landed your first school OT job or are a seasoned professional looking to refine how you manage your days, this course...
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#111 Medicare Cuts & Opportunities with Dana Strauss
When you adjust for inflation, OT and PT reimbursement is down around 40% since 2002 on our key CPT codes. Now the 2026 Physician Fee Schedule proposed rule has ANOTHER cut to OT written in pencil. We simply cannot sustain continued cuts to the value of our services. So, we clearly need to...
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#110 Legal Considerations for OT (Part 2) with with Alyson Stover and Monika Lukasiewicz
OT reimbursement from traditional models is on the decline, while the need for OT services on the rises Thus, entering into private practice is an important avenue for OTs to consider. But, with this comes all kinds of legal considerations. In the first part of this two part series, we talked…
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#109 Cancer Rehab for Young Adults with Vanessa Monique Yanez
Unfortunately, rates of cancer have been on the rise for young adults in multiple cancer types—including breast, pancreatic, and gastric cancers. Cancer rehab for these individuals introduces multiple special considerations given their age and life stage. In this one hour webinar, we will use our...
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#108 Legal Considerations for OT with Alyson Stover and Monika Lukasiewicz
While many therapists dream of private practice, the risk of hitting a legal landmine holds many back. In this episode, we are going to zoom in on one OT who is looking to partner with a doctor who is providing concierge dementia services. We’ll use this as a case example to talk through what…
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About this show
Earn your OT CEUs by listening to our episodes for free, then logging into the OT Potential Club to take a short quiz and download your certificate. Each week (with breaks for major holidays), we host a live-recorded conversation exploring cutting-edge trends, timely hot topics, and the most impactful developments shaping occupational therapy today.
Our expert guests help you pull out actionable insights you can apply immediately in practice. Designed for both occupational therapists, occupational therapy assistants, and OT students the OT Potential Podcast is your go-to source for AOTA-approved, evidence-driven occupational therapy continuing education.
Hosted by
Sarah Lyon, OTR/L