Exploring Occupational Therapy: A Free Webinar Series on Key Areas of Practice

Annie Pettorelli is an occupational therapist who works at the outpatient OT clinic of the Jewish General Hospital's Segal Cancer Centre. Her mandate is to promote activity participation throughout the cancer care continuum, providing support to patients from the time of diagnosis, throughout treatment, and in survivorship. Annie Pettorelli holds a Master's degree in Occupational therapy from McGill University. She has been working in various settings at the Jewish General Hospital since she graduated in 2017.

Karina Jackson, MSc OT, is a dedicated occupational therapist with over seven years of clinical experience. A graduate of McGill University, where she earned her Master of Science in Occupational Therapy in 2017, Karina has since practiced in both public and private healthcare settings.

Karina specializes in pelvic floor therapy, perinatal health, and hand therapy, providing a holistic, patient-centered approach to care at a private multidisciplinary perinatal clinic in Montreal, Quebec. Her practice focuses on empowering patients with in-depth knowledge of their bodies while tailoring interventions to each individual's unique challenges and goals. By integrating diverse therapeutic strategies, Karina supports her clients’ effective rehabilitation and overall well-being. In addition to her clinical work, Karina mentors undergraduate and graduate students at McGill University, guiding them in understanding the role of occupational therapy in clinical practice.

Ruth Goldeen, OTR/L, M.Ed., PYT, has been an out-patient pediatric occupational therapist at UVA (University of Virginia), for 36 years. She studied OT at University of Pennsylvania, and completed a Master’s Degree in Early Childhood Education (with a Special Needs emphasis) at UVA. Other trainings includes Yoga Teacher training, certification in Medical Therapeutic Yoga, and a variety of specialty trainings in OT and Children’s Yoga. She has taught Children’s Yoga to children with and without special needs for 20+ years. Ruth has created a YouTube series (kidsyogabyruth) of three 15 minute Yoga vignettes for Children with (or without) Autism – which has been translated into Vietnamese, Spanish and Chinese.

Ruth loves sharing the fun and creativity of yoga with children-and will share some of the many ways to use yoga when working towards OT goals!

Dr Lennox Thompson leads the Postgraduate Programmes in Pain and Pain Management at University of Otago, based in Christchurch, New Zealand.

Dr Lennox Thompson’s clinical background is occupational therapy and psychology, and her clinical and research focus is on supported pain self-management in daily life. She was awarded her PhD in 2015, investigating living well with chronic pain. Her primary academic work is teaching an interprofessional approach to pain and pain management to clinicians from a diverse range of clinical backgrounds. She was awarded the University of Otago Teaching Excellence Award in 2022.

Her current research projects include co-developing a self-help intervention to reduce pain and anxiety in women undergoing minor gynaecological procedures; early diagnosis and management of complex regional pain syndrome in the upper limb; experiences of living well in people with complex regional pain syndrome; a consumer-led pain self-management programme; and experiences and impact on attitudes towards pain from exposure to a cold pressor test in undergraduate medical students.