Anti-oppressive documentation practices for occupational therapists  (November 28, 2025)

Online

Friday, November 28, 2025
12:00 - 3:45 p.m. (Eastern Time)

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The Competencies for Occupational Therapists in Canada (ACOTRO et al., 2021) emphasize the need for occupational therapists to address the ongoing social and health inequities experienced by various minoritized communities across Canada. Occupational therapists have a timely responsibility to align themselves with these competencies by critically reflecting on current practices and brainstorming/applying practices grounded in anti-oppression and human rights. While documentation remains an integral aspect of quality healthcare by supporting reflection, analysis, communication, and quality improvement, it nonetheless remains a power-laden practice, one that can contribute to or work against oppression (Healy et al., 2022 ; MacLachlan & Grenier, 2022).

This half-day workshop equips occupational therapy professionals with foundational knowledge on anti-oppressive documentation practices and with concrete tools to begin applying anti-oppressive documentation practices to their current practice. During the first part of the workshop, the presenters will introduce participants to important concepts of anti-oppressive documentation practices in a lecture format. During the second part, participants will have the opportunity to practise applying learned concepts and discuss current challenges and opportunities in practice in small groups in breakout rooms with the support of presenters.

Preliminary workshop agenda

Learning objectives

By the end of this workshop, you will be able to:

1. Recognize the ways that documentation practices can contribute to or work against oppression, particularly for minoritized communities across Canada. 
2. Critically reflect on their current documentation practices. 
3. Apply anti-oppressive documentation practices to their current occupational therapy practice.

Target audience

Occupational therapists, OTAs, and students in occupational therapy programs who wish to increase their understanding and skills in anti-oppressive documentation, when working in any area of practice and with any client age group. Physiotherapists and social workers are also welcome to participate.

Please note: Each participant is responsible to ensure they apply the information within the context of their licensure, provincial/territorial legislations, institution regulations, scope of practice, etc.

Client age group

Young children (0-4 years old), Children (5-12 years old), Adolescents (13-19 years old), Adults (20-64 years old), Older adults (65+ years old)

Areas of practice

Advocacy, Equity & Justice, Indigenous Health, Leadership & Change Agency, Policy Development

Workshop level

Advanced (6+ years of experience)

Presenter

Marie-Lyne Grenier, MScOT, DOT, PhD(c), erg.

Marie-Lyne Grenier resides and works in Tiohtià:ke (Montreal) on the unceded lands of the Kanien'kehá:ka people. Marie-Lyne has worked as an occupational therapist in the USA and Canada since 2010 in practice areas including musculoskeletal rehabilitation, return-to-work rehabilitation, home care, and ergonomics. She is also a Faculty Lecturer in the Occupational Therapy Department at McGill University and a PhD candidate in the Department of Integrated Studies in Education at McGill. Marie-Lyne’s PhD research aims to better understand the educational experiences that support the development/strengthening of healthcare students’ commitment to equity and justice in healthcare contexts.

Janna MacLachlan, PhD, OT Reg. (Ont.)

Janna MacLachlan resides and works in Iqaluit, Nunavut, part of Inuit Nunangat, the homeland of Inuit in Canada. Janna has worked as an occupational therapist since 2006 in practice areas including generalist practice, school health, acute care, and global health, and has worked in locations including Nunavut, Ottawa, and India. Janna’s doctoral work, completed in 2022, engaged Inuit ways of knowing, critical social science approaches and critical reflexivity to examine issues of health equity, power and privilege, and reconciliation in rehabilitation services offered to Inuit children in Nunavut. She is a Banting Postdoctoral Researcher at the Qaujigiartiit Health Research Centre.

Registration fees

Registration deadline: November 28, 2025 at 11:59 a.m. (Eastern Time)  

Please note that CAOT does not offer group registration fees. 
*It may be more cost effective to become a CAOT Member or Associate rather than pay the non-member rate. See “Can a non-member register for a Workshop?” in our Professional Development FAQs to know which membership category you are eligible for. 

Included in your registration fee:

Online workshop, access to the recording for a period of 14 days following the workshop, electronic copy of presentation slide handouts, opportunity to network and make connections with other occupational therapists interested in this topic, electronic certificate of attendance.

Cancellation/refund policy

All cancellation/refund requests must be sent in writing to education@caot.ca. All cancellation requests received by November 12, 2025 will be given a full refund minus a $50.00 administrative fee. No refunds will be given after November 12, 2025. Substitutions and transfers requests received by November 12, 2025 are permitted and are subject to a $50.00 administrative fee. If you are exceptionally unable to complete the workshop, please reach out to education@caot.ca by 25 days following the end of the workshop for extended access to the recording (up to one month after the end of the workshop) or a one-time transfer to another offering of the same workshop if currently open for registration. 

CAOT reserves the right to modify the workshop title, description, registration dates and information on the workshop webpage. CAOT will notify participants on or before October 17, 2025 if there is insufficient registration by that date and reserves the right to cancel a Workshop due to insufficient registration up until October 31, 2025. CAOT reserves the right to modify the offering, interrupt Workshops, change the timing of a Workshop, cancel a Workshop or change the technology for the Workshop due to the presenter no longer being able to present the Workshop, severe weather, power failure, building closures or other special circumstances that are beyond the control of CAOT by notifying participants as soon as possible. If the Workshop is cancelled by CAOT, registrants will receive a full refund of the registration fee. CAOT will not be responsible for other costs or expenses incurred by registrants as a result of any such changes.

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The Canadian Association of Occupational Therapists (CAOT) is committed to accessibility as expressed in the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA). We provide an electronic copy of the handouts approximately one week ahead of time in multiple slide layouts, auto-generated closed captioning through Zoom (excluding breakout rooms), as well as access to the recording for two weeks following the workshop. If you require additional special arrangements for accessibility, please contact education@caot.ca or 1-800-434-2268.    

Please note that workshop is offered in English.