CPD EMPOWER: Supporting Adolescents, Teenagers and their Families Through Puberty and Beyond
Adolescence brings rapid change, from puberty and body image to identity, independence, and family dynamics. This two-day workshop will equip occupational therapists with the knowledge, confidence, and practical tools to support adolescents through one of life’s most dynamic stages and prepare OTs to navigate sensitive issues, foster independence, and work collaboratively with families and young people.
Program Overview
CPD Empower
This workshop is part of CPD Empower - OTA’s national CPD event series offering in-depth, OT-specific workshops across key areas of practice. Designed for both experienced clinicians and those ready to stretch themselves, each workshop stream delivers high quality immersive learning, expert facilitation, and practical insights you can take straight back into your work. For more information about the full CPD Empower experience, visit https://otaus.com.au/cpd-empower
Workshop Overview
Adolescence is a time of profound growth and change, marked by the challenges of puberty, identity development, and increasing independence. For occupational therapists, supporting teenagers during this stage requires sensitivity, flexibility, and confidence in addressing both practical and deeply personal issues. This two-day workshop offers a balance of evidence-informed theory, practical strategies, and reflective practice to strengthen your ability to work effectively with adolescents and their families. Participants will explore how to navigate sensitive conversations, foster resilience and self-advocacy, and adapt therapy approaches as young people transition towards adulthood.
Day One focuses on understanding the adolescent as a “whole person”, covering topics such as self-care, gender and sexuality, body image, social media, respectful relationships, community participation, transitions, sensory regulation, and the puberty process.
Day Two shifts focus to the therapist, building practitioner knowledge, skills, and confidence to support adolescents and their families through this developmental stage. Sessions include reflective practice, strategies for working collaboratively with parents and adolescents, and adapting therapy approaches as clients transition away from child-focused interventions
By the end of this two-day program, participants will be able to:
- Understand the impact of autism and disability on the experience of the adolescent transition from child to adult
- Describe the role of occupational therapy in supporting young autistic people and people with disability to navigate the adolescent transition
- Build confidence in addressing sensitive issues with adolescents such as sexuality, gender identity, social media, and respectful relationships.
- Apply evidence-informed strategies to support adolescents’ independence in self-care, self-regulation, resilience, and self-advocacy skills.
- Strengthen confidence in working collaboratively with parents, while empowering adolescents to lead their own therapeutic goals.
- Reflect on their own professional skills and knowledge gaps to develop a plan for ongoing growth when working with adolescents and teenagers
This session is suitable for:
This session is suitable for occupational therapists from new graduate to mid-career level, or for more experienced clinicians who may be new to working in the adolescent/teenage space.
WORKSHOP DETAILS:
Thursday 26th March – Friday 27th March 2026 (2 days)
TIME:
Thursday 26th March 9:00am – 5:00pm
Friday 27th March 9:00am – 5:00pm
Registration commences at 8:30am each day
VENUE
Crowne Plaza, 1-5 Spencer Street, Melbourne
CPD HOURS
Total CPD claimable workshop hours: 13 hours
A certificate of attendance will be issued upon completion of the full course. Please allow up to 48 hours for the certificate to appear in your CPD tracker.
INCLUSIONS:
The following are included in your registration:
- Tea & Coffee on arrival
- Daily Catering - Morning tea, lunch and afternoon tea (please note any dietary requirements at time of registration)
- Networking event ('Power Hour') 5:00pm - 6:00pm
REGISTRATION FEES
OTA MEMBERS
EARLYBIRD – $ 765 (Book on or before 2nd February 2026)
STANDARD – $849 (Book on or after 3rd February 2026)
Members must be logged in with username and password to register at the member rate.
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NON-MEMBERS: $1099 – Book by 13th March 2026
Early Bird prices are not available for non-members
RSVPS close 13th March 2026
Note: All pricing is inclusive of GST
DISCLAIMER
All information is correct at the time of publication. OTA reserves the right to alter or delete items from the CPD calendar as required, and takes no responsibility for any errors, omissions, and changes.
All resources including copies of the presentation, along with all supporting documents and links are not for distribution and are the property of the presenter.
An OTA staff member or representative may be photographing this event for use in OTA publications and/or on OTA social media sites. If you do not wish to be photographed, or have your image published please make this known to the OTA representative at your course or contact OTA on 1300 682 878 or info@otaus.com.au
TERMS AND CONDITIONS
Terms and Conditions including OTA’s refund and cancellation policy are available here
CONTACT US
Please email info@otaus.com.au or phone 1300 682 878
Presented By
Sarah Hausler
Director and Principal Occupational Therapist at Bloom Wellbeing
Sarah Hausler is the Director and Principal Occupational Therapist at Bloom Wellbeing, a private paediatric occupational therapy practice in Adelaide’s western suburbs, focused on paediatrics, adolescence and women’s health. Sarah is also an academic at Adelaide University, where she teaches into their Enabling Change: Children and Families, Enabling Change: Mental Health, and Development Across the Lifespan for Allied Health courses. Sarah is also the creator and co-convenor of the Women’s Health OT Australia Facebook Interest Group, which hosts over 1000 Occupational Therapists as members. Sarah is the Director of KaBloom Wellbeing, providing practice resources, and programs such as Puberty Plus and Sensaroos.