LA Chapter Event @ Masada Homes

Sign up here

Thursday April 25, 2024 

5:30-7:30p

Come join us at Masada Homes for a presentation by Michael Heaton where we will learn about OT’s role in Home Assessment within Community Mental Health. We will be doing a tour of the site and discussing environmental modifications commonly recommended for families for each room, touching on issues relevant to the rooms including leisure skills, sleep, healthy eating, study skills, physical exercise etc.

DisruptOT Unconference

You are invited to the free and virtual DisruptOT Unconference from March 21-23 to learn about and engage in humanity, healing, resistance, and community. 
This year’s event features participation from members of the community, not just healthcare professionals, and has translated auto-captions available in 35 languages so that most language speakers can participate.

Register for free and learn more: https://www.disruptot.org/unconference

OT Books to Lookout for!

Congratulations to long-time POTAC contributors Sheela Roy Ivlev and Beth Ching for their recent book publications! 

Sheela Roy Ivlev (she/her) is an occupational therapist specializing in mental health and wellness. As a Bengali woman born and raised in San Francisco, the unceded ancestral homeland of the Ramaytush Ohlone people, she understands health and wellness from diverse perspectives and values the connection of culture and healing. She is the founder of OT Bay Area, WellWrx Consulting, and DisruptOT, an international volunteer-based organization disrupting the status quo of systemic oppression in healthcare, building community, highlighting global voices, and providing free education to healthcare users, students, and practitioners worldwide. 

See more information & to buy the book click here


Elizabeth “Beth” Ching, OTD, M.Ed., BSOT, OTR/L, Associate Professor, Samuel Merritt University (SMU), is a Third Generation Korean Chinese American born in Vallejo, California and has been an occupational therapist since 1985. Beth has been committed to working with underserved populations throughout her career. She has presented at the National Conference on Race and Ethnicity in Higher Education (NCORE) about reducing health disparities and mentoring Black, Indigenous, People of Color (BIPOC) youth to enter the health professions. She also held the SMU Faculty Diversity Coordinator position in the Office of Diversity and Inclusion. Dr. Ching has published in the Journal of Cultural Diversity, Journal of Occupational Therapy Education, Journal of Diversity and Equality in Health and Care, Open Access Journal of Complementary & Alternative Medicine; she has co-authored “Psychosocial and Cognitive Issues Affecting Therapy” in Neurorehabilitation for the Physical Therapist Assistant (2021). Dr. Ching was honored to receive the 2021 Faculty of the Year Award at SMU.

Check out her book, “Next 10 Exits: Reflections on Race and Resilience in Vallejo, California” here

AOTA Survey- Input Needed!

AOTA MHSIS is seeking input to determine whether there is a need for a Board Certification in Mental Health, and if board certifications have an impact on AOTA membership. The results will be shared with AOTA to inform certification moving forward. The survey takes less than 5 minutes to complete.

Survey Link