About Genevieve

Genevieve Pepin

Associate Professor

Higher Degree Research Director

Deakin University

I am a French-Canadian mental health occupational therapist and an academic living in Australia. I started working at Deakin University in 2007. I am passionate about understanding the impact of mental illness on engagement in meaningful occupations and advancing occupational therapy practice, education, and research in mental health. I am particularly interested in understanding the impact of eating disorders on function and the daily occupations of those with an eating disorder and their family, and the development of innovative interventions promoting best health outcomes. I am a strong advocate for occupational therapy in mental health and eating disorders and for the unique role we can play in people’s recovery. I strongly believe in multidisciplinary approaches – I love collaborating with others and value the national and international collaborators I work with- , best practice, and emerging knowledge that support occupation-based and client-centred interventions in the mental health and eating disorders sectors.

Session title

Occupational Therapy and Eating Disorders…. Seriously, it is that hard to understand?

Session details

The main aim of this presentation is to share the evolution of the role of occupational therapists in the field of eating disorders. Through the journey of the presenter as a mental health and eating disorder clinician, links will be made with evidence-based treatment for people with eating disorders, the functional impact of eating disorders, engagement with families and carers of people with an eating disorder, and some uniquely occupational therapy perspectives and actions.

Hurdles and successes will also be discussed. Case studies will illustrate the work of occupational therapists in this field as well as how our collaborative, client-centred, family-focus, and strength-based approach supports occupational participation and recovery.

This presentation will hopefully demonstrate that it is possible to remain occupation-focussed and keep our occupational therapy unique contribution to the field of eating disorders while facilitating non-occupational therapy evidence-based interventions.