Occupational Therapy Intensive Course

The Anatomical Acupuncture Occupational Therapist Course is an intensive program that combines information from the Anatomical Acupuncture Program: Introductory, Advanced Upper Quadrant, and Master Needling Courses. This course is specifically designed to be clinically relevant for AHPRA-registered Occupational Therapists wishing to add dry needling to their clinical toolkit.

What sets AAP Education apart from the Crowd?

EXPERTISE. You will benefit from a presenter who has completed his PhD and is a specialist musculoskeletal physiotherapist (member of the Australian College of Physiotherapists) with 40 years of full-time clinical experience and 30+ years of teaching dry needling. You will gain practical insights spanning research and clinical practice that you can apply immediately in your clinic.

COMPLETE LEARNING MATERIALS. From the moment you enrol, you have online access to your pre-reading materials and practical videos. You can learn in the comfort of your home, at work or when travelling between the two (public transport, of course!). A wet Laboratory Anatomy workshop is exclusively available to enable an essential review of anatomy ‘in the flesh’. 

LIFETIME SUPPORT. Why go through the same pitfalls? Why reinvent the wheel? Your dry needling skills will develop through a series of progressively challenging lectures and presentations. Along the way, you learn in a supportive environment that combines theory, practice, case studies, and clinical reasoning. Even when not in a course and you have access to the course director for answers, post questions on the Members forum, and access an extensive online Resources Library with practical videos, webinars, documents, and research papers. Why? Learning shouldn’t be threatening! We want learning to be clinically relevant and fun. We offer the only progressive, COMPLETE dry needling program with LIFETIME support. You can also join our private dry needling tribe, where you can ask fellow course attendees questions and share experiences and ideas.

TIME CREATION. I find that when using dry needling to treat clients, it creates 3-4 EXTRA minutes for every client if I am treating pain, trigger points or muscle spasm. Over a day of 15-20 clients, I choose to spend an extra hour on more comprehensive client education and home exercise development. In this way, dry needling improves client outcomes through short-term pain relief and long-term functional improvements.

Presented by Dr Doug Cary PhD. FACP. this course will provide you with;

• Customised and detailed review of relevant pain theory, trigger point theory
• Trigger point assessment and identification skills
• Integrated functional and surface anatomy
• Specific tissue localisation & enhanced palpation skills
• Clinical examples related to the shoulder girdle, arm, forearm and hand
• Invitation to attend an exclusive AAP Education 2-hour web laboratory review session. See Wet Anatomy Lab to enrol and available dates

Participants who have completed this course have met the minimum study requirement and demonstrated competency in the techniques taught in the Occupational Therapist Intensive Course. CPD hours = 24

Course Content & Presentation

This intensive program has been designed to maximise your learning experience. Theory is provided via our AAP Education Academy online portal, which includes lectures, quizzes, and practical videos. Your theory modules must be completed and the certificate printed before attending your F2F workshop day.

Textbook Recommendations

Click here for our recommendations of books to assist your study.

Continuing Professional Development

AAP Accredited course: 24 hours towards your AHPRA CPD requirements.