Dr Shelley Wright

Teaching Strengths

Trauma informed care
Mental Health
Therapeutic communication
Research skills and ethics
Working with children

Dr Shelley Wright

School of Allied Health and Human Performance

College of Health

Eligible to supervise Masters and PhD - email supervisor to discuss availability.

Available For Media Comment.

I have been a longstanding lecturer (teaching and research) in the occupational therapy program at the University of South Australia (UniSA). I am also an experienced occupational therapy clinician who has a long-standing interest in child protection and the impact of child trauma throughout life, from a clinical, research and education perspective (with clinical experience in a range of mental health and paediatric roles, including an agency that focused on services for children experiencing trauma and their families).
My research interests include: child and adult well-being, the impact of trauma throughout the lifespan, mental health, and play and playfulness. I have expertise in a range of research methologies, including qualitative research, case study design and survey design. I am passionate about training up and coming researchers, having supervised more than 15 honours by research students, and have coordinated the research honours preparation course for occupational therapy and speech pathology students for several years. I am also a member of the University of South Australia’s Safe Relationships and Communities Research Group (SRC) which promotes the development of safe and healthy interpersonal relationships and strong socially-inclusive communities.

My PhD was conferred in 2016, topic: Playfulness in Preschool Children: The Impact of Parental Characteristics and Child Abuse and Neglect. I have recently collaborated on a colleague’s (Sarah Seekamp) project, completing a scoping review to support interprofessional collaboration in the field of child protection (see research outputs). I have also continued to pursue my interest in the area of trauma through both honours and higher degree research supervision. A current masters by research student is examining the topic, Supporting foster carers in using play as a therapeutic tool. Some recent honours projects I have supervised include:

2023

  • Parents’ perceptions & understanding of co-regulation in parenting 2-5-year-olds

2022

  • Consumer experiences with sensory modulation interventions in an Australian forensic mental health facility: A case study
  • Staff perceptions of the value and practical implementation of a foundation skills program for autistic children
  • Parents' perceptions of changes in their child and family since being involved with a foundation skills group for autistic children

2021

  • The use of video self-modelling for skill development for children in a specialist school setting
  • Foster carers’ perceptions of supporting children to engage in everyday activities during the COVID-19 restrictions
  • Does the self-reported playfulness of older adults influence their wellbeing?

2020

  • Educator’s perceptions and experiences of supporting young children with self-regulation

Year Citation
2025 Harvery, M., Harrington, R., Morgan, M., Yule, E., & Wright, S. (2025). Community Treatment Orders in Australia in the Context of International Literature: A Narrative Review of Consumers, Families and Health Professionals' Perspectives. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MENTAL HEALTH NURSING, 34(3), 10 pages.
DOI WoS1
2024 Lage, C. R., Wright, S., de S. Monteiro, R., Aragão, L., & Boshoff, K. (2024). Collaborative practice with parents in occupational therapy for children: a scoping review. Australian Occupational Therapy Journal, 71(5), 833-850.
DOI Scopus4 WoS4
2024 Lage, C. R., Wright, S., Monteiro, R. G. D. S., Aragao, L., & Boshoff, K. (2024). Foundational concepts of collaborative practice with parents in occupational therapy for children. Australian Occupational Therapy Journal, 71(5), 641-895.
DOI Scopus3 WoS3 Europe PMC2
2023 Parker, C., Kennedy Behr, A., Wright, S., & Brown, T. (2023). Does the self-reported playfulness of older adults influence their wellbeing? An exploratory study. Scandinavian Journal of Occupational Therapy, 30(1), 86-97.
DOI Scopus11 WoS10 Europe PMC7
2023 Lage, C. R., Wright, S., Monteiro, R. G. D. S., & Boshoff, K. (2023). Collaborative practices between parents and primary caregivers in pediatric occupational therapy: a scoping review protocol (vol 20, pg 1593, 2022). JBI EVIDENCE SYNTHESIS, 21(10), 2151.
DOI
2022 Ribeiro Lage, C., Wright, S., de Souza Monteiro, R. G., & Boshoff, K. (2022). Collaborative practices between parents and primary caregivers in pediatric occupational therapy: a scoping review protocol. JBI Evidence Synthesis, 20(6), 1593-1600.
DOI Scopus5 WoS4 Europe PMC1
2022 Appleby, R., Wright, S., Williams, L., & Stanley, M. (2022). Australian parents' experiences of owning an autism assistance dog. Health and Social Care in the Community, 30(6), e4113-e4121.
DOI Scopus21 WoS18 Europe PMC14
2022 Seekamp, S., Ey, L. A., Wright, S., Herbert, J., & Tsiros, M. D. (2022). Service delivery goals and underlying interprofessional practices: a scoping review to support interprofessional collaboration in the field of child protection. Children and Youth Services Review, 143(article no. 106680), 1-10.
DOI Scopus5 WoS5
2020 Scanlan, J. N., Logan, A., Arblaster, K., Haracz, K., Fossey, E., Milbourn, B. T., . . . Wright, S. (2020). Mental health consumer involvement in occupational therapy education in Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand. Australian Occupational Therapy Journal, 67(1), 83-93.
DOI Scopus28 WoS27 Europe PMC19
2017 Scanlan, J. N., Meredith, P. J., Haracz, K., Ennals, P., Pépin, G., Webster, J. S., . . . Wright, S. (2017). Mental health education in occupational therapy professional preparation programs: alignment between clinician priorities and coverage in university curricula. Australian occupational therapy journal, 64(6), 436-447.
DOI Scopus12 WoS11 Europe PMC9
2014 Murray, C., Stanley, M., & Wright, S. (2014). Weighing up the commitment: a grounded theory of the transition from occupational therapy clinician to academic. Australian occupational therapy journal, 61(6), 437-445.
DOI Scopus21 WoS18 Europe PMC6
2013 Murray, C., Stanley, M., & Wright, S. (2013). The transition from clinician to academic in nursing and allied health: a qualitative meta-synthesis. Nurse education today, 34(3), 389-395.
DOI Scopus59 WoS52 Europe PMC33

Programs I'm associated with

  • IHOC - Bachelor of Occupational Therapy (Honours)
  • IMOG - Master of Occupational Therapy (Graduate Entry)

Date Role Research Topic Program Degree Type Student Load Student Name
2023 Co-Supervisor Supporting foster carers in using play as a therapeutic tool - Master Part Time Miss Rebecca Jane Smith

Connect With Me

External Profiles

Other Links