The menstrual cycle as a clinical tool

A framework for understanding and supporting womens occupational capacity in practice

Women’s capacity is not inconsistent — it is rhythmic.

This course introduces the menstrual cycle as an occupational pattern that shapes how we think, feel, and participate across the month.

A new way to understand and support ourselves — and the women we work with.

As Occupational Therapists, we are trained to understand participation through routines, habits, and consistency.

But women’s lives are also shaped by a longer, cyclical rhythm — one that influences energy, cognition, motivation, and emotional experience across the month.

This rhythm is foundational.

And yet, we are not taught to understand the uniqueness of female biology, or how hormonal patterns, circadian and infradian rhythms shape the way we relate to ourselves, our capacity, and our participation in daily life.

Instead, we often interpret experience through a linear lens — one that doesn’t fully account for these natural shifts.

This course introduces a different way of seeing.

About the course

This is a self-paced CPD course for women Occupational Therapists.

It introduces the menstrual cycle as an occupational rhythm — one that organises how we move through life.

The course offers a foundational understanding of how biology, lived experience, and participation are interconnected, while also exploring the nuance of menstrual cycle tracking and how to relate to this rhythm in a way that is personal, responsive, and unique to you.

Course inclusions

• 3 hours of CPD delivered through self-paced video lessons

• Guided reflection exercises to support personal inquiry and integration

• A foundational lens for understanding cyclical rhythms and their influence on participation, wellbeing, and occupational performance

• Introduction to a practical framework for understanding and supporting cyclical occupational capacity

• Practical strategies and tools you can begin applying in both your own life and clinical practice immediately

•Case-based examples demonstrating application to assessment, goal setting, intervention planning, and clinical reasoning

• A workbook to support reflection, learning, and implementation

• Printable tools to support cycle awareness and tracking in both personal and clinical contexts

• A curated resource list for continued learning and exploration

This is for women OT's who

• Sense there is more shaping women's lives and occupational capacity than we have traditionally been taught to consider

• Want a more nuanced and biologically informed understanding of women's lived experience

•Have noticed shifts in their own energy, focus, participation, or wellbeing across the month and are curious to understand them more deeply

• Are interested in how cyclical rhythms may influence participation, occupational performance, and capacity

• Are looking for practical ways to integrate this understanding into assessment, goal setting, intervention planning, and clinical decision-making

• Are drawn to a more holistic, person-centred approach to practice

• Value reflection and self-inquiry as tools for both personal and professional growth

The concepts explored can be applied across a broad range of practice areas, including women's health, disability, adolescent health, mental health, and community practice, with occupational therapists working with children, teenagers, adults, and families.

The Learning Journey

1. Recognise

Recognise the missing lens in how we understand women — both in practice and in ourselves.

Begin to see how hormonal patterns, circadian and infradian rhythms, and cultural expectations shape women’s lives and capacity.

This is an opening into a way of seeing that is rarely taught within occupational therapy.

2. Understand

Develop a deeper understanding of the menstrual cycle as an occupational rhythm.

Explore the four distinct phases, often understood as inner seasons, and how they influence energy, cognition, and participation — while recognising that these patterns are not rigid, but uniquely expressed in each individual.

3. Reflect

Use this understanding to explore your own lived experience.

Consider your menstrual story and current perceptions, and begin to notice your own unique patterns, responses, and needs across the cycle.

This includes developing a more nuanced and personal approach to tracking and relating to your cycle over time.

4. Reframe

Begin to view the menstrual cycle through an occupational lens.

Explore how cyclical shifts influence motivation, focus, sensory experience, participation, work, self-care, social engagement, and rest — and how capacity can be graded to support occupational balance across changing states.

5. Apply

Translate this understanding into practice.

Work through case examples and learn a practical framework for integrating cyclical awareness into assessment, goal setting, intervention planning, and ongoing review.

Develop greater confidence applying this lens to support women's occupational participation and capacity.

6. Integrate

Move beyond structure into nuance.

Develop a flexible, responsive relationship with cyclical rhythms — supporting body awareness, adaptability, and individual variation.

Extend this understanding to clients, supporting them to work with their own rhythms rather than follow fixed protocols, while also considering longer cycles and transitions across women’s lives.

This is one foundational layer within a much broader landscape of understanding women.

If this resonates, you’re invited to join the waitlist for early access when it opens.