Jennie Dapice, Ph.D., OTR/L, BCP, C-AAIS
Location
Dr. Jennie Dapice serves as an Assistant Professor of Occupational Therapy. Dr. Dapice is a licensed occupational therapist specializing in pediatrics and Animal-Assisted Interventions/Services. She also teaches part-time as an Assistant Professor at the University of Southern Maine, where she supports OTD students.
Dr. Dapice earned her M.A. in occupational therapy from Tufts University in Medford, MA. Her thesis examined the perceptions and participation of occupational therapists in the service dog community. Dr. Dapice received her Ph.D. in Health Related Sciences from Virginia Commonwealth University in 2015, where her research focused on the efficacy of animal-assisted interventions in school-based occupational therapy practice, specifically related to playfulness and participation.
Her clinical experience has been primarily in pediatrics, having practiced at Children’s Hospital in Boston, Perkins School for the Blind, and Cambridge Public Schools. Additionally, she has worked in adult acute care and skilled nursing settings. Dr. Dapice received a Facility Dog from Canine Companions, and incorporated him into her school based occupational therapy treatment at Perkins School for the Blind. She continues to work closely with the Canine Companions Therapy Dog Program, and participates in Canine-Assisted Interventions/Services with therapy dog Lincoln.
Dr. Dapice serves as a Board Member for ElderPet, a PetPartners Community Organization, and as a Faculty Fellow for the Tufts University Center for Animals and Public Policy. She is board certified in Pediatrics by the American Occupational Therapy Association (BCP), and certified as an animal-assisted intervention specialist by the Association of Animal-Assisted Intervention Professionals (C-AAIS).
At UNE, Dr. Dapice teaches courses related to research and pediatric occupational therapy, and continues to pursue research and scholarship related to the integration of AAI in occupational therapy, school-based occupational therapy, and youth mental health. She lives in Southern Maine with her children and dogs.