What is Therapeutic Recreation?
Therapeutic Recreation is a health care profession that utilizes a therapeutic process, involving leisure, recreation and play as a primary tool for each individual to achieve their highest level of independence and quality of life.
What does a Recreation Therapist Do?
Recreation Therapists are among the allied health professionals who work in a variety of health care settings. Recreation Therapists use forms of recreation, leisure, and play as treatments modalities to support purposeful and meaningful interventions that are based on individual strengths and values, and are guided by assessments. These health care professionals utilize the APIED (Assess, Plan, Implement, Evaluate, and Document) process to direct service delivery.
Qualifications of a Recreation Therapist
- Baccalaureate degree with a major in Therapeutic Recreation preferred
- Professional member of a Therapeutic Recreation Association
- Maintains ongoing education in the area of Therapeutic Recreation
- A Certified Therapeutic Recreation Specialist (CTRS) is preferred. Certification is attained by the National Council for Therapeutic Recreation Certification® by voluntarily writing an international exam, and maintaining ongoing continuing education and professional practice hours.
What are the benefits of Therapeutic Recreation?
- Provide a holistic, strengths based approach to address the physical , cognitive, emotional, social and spiritual domains
- Promoting leisure independence and optimal leisure lifestyle
- Development of healthy living strategies through leisure
- Stress management
- Social engagement
- Self-efficacy
- Increasing independence and promoting self reliance
- Leisure participation, activation and enjoyment
- Achievement of goals via group and one to one interventions
- Goal setting and outcome measures
- Community inclusion
- Provide strategies to adapt to the environment/overcome barriers related to illness or disability
Where do Recreation Therapists work?
- Acute care
- Rehabilitation centres
- Supportive Living
- Long term care homes
- Day programs
- Mental Health
- Addiction Services
- Child Services
- Adolescent Services
- Correctional Facilities
- Schools
- Community
- Private Practice
What are the benefits of Hiring a Recreation Therapist?
- Person centered care based on assessments and individualized treatment plans
- Development and documentation of protocols (group and one:one) to identify and reduce risk to patients, colleagues, public and self
- Evidence based practice
- Awareness of professional scopes of practice within the allied health care team
- Work collaboratively to ensure a team oriented approach to person centered care delivery
- Build community capacity through partnerships
- High level of knowledge of recreation and leisure
- Apply activities to help restore health and foster growth and development
TR Promotional Brochure
What is TR? Brochure – Here
Adapted from: https://www.atra-online.com/page/AboutRecTherapy