Prelude to Therapeutic Recreation Week

February 6^th to 10^th is Recreation Therapy Awareness Week, so I will use this opportunity to try to explain what my field of study and occupation is. Also there will be events going on around campus during the week à i.e. wheel chair obstacle course in the SLC on Mon Feb 6 from 1-3pm ;)

Many people have tried to ask me what Therapeutic Recreation (TR) is. I’m pretty sure my definition of TR changed, formed, destroyed (lol), and reconstructed over the past 5 years. Sometimes it’s very hard to explain because the client group TR works with is so diverse.

To start, I am NOT a party planner, camp counselor, occupational/ music/ physiotherapist, social worker, nurse, PSW or a person who gets paid doing a “volunteer’s job”. I work in collaboration with all these healthcare providers and vice versa. The purpose of Recreation Therapy is to use play as a form of rehabilitation, increase quality of life, and promote wellness and health (physically, socially, emotionally, & mentally). A play setting provides an environment where the individual feels safe and this is where they reveal many of their stories and hardships to you.

A Rec Therapist is trained to do a needs/ abilities assessment (ax) on patients (there are many more different types of ax than just the 2 mentioned), design suitable intervention according to the patient’s needs, and evaluate the patient’s progress towards a healthy lifestyle in a holistic manner.

Quick example: in an addictions and mental health setting, the Rec Therapist would teach positive coping skills to those with an addictions issue, combating depression/ suicidal thoughts, or both (dual diagnosis). Reality check and behaviour coaching will be involved in the work of the therapist. And the role of the therapist would be to guide the client to realize why it is beneficial to engage in activities other than cutting or doing recreational drugs (lol this one’s for you GL, JC, & E-money).

I can go on forever about this. Within the next week or so I’ll probably post about the TR awareness week stuff and hopefully I’ll get to some of the work I’ve done during co-op.

Peace!