Spring Issue 2021

“Recreational Therapy is probably the best kept secret in
healthcare. In fact, most likely the first time someone would
have contact with a Recreational Therapist would be in an
institutional rehabilitative setting. I first heard about
Recreational Therapy and Therapeutic Recreation when I was
PLAY
for
a junior in High School. That was 1975. I always knew at the
time that I wanted to work with people with disabilities and
disorders, but I was not sure what profession would best
fit my own personal talents and interests.
That is when I heard that our local Community College had a
curriculum called Therapeutic Recreation. After two years at the
community college, I was hooked. I discovered a profession that
was centered on improving the quality of life of people through
play. Upon graduation I continued my studies in Therapeutic
Recreation at SUNY Brockport graduating in 1981 as a
Certified Therapeutic Recreation Specialist, CTRS. Later I
earned my Master of Science degree in Therapeutic Recreation
from the University of Tennessee and have enjoyed a career as
a Recreational Therapist for 40 years.
LIFE
Recreation, play, and leisure have always been taken for granted.
It’s a given that anyone can enjoy play and participate in sports
and recreation. The mind set has always been if you want to try
new things all you need do is go and do it. You want to ride a
bike? Go do it. You want to ski or go out to a social event; you
just go and do it. If we told our parents that we were bored we
were told to “go out and play” Now let’s say you are involved in
a tragic accident or you are crippled with social anxieties, mental
illness, or physical barriers. Going out to “play” takes on a whole
new challenge. That’s where a recreational therapist can help.
All throughout my career the one question that I have been
asked most frequently is, “What is a Recreational Therapist?”
This question was usually followed by do you play “BINGO
and go out on trips”? The answer is, yes. We play BINGO
and go out on trips but there is so much more to it than that.
The clinical answer to that question is best stated by the
American Therapeutic Recreation Association, ATRA,
(ATRA-online.com).
ATRA states, “Recreation Therapy, also known as therapeutic
recreation, is a systematic process that utilizes recreation and
other activity-based interventions to address the assessed needs
of individuals with illnesses and /or disabling conditions, as
a means to psychological and physical health, recovery and
wellbeing. Recreational Therapy means a treatment service
designed to restore, remediate, and rehabilitate a person’s
level of functioning and independence in life activities, to
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