I absolutely love Recreational Therapy! I was studying Psychology and constantly found myself brought down by determinism and humanistic theories. When I found out about the Therapeutic Recreation (TR) Major, I fell in love! I enjoy analogies so I compare TR to a counseling session (with one or more people), but rather than sitting around talking about problems, we GO EXPERIENCE THEM! For example, a Certified Therapeutic Recreation Specialist (CTRS) takes a group out fly fishing, and as they run into problems such as rain, arguments, etc., the CTRS teaches them problem-solving skills to overcome the situation. Then (s)he talks about generalizing these new skills to specific life events they are dealing with. Also, as they run into success, the CTRS points this out and applauds them. Experience has such a great effect!
So this leads me to my definition of TR:
A holistic process that purposefully uses recreation and leisure activities to bring about a positive change socially, emotionally, physically, mentally, or spiritually to create and maintain a better quality of life.
Please comment: What are your thoughts on recreation therapy/therapeutic recreation? How has it impacted your life?
No comments:
Post a Comment