SIUC's Department of Health Education and Recreation offers a program that leads to certification. Others use recreational activities as therapy, to treat physical, emotional, or behavioral problems. Recreation therapy usually supplements other types of treatment, from physical therapy to counseling, and recreation therapists typically work as part of a health care team, explains recreation professor Joe Teaff . Goals can range from increasing the mobility of a person with cerebral palsy to decreasing the social isolation of a suicidal patient. Since the bottom line is improving the person's everyday life, the recreation therapist must consider the skills that person needs and wants, and what activities will help most.
Research enables practitioners to better tailor programs.
By surveying more than 1,600 senior citizens across the United States, the research team was able to classify leisure activities by the psychological benefits they tended to produce. That type of work helps recreation therapists in nursing homes and retirement centers provide a balanced set of choices, not a monotonous menu of crafts and bingo. Likewise, different outdoor activities provide different psychological benefits for delinquent youth. Teaff found that a demanding ropes course promoted a sense of independence and achievement, while spelunking was better for developing teamwork and communication skills. Q uality of life is ultimately what therapeutic recreation is all about.