|
By Alison Hogan Guest Columnist
National Therapeutic Recreation Week will be celebrated during the month of July. At HSC Medical Center, recreation therapy is an integral part of a patient’s treatment plan in both psychiatric and rehabilitation programs and thus will be recognized during this national observance.
Certified recreational therapists, or certified therapeutic recreation specialists, provide recreation therapy services to individuals with physical disabilities, mental illness, or other disabling conditions. These therapists treat and maintain physical, mental, spiritual, and emotional well being of patients using a variety of techniques, including the use of arts and crafts, animals, sports, games, dance and movement, relaxation, music, and community outings. Therapists help individuals reduce depression, stress, and anxiety. They help individuals recover basic motor functioning and reasoning abilities, build confidence, and socialize effectively to enable greater independence, as well as to reduce or eliminate the effects of mental illness or physical disability. Recreation therapy helps ease fear, strengthen interpersonal skills, manage stress, enrich quality of life, promote self-reliance, build confidence, and improve physical and mental abilities. Additionally, they help integrate people with mental illness or physical disabilities into the community by helping them use community resources and recreational activities. Recreational therapists should not be confused with recreation and fitness workers, who organize recreational activities primarily for enjoyment. In acute healthcare settings such as HSC PsycHealth Program, recreational therapists treat and stabilize patients with specific mental illness. They work in conjunction with physicians, nurses, and social workers. Recreational therapists assess patients, based on information from standardized assessments, observations, medical records, medical staff, family, and patients themselves. They then develop and carry out therapeutic interventions consistent with patient needs and interests. For example, patients isolated from others or with limited social skills may be encouraged to play games with others, or right-handed persons with right-side paralysis may be instructed to adapt to using their nonaffected left side to throw a ball or swing a racket. Recreational therapists provide services in special activity rooms or throughout the healthcare facility, as at HSC Medical Center. When working with patients during community integration programs, they may travel locally to instruct patients on the accessibility of public transportation and other public areas such as parks, playgrounds, restaurants, theaters, and shopping areas. The recreation therapy program at HSC Medical Center plays a significant role in keeping patients mentally and physically active, as well as helping them to maintain quality of life. It assists patients to accept responsibility, set goals, express feelings, learn new approaches, develop new interests, and use leisure well. For more information about HSC Medical Center or therapeutic recreation, contact Alison Hogan, CTRS at 501-332-7360. Alison Hogan, CTRS, is a certified recreation therapy specialist. Hogan provides therapeutic recreation therapy at the HSC PsycHealth Program at HSC Medical Center. |
