Therapeutic Recreation

It has been my goal, for some time now, to be able to help people. When I decided to apply to university, I had no idea what I wanted to do. I met with an academic advisor, at the time I was currently enrolled in Health Studies and I figured I would just, well, figure it out as I went along. I told her that I wanted to be in the healthcare profession, but that I knew I couldn’t be a doctor or nurse. Actually, what I really wanted was to be able to work at the Allan Blair Cancer Centre. Then she told me about Therapeutic Recreation and I thought there couldn’t be anything more perfect. I am currently in my third year of university, with the hopes of being done by December 2020. My official degree will be a Bachelor’s in Sport and Recreation Studies with a major in Therapeutic Recreation and a minor in Psychology. Apart from university education, I have also completed training courses for Non-Violent Crisis Intervention, Behaviour and Communication in Autism, and Discrete Trial Training (a form of Applied Behaviour Analysis therapy).

Recreational Therapy uses leisure activities to improve physical, emotional, and mental well-being and overall quality of life. My goal, as a future Recreational Therapist, is to improve functional ability, provide leisure education, and facilitate community integration. What this really means is working on personal goals (whether that be physical, social, cognitive, emotional or other), explaining the benefits of leisure and also determining the barriers and how to overcome those barriers, and lastly how to be an active member in your community.