Recreation Therapy- An Overview

Introduction :

Recreation is a vital factor for any person to create balance and become relaxed in life. It is also one of the ways through which people who have cognitive, physical, social, and emotional limitations can be integrated and participate in becoming accepted by society. Optional activity during leisure time for enjoyment and to fulfill a personal need assists in regaining independence at the community level. It will increase productivity and quality of life for people with disabilities. It also covers numerous cultural and artistic activities provided by recreation therapists.

What Is Recreation Therapy?

Recreation therapy is the process of using activity-based recreation or intervention to meet the needs of people with disabling conditions or illnesses to improve physical, mental, and emotional health. It is also called therapeutic recreation. The Menninger brothers first coined recreation therapy and introduced the inclusion of recreational therapy to treat a person with a mental disability. Recreational therapy is provided by certified therapeutic recreation specialists.

What Are the Types of Recreation?

1. Active Recreation: It involves playing and taking part as a team in various games such as cricket, soccer, baseball, etc.

2. Passive Recreation: It is a non-activity recreation. It includes biking, hiking, horse riding, or mountain climbing.

What Are Forms of Recreational Activities?

• Motor Form: It contains a basic form comprising games that are football and hockey, while the accessory form includes dance and play activities.

• Sensory Form: It can be auditory through listening to the concert or visual through looking at motion pictures.

• Intellectual Form: This is an activity that involves intellectual activities, and the use of the mind such as writing, debating, and reading.

How Is It Different From Occupational Therapy?

In applying it, two allied health professions would go hand in hand: occupational therapy and recreational therapy. While the occupational therapist would be concerned with teaching the patient to conduct activities of daily living such as bathing, dressing, and food preparation, the recreational therapist would try to use the leisure activities to further enhance and assist in the rehabilitation or restoration of the person's overall well-being and functioning.

What Are the Benefits of Recreational Therapy?

Recreational therapy has therapeutic advantages like :

• Maintenance of physical health through reduction of stress and depression.

• Growth and personal development.

• It provides focused and active social and health system results.

• Skill building is beneficial for home and society.

• Cost-effective treatment in small and large groups.

• Reduction of primary and secondary disabilities.

• It identifies and utilizes the individual's skills, helping the person to be independently functional.

• Improved conversational skills and increased cooperation.

• A good attention span and sound immune system.

• Reduction in insomnia or problem sleeping.

• Perception of a better body image.

• It improves symptoms of depression.

• It helps in strengthening social bonds.

• Improves functional independence after an injury.

• Helps relieve anxiety for hospitalized children.

Who Are Recreation Therapists?

Recreation therapists are certified practitioners who:

• Establish certain therapeutic goals.

• Generate an intervention plan.

• Do an individualized assessment of each patient.

• Provide evidence-based safe and effective recreational therapy interventions.

• Monitor the practice of recreation therapy.

• Assess the effectiveness of the intervention.

• Document interventions providing patient progress.

What Does a Recreational Therapist Do?

The recreational therapist applies different methods of community-based intervention and techniques to promote cognitive, emotional, leisure, and social needs. They work together with the client and family to incorporate community resources and specific interests into therapy for the most effective results that are useful in real-life situations.

What Are the Steps of Recreational Therapy?

• Assessment: Working together with the client to determine a need, health status, and strength to provide data for interventions.

• Planning: The goals are formulated, priority is established, programs, strategies, and objectives are developed, approaches are specified, and means of evaluation are determined.

• An Intervention: It entails a recreation therapist implementing the program plan.

• Evaluation: The goals and objectives are evaluated in this stage.

What Are the Places Where Recreational Therapy Can Be Performed?

Recreation therapy can be performed on various sites such as

• Schools.

• Hospitals.

• Skilled nursing facilities.

• Assisted living facilities.

• Sports program.

• Inpatient and outpatient health facilities and programs.

• Community centers.

• Correctional facilities.

• Substance use facilities.

• Special recreation association.

• Homeless shelter.

• Detention centers.

• Veterans administration.

• Long-term care homes.

What Types of Activities Are Offered by Recreation Therapy?

Various activities offered by recreational facilities are:

• Creative Arts: It is based upon the art intervention which helps to manage behavior, nourishes self-awareness, enhances self-esteem, reduces anxiety, and develops social skills.

• Music Program: Music therapy involves a reduction of stress, development of self-confidence, enhancement of skills, lifting of mood, and improvement in self-expression.

• Physical activity: The fact that sports and yoga are involved starts several chemical reactions within an organism, which boost mood, decrease the levels of stress, and thus create states of happiness.

• Games and puzzles: Games such as jigsaw puzzles give the feeling of socializing and create states of laughter, which as a result develop a healthy attitude.

• Dance and creative moment: This creates a feeling related to music contact and makes an individual active physically.

• Drama: It is an outlet for creativity and talent expression.

• Outdoor Activity: Helps to learn new skills, develop self-esteem and gain independence. The outdoor activities that take part are hiking, swimming, and rope climbing.

• Gardening: It helps to keep the person alive and lighten the creativity.

• Creative Writing: Helps to find the hidden artist and promotes creative thinking.

• Cooking Classes: Provide a fresh mind and promote the person's talent.

What Types of Conditions Are Suited to Recreational Therapy?

Recreational therapy benefits the people who are:

• Recovering from a stroke.

• Rehabilitation due to injury, surgery, or any illness.

• Loneliness or depression.

• Building up their motor skills.

• Learning the activities that are carried out in daily life for one's self.

• Undergoing cancer treatment.

• Living a life in fear or anxiety while being in a hospital.

• Building up of ways to express their feelings and thoughts.

• Overcoming substance use disorder.

What Are Approaches in Recreation Therapy?

Recreational therapy consists of many interventions:

• Recreation Services: The provision of recreation to people with disabilities to experience benefits, leisure, and a system that can help an individual achieve an optimal level of well-being and health.

• Therapeutic Approach: This is a curative approach that tries to alleviate and reduce the effects of disabilities and illness that can contribute to the improvement of functional capacities.

• Umbrella or Combined Approach: Recreation is a continuation of activities and recreation services for purposeful change.
• Leisure Activity Approach: Under this approach, therapeutic leisure activities are undertaken and the person is engaged in participating whereby the benefits of leisure awareness education are effectively communicated.

How Can a Person Choose the Right Therapist?

If the recreational therapy is going to take place in a hospital or clinic, then this will be little choice on whom the therapist will be. When finding an independent therapist, however, a few things to watch out for are insurance coverage, certification, cultural sensitivity, and whether or not they respect needs. Always go with comfort, and remember, the person can change anytime.

Conclusion:

It is not about evaluating the capabilities of individuals but, instead, their abilities, which make them who they are. It reduces stress, anxiety, and depression and increases self-esteem and self-confidence. It helps children with cerebral palsy expand and develop cognitive and physical abilities while taking part in recreational activities.