Recreation Therapy:
An integral part of the rehabilitation treatment team
Casey Linstad, CTRS
Nicole Wells, CTRS, CBIS
Rec Therapy Name: First Name
A=Astrology
B= Basketball
C=Cooking
D=Daydreaming
E=Exercise
F=Fishing
G=Golf
H=Hiking
I=Indoor Gardening
J=Jazzercise
K=Knitting
L=Lego
M=Meditation
N=Nail Art
O=Origami
P=Photography
Q=Quilting
R=Reading
S=Self-Defense
T=Taxidermy
U=Ultimate Frisbee
V=Volunteer
W= Writing
Y=Yoga
Z=Zumba
Rec Therapy Name: Last Name
A=Afficionado
B= Beginner
C=Competitor
D=Dark Horse
E=Entrant
F=Fan
G=Gamer
H=Hipster
I=Infuser
J=Jock
K=Knight
L=Leader
M=Master
N=Novice
O=Original
P=Player
Q=Quizzer
R=Rookie
S=Superstar
T=Team player
U=Uniter
V=Vessel
W= Warrior
Y=Yeller
Z=Zapper
Session Objectives
1. To educate on the importance of Recreation
Therapy, especially in a brain injury rehabilitation
setting.
2. To inspire health care professionals with evidencebased recreation interventions used for persons with
brain injury.
3. To integrate Recreation Therapy into more brain
injury rehabilitation programs.
Recreation as Therapy?
“While (RT) has much to offer...its specific
contribution lies in the area of leisure
functioning. Because leisure is such an
integral part of most peoples lives, it is seen
as vitally important to individuals overall
quality of life and life satisfaction”. (Peterson,
2000)
•
•
•
•
Quality of Life
Simply increasing the variety and frequency of social
and leisure activities may not increase SQOL
Increase opportunities for participation with others
Enhance subjective experience of social and leisure
activities
Specific to patients with TBI; social support network,
redefining oneself though new roles, and participating
in fulfilling and meaningful activities
What does this mean for RT?
“Providing the right patient with
the right service (at) the right
time in the right setting at the
right intensity and for the right
duration”. (Navar, 1991)
Accountability via the Leisure Ability Model
•
Functional Intervention
o
Baseline abilities that are prerequisite to typical leisure behavior
hand-eye coordination, endurance, strength, memory, attention, orientation,
expression
Leisure Education

•
o
Development of leisure-related skills, attitudes and knowledge
leisure awareness, social interaction skills, leisure activity skills and leisure
resources
Recreation Participation

•
o
An expression of one’s leisure lifestyle

opportunities for fun, enjoyment and self-expression within an organized
delivery system

leagues, tournaments, arts and crafts, music, fitness classes, park or pool
(Peterson, 2000)
APIE
• Assess
• Plan
• Intervention
• Evaluate
Assessment
Paper assessment
Get to know WHOLE person
Interview family and friends as well
All Together Now!
Interdisciplinary Goal: Ambulation
PT OT, SLP, Nursing, Psychology, Social
Work, Nutrition, RT, others...
•
A Fishy Story…
Individual TR Goals
Modifying favorite activities:
Physical modifications
Modification devices
Finding a similar activity with the same
benefits
•
•
•
Research
Research
Done before?
Protocol/Procedures
Outcomes
Never enough research per intervention
Intervention
Evaluation
Outcomes
Documentation
Debrief
Session Objectives
1. To educate on the importance of Recreation
Therapy, especially in a brain injury rehabilitation
setting.
2. To inspire health care professionals with evidencebased recreation interventions used for persons with
brain injury.
3. To integrate Recreation Therapy into more brain
injury rehabilitation programs.
References
Navar, N. (1991). Advancing therapeutic recreation through quality assurance: A perspective on the changing nature of quality in
therapeutic recreation. In B.Riley (Ed.), Quality management: Applications for therapeutic recreation (pp. 3-20). State College,
PA: Venture Publishing Company.
Peterson, Carol Ann, and Norma J. Stumbo. Therapeutic Recreation Program Design: Principles and Procedures. Boston: Allyn
and Bacon, 2000. Print.
McLean, A.M.. (2013). Associations between social participation and subjective quality of life for adults with moderate to severe
traumatic brain injury. Disability and Rehabilitation, Early Online, 1-10. doi:10.3109/09638288.2013.834986