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Career Details :: Recreational Therapists

Description

Plan, direct, or coordinate medically-approved recreation programs for patients in hospitals, nursing homes, or other institutions. Activities include sports, trips, dramatics, social activities, and arts and crafts. May assess a patient condition and recommend appropriate recreational activity.

Experience

A minimum of two to four years of work-related skill, knowledge, or experience is needed for these occupations. For example, an accountant must complete four years of college and work for several years in accounting to be considered qualified.

Education

Most of these occupations require a four-year bachelor's degree, but some do not.

Training

Employees in these occupations usually need several years of work-related experience, on-the-job training, and/or vocational training.

Tasks

• Plans, organizes, and participates in treatment programs and activities to facilitate the physical, mental, or emotional rehabilitation or health of patients.
• Develops treatment plan to meet needs of patient, based on needs assessment and objectives of therapy.
• Observes and confers with patient to assess patient's needs, capabilities, and interests and to devise treatment plan.
• Instructs patient in activities and techniques, such as sports, dance, gardening, music, or art, designed to meet their specific physical or psychological needs.
• Evaluates patient's reactions to treatment experiences to assess progress or regression and effectiveness of treatment plan.
• Confers with members of treatment team to determine patient's needs, capabilities, and interests, and to determine objectives of therapy.
• Prepares and submits reports and charts to treatment team to reflect patients' reactions and evidence of progress or regression.
• Counsels and encourages patients to develop leisure activities.
• Conducts therapy sessions to improve patient's mental and physical well-being.
• Modifies content of patient's treatment program based on observation and evaluation of progress.

Related Careers

• Child, Family, and School Social Workers
  
• Occupational Therapists
  
• Physical Therapists
  

Important Abilities

• Oral Comprehension
• Oral Expression
• Written Expression
• Speech Clarity
• Inductive Reasoning

General Work Activities

• Assisting and Caring for Others
• Establishing & Maintaining Relationships
• Getting Information Needed to Do the Job
• Performing General Physical Activities
• Monitor Processes, Material, Surroundings

Important Skills

• Active Listening
  
• Learning Strategies
  
• Social Perceptiveness
  
• Instructing
  
• Service Orientation
  

Frequent Work Context

• Job-Required Social Interaction
• Responsible for Others' Health & Safety
• Objective or Subjective Information
• Provide a Service to Others
• Frustrating Circumstances

Related Majors

Major	Add to XapPack
Art Therapy	[ add ]
Art Therapy/Special Education	[ add ]
Clinical Art Therapy	[ add ]
Community Health Education	[ add ]
Community/Therapeutic Recreation	[ add ]
Creative Arts in Therapy	[ add ]
Creative Arts Therapy	[ add ]
Dance Therapy	[ add ]
Exercise/Sport Science	[ add ]
Exercise/Sports Science	[ add ]
Exercise/Sports Studies	[ add ]
Expressive Therapies	[ add ]
Fitness Promotion	[ add ]
Fitness/Cardiac Rehabilitation/Exercise Science	[ add ]
Health Education	[ add ]
Health Fitness	[ add ]
Health Promotion	[ add ]
Health Promotion/Disease Prevention Studies	[ add ]
Health Studies	[ add ]
Health/Exercise Science	[ add ]
Health/Fitness	[ add ]
Health/Fitness Studies	[ add ]
Health/Human Performance/Recreation	[ add ]
Health/Movement Science	[ add ]
Health/Physical Education	[ add ]
Health/Safety Studies	[ add ]
Health/Society	[ add ]
Health/Wellness	[ add ]
Music Therapy	[ add ]
Physical Education/Recreation	[ add ]
Physical Education/Sport	[ add ]
Physical Fitness Leadership	[ add ]
Pre-Health	[ add ]
Pre-Health Studies	[ add ]
Pre-professional Business Sequence	[ add ]
Recreation Therapy	[ add ]
Sport Studies	[ add ]
Sports Science	[ add ]
Sports Sciences	[ add ]
Sports Therapy	[ add ]
Therapeutic Recreation	[ add ]
Wellness/Sports Medicine	[ add ]

Institutions Offering Related Majors

No institutions found.