Activities	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.
Outlook	Slower-than-average job growth
Median Income	$39,410 per year in 2010
Work Context & Conditions	Recreational therapists provide services in special activity rooms but also plan activities and prepare documentation in offices.
Minimum Education Requirements	Bachelor's Degree
Skills	Social Perceptiveness, Active Listening, Writing, Reading Comprehension, Speaking
Abilities	Oral Expression, Inductive Reasoning, Oral Comprehension
Interviews	Mary Carson Julie Hoehl

Job Category		Healthcare Practitioners & Technical
Job Description		Recreational therapists plan, direct, and coordinate recreation programs for people with disabilities or illnesses. They use a variety of techniques, including arts and crafts, drama, music, dance, sports, games, and field trips. These activities help maintain or improve a client’s physical and emotional well-being. In acute healthcare settings, such as hospitals and rehabilitation centers, recreational therapists treat and rehabilitate individuals with specific health conditions, usually in conjunction or collaboration with physicians, nurses, psychologists, social workers, and physical and occupational therapists. They may also treat clients and provide interventions to prevent further medical problems and secondary complications related to illness and disabilities. Recreational therapists assess clients, based on information from standardized assessments, observations, medical records, medical staff, family, and clients themselves. They then develop and carry out therapeutic interventions consistent with client needs and interests. Recreational therapists may instruct patients in relaxation techniques to reduce stress and tension, stretching and limbering exercises, proper body mechanics for participation in recreation activities, pacing and energy conservation techniques, and individual as well as team activities. Additionally, therapists observe and document patients' participation, reactions, and progress.
Working Conditions		Recreational therapists provide services in special activity rooms, but also plan activities and prepare documentation in offices. When working with clients during community integration programs, they may travel locally to instruct the clients regarding the accessibility of public transportation and other public areas, such as parks, playgrounds, swimming pools, restaurants, and theaters. Therapists often lift and carry equipment, as well as lead recreational activities. Recreational therapists generally work a 40-hour week that may include some evenings, weekends, and holidays.
Salary Range		The median annual wage of recreational therapists was $39,410 in May 2010. The median wage is the wage at which half the workers in an occupation earned more than that amount and half earned less. The lowest 10 percent earned less than $24,640, and the top 10 percent earned more than $62,670.

Education Required		A bachelor’s degree in therapeutic recreation, or in recreation with a concentration in therapeutic recreation, is the usual requirement for entry-level positions. Persons may qualify for paraprofessional positions with an associate degree in therapeutic recreation or a health care related field. An associate degree in recreational therapy; training in art, drama, or music therapy; or qualifying work experience may be sufficient for activity director positions in nursing homes. Approximately 130 programs prepare students to become recreational therapists. Most offer bachelor’s degrees, although some also offer associate, master’s, or doctoral degrees. Programs include courses in assessment, treatment and program planning, intervention design, and evaluation. Students also study human anatomy, physiology, abnormal psychology, medical and psychiatric terminology, characteristics of illnesses and disabilities, professional ethics, and the use of assistive devices and technology.
Recommended High School Courses		Biology, Mathematics, English, Chemistry, Fine Arts
Postsecondary Instructional Programs		Education and Training, English Language, Psychology, Sociology and Anthropology, Fine Arts, Therapy and Counseling, Customer and Personal Service
Certification and Licensing		Most employers prefer to hire certified recreational therapists. Hospitals and other clinical settings often require certification by the NCTRC. The council offers the Certified Therapeutic Recreation Specialist (CTRS) credential to candidates who pass a written certification exam and complete a supervised internship of at least 480 hours.  NCTRC also offers specialty certification in five areas of practice: geriatrics, behavioral health, physical medicine/rehabilitation, developmental disabilities, or community inclusion services. Although therapists typically need at least a bachelor’s degree in recreational therapy, in some cases therapists may qualify for certification with an alternate combination of education, training, and experience. Some states require recreational therapists to be licensed; requirements vary by state. As of 2010, only Oklahoma, North Carolina, Utah, and New Hampshire required recreational therapists to hold a license. For specific requirements, contact the state’s medical board.

Interest Area		Social Involves working and communicating with, helping, and teaching people. Artistic Involves a degree of self-expression and working with forms, designs, and patterns and without a clear set of rules. Realistic Involves working on practical, hands-on problems and solutions, often with real-world materials, tools, and machinery.
Work Values		Social Status Looked up to by others in their company and their community. Achievement Get a feeling of accomplishment. Social Service Do things for other people. Creativity Try out your own ideas. Ability Utilization Make use of individual abilities. Co-workers Have co-workers who are easy to get along with.
Skills		Social Perceptiveness Be aware of others' reactions and understand why they react the way they do. Active Listening Listen to what other people are saying and ask questions as appropriate. Writing Communicate effectively with others in writing as indicated by the needs of the audience. Reading Comprehension Understand written sentences and paragraphs in work-related documents. Speaking Talk to others to effectively convey information.
Abilities		Oral Expression Able to convey information and ideas through speech in ways that others will understand. Inductive Reasoning Able to combine separate pieces of information, or specific answers to problems, to form general rules or conclusions. This includes coming up with a logical explanation for why seemingly unrelated events occur together. Oral Comprehension Able to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.

Related Jobs		Therapist, Physical, Therapist, Occupational, Teacher, Postsecondary, Recreation and Fitness Studies, Counselor, Rehabilitation
Job Outlook		Employment of recreational therapists is expected to grow by 17 percent from 2010 to 2020, about as fast as the average for all occupations. Job prospects will be best for recreational therapists with both a bachelor’s degree and certification. Therapists who specialize in working with the elderly or who earn certification in geriatric therapy may have the best job prospects. Nursing and residential care facilities employ almost a third of recreational therapists. As the percentage of older adults continues to grow, employment in nursing and residential care facilities industry will grow as a whole, increasing the need for these workers. Health care facilities will support a growing number of jobs in adult day care and outpatient programs offering short-term mental health and alcohol or drug abuse services. Rehabilitation, home health care, and transitional programs will provide additional jobs. The rapidly growing number of older adults is expected to spur job growth for recreational therapy professionals and paraprofessionals in assisted-living facilities, adult day care programs, and other social assistance agencies. Continued growth also is expected in community residential care facilities, as well as in day care programs for individuals with disabilities. Recreational therapists held about 22,400 jobs in 2010. About 22 percent were in nursing care facilities and hospitals. Others worked in State and local government agencies and in community care facilities for the elderly, including assisted-living facilities. The rest worked primarily in residential mental retardation, mental health, and substance abuse facilities; individual and family services; Federal Government agencies; educational services; and outpatient care centers. Only a small number of therapists were self-employed, generally contracting with long-term care facilities or community agencies to develop and oversee programs.
More Information		National Therapeutic Recreation Society, National Council for Therapeutic Recreation Certification, American Therapeutic Recreation Association, American Medical Association - Health Care Careers
References		Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, Occupational Outlook Handbook, 2012-13 Edition, Recreational Therapists, on the Internet at http://www.bls.gov/ooh/healthcare/recreational-therapists.htm. O*NET OnLine, on the Internet at http://online.onetcenter.org/link/summary/29-1125.00