The class period when Dr. Z taught us his philosophy, and
drew his model up on the board, I left class exhilarated and anxious to get to
work. Everything that he said was so clear to me, and made perfect sense. Therapeutic
Recreation is a holistic process that involves recreation activities of all
different kinds to bring about a positive change, mental, social, intellectual,
physical or spiritual, to maintain and improve quality of life.
I could see this model we drew working, and the stories he told
related perfectly to the model. I decided that is the type of Recreation
Therapist that I wanted to be; one that is multifaceted, and able to be a
different resource for different people at the same time. I love that even in a
group setting, the therapeutic process is person centered. There is no set way
to complete the activity, nor set way the individual should feel before,
during, or after. Each client is going to respond differently to the
activities. That is why it is so important to have the different areas of the
activity, and to be able to be an important person for each. Because
recreational therapy is a process to help individuals with disabilities of all
different kinds, using recreation activities of all different kinds, to bring
about a positive change in their life, this model fits for my view perfectly.
People learn differently, and at different rates. This model is flexible and
allows the client to be at any point, during any activity. I think this is the
best form of recreational therapy.
All three aspects of this model are very important and
play a large role in the treatment of a client, I feel, regardless of what they
are currently struggling with. The treatment aspect is when you are really
making headway to overcome their main challenges. This, to me, is when the
individual realizes what they are capable of. A really good example of this is
an experience that I had at a ropes course. There was a girl in my group that
was terrified of climbing on the pamper pole and trying to grab the trapeze. As
she began to climb, the rec therapist was talking to her the whole way up. When
she finally got to the top of the pole, she was terrified to stand up. She and
the therapist began talking about what was holding her back, and how she wanted
to be free of those things, eventually she was able to stand up, and jump.
After returning to the ground, she was in tears and kept saying how she felt
now that she could overcome the things in her life that were keeping her down.
This is the therapy aspect of the TR model.
The leisure education portion of this model plays a vital
role in the client’s success when they transition home away from a treatment
center. We discussed in class how several people relapse from drug rehab
because they go back to the same environment and the same friends and they just
don’t know what to do with their time. With leisure education, we teach
individuals the skills to learn to spend their time more wisely. When you think
about the times that you are down and sad, it is usually when you are alone and
moping around the house or not doing anything productive. When people learn to
seek out recreation, when they know where to find it, and how to do it, they
are more likely to stay sober and succeed in their course towards a better
life.
The final piece of this model is the recreation
participation part. We as CTRS’s must realize that every activity we plan is
not going to have the same effect on each person. For some, fishing may be very
therapeutic, for others, it could be learning to fish that helps them later in
their recovery, and for some, it will be simply being out and being surrounded
by others that help them. Though participants may be stubborn at first to try
new things and to be with others, the more they go out of their comfort zone
and the more they are stretched, the happier and more comfortable we will see
them become with each activity.
My favorite part of this model is that any individual can
cycle through the stages, back and forth, through and through. It’s
progressive, but it is also developmental. There isn’t just one set way of
going through treatment, rather a refining process.
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