Recreation Therapy and Wellness

Knowledge · Communications · Health Services · Security · Person Centered Care

What is Therapeutic Recreation?  What is meaningful leisure?

We all deserve a high quality of life!  Meaningful leisure involvement must be experienced if we are to achieve the quality of life we deserve. Leisure involvement often leads to increased self esteem, self worth, recognition, friendships, enjoyment, sense of belonging, improved physical health, and/or independence, all of which enhance the quality of life and contribute to a meaningful, healthy lifestyle. Unfortunately, the limitations associated with an illness or disability often inhibits, and may even prohibit an individual from involvement in leisure. Without the experience of meaningful leisure, individuals cannot achieve the quality life they deserve.

Therapeutic Recreation is a professional field of service established to facilitate the development and or expression of meaningful leisure involvement for older persons or those with illness or disability.  "Therapeutic Recreation is a purposeful intervention that uses recreation to bring about health restoration and has the potential to enhance health or produce high-level wellness." (quote from David Austin, Professor and Graduate Coordinator of Therapeutic Recreation at Indiana University, USA).

Therapeutic recreation specialists provide recreation to meet the physical, cognitive, emotional, and social needs of people they serve.  Connecting with a therapeutic recreation specialist not only increases awareness of the endless recreation possibilities available but also bridges the gap between successful community integration and the person with a disability.

Any person can benefit from therapeutic recreation services.  Regardless of disability or ability, therapeutic recreation assists and empowers all people to maintain or achieve a quality of leisure lifestyle that facilitates personal independence, well being and health.

The above introduction to the field of therapeutic recreation was submitted by
Cindy Bouvet, Dip. T.R., B.A.. [ M.Ed candidate in Adult Education Candidate 2004- ] Therapeutic Recreation Consultant
Instructor in the Therapeutic Recreation Program
Douglas College, David Lam Campus
New Westminster, B.C.

See also websites in this and related areas of wellness include:

• Douglas College Therapeutic Recreation Department
  www.douglas.bc.ca/tr/index.html
• ATRA:  American Therapeutic Recreation Association
• BCTRA:  British Columbia Therapeutic Recreation Association
• BCRPA:  British Columbia Recreation Parks Association
• CTRA:  Canadian Therapeutic Recreation Association
  www.canadian-tr.org/home.htm
• The Benefits Web Site
  www.lin.ca/benefits.htm

N.B. the mention of different web sites above in no way implies their endorsement of this web site -- nor does it imply the publishers of this web site formally supporting the sites mentioned above.
- Y. Orosa, social work & music therapy consultant for OnWellness.info 2004.05.28

About Us - OnWellness.info

This web site is project of a group of health care and health promotion professionals.  The site has a volunteer reference group, including:  a medical doctor, nurse, long-term-care facility director, music therapy, social work and rehabilitation consultants and lawyers

The providers of this site's information reference materials, including links to other resources on the Internet's Web, or organizations / agencies / facilities - do not accept responsibility for the accuracy - dependability of the information sources.  By use of this site you as the viewer must make your own informed decision as to the information given and or linked to or referred to. 

If you do not wish to accept responsibility for being a consumer of the information or references on this site, please do not go further into the site.

Thank you for visiting this "work in process"
On behalf of the participating professionals that are contributing to this web site's development

Yoying Orosa,
Music Therapy and Social Work Consultant
OnWellness Inc. Vancouver, BC
consultus@onwellness.info
2004.05.19

Photo Credits

The photo collage-banner at the top of this page is intended to give viewers an idea of the conceptualization behind this web project.  The concepts of "health and wellness / well-being" include KNOWLEDGE, having access to reference information; COMMUNICATION, through various medium (as in music therapy); and SECURITY, the sense of safety provided by social-political structures and systems to help experience one's well-being e.g. private and public personal-care / long term care facilities.

The provenance of the photos on this page include:

• Photo of music therapists at work in a residential long term care facility in downtown Vancouver, BC, collection of Y.Orosa, Music Therapy and Social Work Consultant, recently returned from London, UK work with the British health care system.
• Elementary school children participate in a demonstration of music therapy activities by Vancouver long term care facility, directed by Y.Orosa, MT.
• Book shelf photo from Public Library, Reference Department, section on introductory texts on traditional and alternative medicine, drug dictionaries, treatment guides, taken by N.Chan
• Cartoon character, Anjolico the wireless cat, is provided by Tony Yau, B.F.A, M.V.A, graphic designer and illustrator, with training from York University in Toronto and the University of Alberta in Visual Arts... This cartoon character is a regular feature in a number of China web sites as well as Hong Kong print newspapers e.g. the Sing Tao