November 2015 - Parks & Recreation - 28

Member to Member

Licensure for Recreation
Therapists: Why? Why Now?
By Robin Wexler, CTRS, and Anthony Martino, CTRS

or many years now there has been talk of licensure for recreation therapists, especially for those in the state of New York. What's driving this
talk is the increasing number of complaints that have been filed through
the National Council on Therapeutic Recreation Certification (NCTRC
Standards Review Committee) about individuals practicing therapeutic recreation
services under different titles and without the appropriate professional preparation.

Clay M. Whaley

Because recreation therapy is not
licensed in the state of New York,
anyone can call him- or herself a recreation therapist. This also means that
the profession is not represented on
the NYS Board of Regents that currently hears complaints for similarly
licensed professions. Therefore, there
is no state mechanism that offers protection or recourse for malpractice.
Added to this is the fact that in the
current economics of health care, institutions as well as patients are looking for insurance reimbursement to
fund treatments for quality care with
proven beneficial outcomes. Without
licensure, recreation therapy is rarely

covered by insurance reimbursement,
and, more and more, organizations
will be mandated to hire only licensed
recreation therapists to provide these
services. As a result, recreation therapists are finding that their jobs are
being replaced by professionals who
are licensed and can obtain thirdparty reimbursement to the facility.
Many recreation professionals, allied
health professionals, administrators,
consumers and politicians are wondering what this actually means.
What Is Recreation Therapy?
Recreation therapy, also known as
therapeutic recreation or therapeutic

Ben Deleon, left, a volunteer surf instructor, and Pfc. Job I. Depass, a patient in the Army
Warrior Transition Unit at Naval Medical Center San Diego, California, leave the water
after a surfing lesson. The lesson is part of a recreational therapy class coordinated by the
Balboa Warrior Athlete Program, which helps wounded, ill and injured service members
improve their level of function and mobility through exercise and recreational activities.

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recreation services, is defined by the
American Therapeutic Recreation
Association as " a treatment service
designed to restore, remediate and rehabilitate a person's level of functioning and independence in life activities, to promote health and wellness
as well as reduce or eliminate the
activity limitations and restriction to
participation in life situations caused
by an illness or disabling condition. "
The ultimate goal of recreation therapy is self-motivated, intrinsically satisfying leisure participation. The recreation therapist works with the client,
family and members of the treatment
team, and others to design and implement an individualized treatment or
program plan, depending on the setting. Treatment interventions might
include adapted sports and games, art,
music, drama or other creative arts
activities, stress management group
or use of various relaxation and other
techniques such as yoga, community
integration outings, activities of daily
living such as cooking, leisure education and leisure counselling, as well as
other activities that are used to reach
treatment goals.
Recreation therapists work in various clinical settings, such as hospitals,
psychiatric or skilled nursing facilities, substance abuse programs and
rehabilitation centers; in community
settings, such as adult care, outpatient
clinics, adaptive sports and recreation
programs, home health, private consulting, developmental disabilities
services, and other health and human
services, parks and recreation programs, camps and youth programs;

November 2015 - Parks & Recreation

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