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Recreational Therapy is a type of medical treatment or modality that uses leisure education, recreation and other resources in order to help the patient achieve their social, emotional, physiological, spiritual and physical goals.
For patients with mental health disorders, recreational therapy can be of great benefit. Therapy begins with leisure education and determining what the patient’s specific goals are. Oftentimes the patient with a mental illness has become socially isolated and they have forgotten or have never learned what kind of activities they’d like to be involved with. The therapist may engage in recreational activities with the patient to bridge the gap from isolation to a social setting.
Once the patient has acquired basic communication and interaction skills, the recreational therapist will help the patient find community activities that they may be interested in. Activities such as volunteer work, social groups and classes can provide daily structure and help to establish independent support systems. They can also provide a sense of worth and meaning and help strengthen the patients sense of self and help they develop their identity.
Recreational Therapists also motivate patients to participate in physical activity. It is well known that exercise can help improve mood but it also gives patients a sense of accomplishment. Exercise boosts the sense of well-being which always has positive effects on mental illness patients. Exercise may come from a simple walk in the park to more vigorous activities such as cycling or anything else the patient may be interested in.
In teaching patients the importance of leisure and recreation they will hopefully gradually become self sufficient and be able to source out their own outlets for social interaction. Recreational therapy is slowly becoming a widely accepted form of non-drug based therapy and it is showing great results with patients.
