Professional Preparedness and Psychosocial Beliefs as Predictors of Quality Physical Education and Recreation Services to Students with Disabilities

The purpose of this study was to examine how professional preparedness and psychosocial beliefs affected behavioral intentions and quality service behaviors in providing physical education (PE) and recreation services to students with disabilities (SWD). Participants of an online survey included New Mexico adapted physical education (APE) teachers (N=42) and recreational therapists (RT; N=13) and a sample of PE teachers (N=63). Analyses revealed significant differences between PE teachers and personnel in specialty professional disciplines. APE and RT personnel reported greater positive attitudes, higher self-efficacy, greater behavioral intention, and more engagement in quality service behaviors than PE teachers. The results have implications for the selection and training of school personnel hired to provide PE and recreation services to SWD.

Recreational Therapists Consider Leisure Motivation when Evaluating Virtual Reality Games

Virtual reality (VR) interventions can be motivating for clients when presented as treatment in healthcare settings. Researchers know little, however, about the elements of specific VR games that contribute to this motivation. This study aimed to describe differences among a sample of commercially available VR games using the four subscales of the Leisure Motivation Scale (LMS). The research team used a mixed-methods design, and compiled an expert panel of recreational therapists (N = 5) who evaluated eight VR games using Q-sort methodology. Semi-structured interviews generated additional data for the evaluation. Results indicated participants viewed certain VR games as containing elements more closely aligned with each of the LMS subscales of intellectual, social, competence-mastery, and stimulus avoidance than others. These findings represent a critical step in developing guidelines for the purposeful selection of VR games as treatment interventions in recreational therapy practice based on a client’s leisure motivation. Subscribe to TRJ

Social Prescribing and Therapeutic Recreation: Making the Connection

An increasing number of people are experiencing social isolation and loneliness and this trend is becoming cause for concern around the world. Considering that isolation and loneliness give rise to a number of health problems, it is essential to find innovative ways to address this issue. One such approach is to enhance experiences of belonging within communities. Social prescribing (SP) is a method that can promote belonging by connecting people to the social support they need. The purpose of this paper is to explore the potential relationship that can exist between therapeutic recreation (TR) and SP. As we explain, TR can complement SP efforts by ensuring people have access to inclusive, social leisure and recreation opportunities. In this sense, TR professionals are well positioned to be key players in SP processes. We contend that TR practice is best positioned to work in tangent with SP to nurture socially connected communities when it focuses on building community capacity, facilitates welcoming and inclusive leisure and recreation experiences that foster regular social interaction, and adopts principles of community development as part of a social justice model of practice.

“There is Always Progress to Be Made”: Reflective Narratives on Outdoor Therapeutic Recreation for Mental Health Support

Due to the marginalizing effects of mental illness, the stories of individuals in early recovery from various mental health diagnoses are often invalidated. To address this concern, complementary modalities (e.g., massage therapy, naturopathy, arts-based therapy, horticulture therapy) have emerged alongside the fields of therapeutic recreation, psychotherapy, and outdoor-based practices. Less is known about how social/community approaches to practice are used within in-patient care settings to complement more traditional modalities (i.e., cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT), talk-based therapy, trauma exposure therapy, pharmaceutical medication etc.). The current research project aimed to understand individuals’ experiences and reflections of engaging in an outdoor experiential workshop while seeking in-patient care for post-traumatic stress disorder and substance-use disorder. Narrative inquiry was the methodological approach we used to illuminate the voice in the cracks (Jackson & Mazzei, 2005), voices that are often left out of dominant medical discourses, to be heard. Focus groups and in-depth semi-structured narrative life-experience interviews were used to story individuals’ reflections of early recovery while participating in an outdoor experiential workshop beyond the conventional boundaries and structures of medicine-focused in-patient care.

Adjustment Strategies of Older Adults Transitioning Into an Assisted Living Facility: Implications for RT Practice

Transitions into an assisted living facility (ALF) may have major impacts on the well-being of older adults, both positively and negatively. The purpose of this study was to explore strategies that older adults are implementing to maintain or improve their well-being during their transition into an ALF. A grounded theory, descriptive approach employed 14 individual, in-person interviews at an ALF in the rural, southeastern U.S. Eight central findings emerged as adjustment strategies used by older adults, catorgizied as active and passive strategies. The five active strategies were identified as importance of health promoting activities (subthemes: promoting physical health and promoting mental health), connections to the outside world (subthemes: community integration outings and community visitors), placing possessions, finding a new routine, and engaging in spiritual practices. Three passive strategies were identified: peer support, staff support, and prior familiarity with the ALF. Implications for recreational therapists working with older adults in ALFs are detailed and future research recommendations are provided.

Leisure and the Therapeutic Relationship: Contributing to Meaningful Lives

The primary goal of human beings is creating meaningful, healthy lives out of their existence, a task tailored to therapeutic recreation (TR). In this article, the core elements of TR, leisure and the helping relationship between professionals and service recipients, are examined through the lens of hermeneutic phenomenology. Hermeneutic phenomenology is a philosophical perspective centered on understanding how people interpret and assign meanings to lived experiences. Applying the philosophical perspective to TR, leisure generates meaningful experiences that therapeutic recreation specialists (TRSs) and service recipients collaboratively weave into personal narratives. The result is service recipients living well and flourishing. Conceiving of TR in this manner entails that our services are germane for all people.

An Exploration into the Experiences of Female Veterans Who Attended Higher Ground Military Programming

Female veterans are the fastest growing military group, yet they are largely underrepresented in research (Hawkins & Crowe, 2018a, 2018b; Lundberg et al., 2016). There is a gap in the literature regarding the lived experiences of female veterans. The purpose of this qualitative phenomenological study was to understand female veterans’ experiences while participating in Higher Ground’s military program (HGMP), utilizing semi-structured interviews. Qualitative analysis yielded four themes: 1) transformative experiences, 2) empathetic staff, 3) staff connection to the military, and 4) resources after HGMP. The study’s findings highlight the need for trauma-informed care, cultural competency training for practitioners working in programs that serve female veterans, and offering continued resources after the conclusion of a program. Findings also indicate that participants had transformative experiences during the program. Further research is needed to examine programming elements in other outdoor recreational therapy programs to determine their effectiveness as therapeutic tools.

A Personal Narrative Conveying Human Flourishing

Human flourishing is gaining recognition and support as a central aim of therapeutic recreation (TR) services. However, missing from the extant scholarly literature are concrete, extensive depictions of people with disabilities who are living well. This is a critical omission because people need to be aware there are a multitude of avenues that lead to flourishing and that what flourishing looks like can differ from person to person. Furnishing portrayals of living well helps people grasp the diversity associated with flourishing and enables them to select and pursue a particular portrayal or meld multiple portrayals into a composite best suited to them and their environments. This article begins addressing the deficit by presenting a detailed portrait of human flourishing via a personal narrative. The text also discusses practical applications associated with using the personal narrative method and concludes with future objectives.

An Investigation Into the Use of Yoga in Recreational Therapy Practice

Yoga is used in health care with a variety of populations, but limited knowledge exists regarding the details of how yoga is implemented in recreational therapy (RT) practice. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to explore how yoga is implemented in RT practice. As part of a nation-wide survey and through the use of individual interviews, this secondary analysis investigated how yoga is being used in RT practice across the United States. Sixteen recreational therapists completed both a nation-wide online survey and semi-structured interviews. Quantitative results describe the populations in which yoga is being used in RT practice, as well as the characteristics of recreational therapists who also are employing yoga in their RT practice. Then, conventional and summative content analysis identified four categories related to yoga in RT practice: recreational therapists’ practices, treatment planning, outcomes, and yoga intervention. The findings revealed that yoga is implemented with a variety of populations as part of RT practice. Yoga should be implemented by recreational therapists who are trained to teach yoga or provide population-specific yoga sessions to meet specific patient needs. Limitations of the study and implications are discussed.

Patient-Reported Outcome Measures: A Resource for Recreational Therapists

To our knowledge, information on patient-reported outcomes (PROs) and patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs) has not appeared in the literature of recreational therapy. This article provides an introduction to PROs and PROMs so recreational therapists may understand them and see their possible applications within recreational therapy. In this article, PROs and PROMs are described. Specific examples of PROMs, and resources for accessing them are provided. Discussion on the value of PROs in the enhancement of client care, challenges to the use of PROMs, and the relevance of PROMS to recreational therapy practice and research follows. It is concluded that the use of PROMs is an emerging approach that recreational therapists need to explore.