How Recreation Therapy may Benefit You!
How Recreation Therapy may Benefit You!
We all know exercise is a form of activity that will result in beneficial physiological changes but often dread doing it. So why not implement something fun and exciting with similar benefits that engages you to reach those goals without even realizing you’re working towards them. That’s when recreation therapy can be an excellent tool to utilize.
Before we discuss some of the activities used in this type of therapy, what exactly is it? According to the National Council for Therapeutic Recreation Certification, it is “a systematic process that utilizes recreation and other activity-based interventions to address the assessed needs of individuals with illnesses and/or disabling conditions, as a means to psychological and physical health, recovery and well-being.” Essentially, it is adapting the world for the individual to pursue their goals to promote their physical, cognitive, social, emotional, and spiritual functioning. This type of therapy is beneficial and enjoyable for all age groups. Some benefits of recreation therapy include but are not limited to:
- Reduce depression, stress, and anxiety
- Recover basic motor functioning skills and reasoning abilities
- Build confidence
- Promote socialization
Now that we understand what recreation therapy is and what it can do, what does it look like? There are various modalities of this type of therapy which can range from bowling with the correct adaptions to allow anyone of any ability to participate, implementing specialized equipment to allow individuals to perform exercise and weight-lifting movements, or simply sitting at a picnic table with friends over a game of cribbage.
So next time instead of doing your typical exercising, try something new with a group of friends!
(Source: https://www.nctrc.org/about-ncrtc/about-recreational-therapy/)
