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Recreational Therapists Occupation Detailed Description

Recreational Therapists career

General Job Description and Education/Training Levels for Recreational Therapists

The main tasks and work activities of Recreational Therapists are to record patient medical histories, monitor patient progress or responses to treatments, develop treatment plans that use non-medical therapies, encourage patients or clients to develop life skills. In general, for the Recreational Therapists, service Orientation, social Perceptiveness, speaking, active Listening and other 17 skills are required.
Recreational Therapists Job Description
EducationMost of these occupations require a four-year bachelor's degree, but some do not.
Related ExperienceA considerable amount of work-related skill, knowledge, or experience is needed for these occupations. For example, an accountant must complete four years of college and work for several years in accounting to be considered qualified.
Job TrainingEmployees in these occupations usually need several years of work-related experience, on-the-job training, and/or vocational training.
ExampleMany of these occupations involve coordinating, supervising, managing, or training others. Examples include real estate brokers, sales managers, database administrators, graphic designers, chemists, art directors, and cost estimators.
The following chart shows the education/training levels for Recreational Therapists jobs.
Less than a High School Diploma
0.00%
High School Diploma (or the equivalent)
0.00%
Post-Secondary Certificate
0.00%
Some College Courses
0.00%
Associate's Degree (or other 2-year degree)
0.00%
Bachelor's Degree and Above
100.00%

Tasks and Work Activities of Recreational Therapists

  • Observe, analyze, and record patients' participation, reactions, and progress during treatment sessions, modifying treatment programs as needed.
  • Develop treatment plan to meet needs of patient, based on needs assessment, patient interests, and objectives of therapy.
  • Encourage clients with special needs and circumstances to acquire new skills and get involved in health-promoting leisure activities, such as sports, games, arts and crafts, and gardening.
  • Counsel and encourage patients to develop leisure activities.
  • Confer with members of treatment team to plan and evaluate therapy programs.
  • Conduct therapy sessions to improve patients' mental and physical well-being.
  • Instruct patient in activities and techniques, such as sports, dance, music, art, or relaxation techniques, designed to meet their specific physical or psychological needs.
  • Obtain information from medical records, medical staff, family members and the patients, themselves, to assess patients' capabilities, needs and interests.
  • Plan, organize, direct, and participate in treatment programs and activities to facilitate patients' rehabilitation, help them integrate into the community, and prevent further medical problems.
  • Prepare and submit reports and charts to treatment team to reflect patients' reactions and evidence of progress or regression.
  • Develop discharge plans for patients.
  • Analyze data to determine the effectiveness of treatments or therapy approaches.
  • Analyze or synthesize client data to draw conclusions or make recommendations for art therapy.
  • Assess client needs or disorders, using drawing, painting, sculpting, or other artistic processes.
  • Communicate client assessment findings and recommendations in oral, written, audio, video, or other forms.
  • Conduct art therapy sessions, providing guided self-expression experiences to help clients recover from, or cope with, cognitive, emotional, or physical impairments.
  • Confer with other professionals on client's treatment team to develop, coordinate, or integrate treatment plans.
  • Customize art therapy programs for specific client populations, such as those in schools, nursing homes, wellness centers, prisons, shelters, or hospitals.
  • Design art therapy sessions or programs to meet client's goals or objectives.
  • Develop individualized treatment plans that incorporate studio art therapy, counseling, or psychotherapy techniques.
  • Assisting and Caring for OthersProviding personal assistance, medical attention, emotional support, or other personal care to others such as coworkers, customers, or patients.
  • Documenting/Recording InformationEntering, transcribing, recording, storing, or maintaining information in written or electronic/magnetic form.
  • Scheduling Work and ActivitiesScheduling events, programs, and activities, as well as the work of others.
  • Establishing and Maintaining Interpersonal RelationshipsDeveloping constructive and cooperative working relationships with others, and maintaining them over time.
  • Getting InformationObserving, receiving, and otherwise obtaining information from all relevant sources.
  • Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or SubordinatesProviding information to supervisors, co-workers, and subordinates by telephone, in written form, e-mail, or in person.
  • Thinking CreativelyDeveloping, designing, or creating new applications, ideas, relationships, systems, or products, including artistic contributions.
  • Organizing, Planning, and Prioritizing WorkDeveloping specific goals and plans to prioritize, organize, and accomplish your work.
  • Making Decisions and Solving ProblemsAnalyzing information and evaluating results to choose the best solution and solve problems.
  • Coordinating the Work and Activities of OthersGetting members of a group to work together to accomplish tasks.
  • Record patient medical histories.
  • Monitor patient progress or responses to treatments.
  • Develop treatment plans that use non-medical therapies.
  • Encourage patients or clients to develop life skills.
  • Provide health and wellness advice to patients, program participants, or caregivers.
  • Collaborate with healthcare professionals to plan or provide treatment.
  • Treat patients using psychological therapies.
  • Train patients, family members, or caregivers in techniques for managing disabilities or illnesses.
  • Collect medical information from patients, family members, or other medical professionals.
  • Gather medical information from patient histories.
  • Inform medical professionals regarding patient conditions and care.
  • Prepare reports summarizing patient diagnostic or care activities.
  • Analyze quantitative data to determine effectiveness of treatments or therapies.
  • Analyze patient data to determine patient needs or treatment goals.
  • Evaluate patient outcomes to determine effectiveness of treatments.
  • Communicate test or assessment results to medical professionals.
  • Establish treatment goals.
  • Interact with patients to build rapport or provide emotional support.
  • Communicate health and wellness information to the public.
  • Order medical supplies or equipment.

Skills and Abilities for Recreational Therapists

  • Service OrientationActively looking for ways to help people.
  • Social PerceptivenessBeing aware of others' reactions and understanding why they react as they do.
  • SpeakingTalking to others to convey information effectively.
  • Active ListeningGiving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
  • CoordinationAdjusting actions in relation to others' actions.
  • Critical ThinkingUsing logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.
  • InstructingTeaching others how to do something.
  • Reading ComprehensionUnderstanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents.
  • WritingCommunicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.
  • Complex Problem SolvingIdentifying complex problems and reviewing related information to develop and evaluate options and implement solutions.
  • Judgment and Decision MakingConsidering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.
  • NegotiationBringing others together and trying to reconcile differences.
  • MonitoringMonitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.
  • Learning StrategiesSelecting and using training/instructional methods and procedures appropriate for the situation when learning or teaching new things.
  • Time ManagementManaging one's own time and the time of others.
  • Active LearningUnderstanding the implications of new information for both current and future problem-solving and decision-making.
  • PersuasionPersuading others to change their minds or behavior.
  • Systems AnalysisDetermining how a system should work and how changes in conditions, operations, and the environment will affect outcomes.
  • Systems EvaluationIdentifying measures or indicators of system performance and the actions needed to improve or correct performance, relative to the goals of the system.
  • Management of Personnel ResourcesMotivating, developing, and directing people as they work, identifying the best people for the job.
  • Oral ExpressionThe ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
  • Oral ComprehensionThe ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
  • Problem SensitivityThe ability to tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing there is a problem.
  • Speech ClarityThe ability to speak clearly so others can understand you.
  • Written ExpressionThe ability to communicate information and ideas in writing so others will understand.
  • Inductive ReasoningThe ability to combine pieces of information to form general rules or conclusions (includes finding a relationship among seemingly unrelated events).
  • Deductive ReasoningThe ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.
  • Speech RecognitionThe ability to identify and understand the speech of another person.
  • Written ComprehensionThe ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.
  • Information OrderingThe ability to arrange things or actions in a certain order or pattern according to a specific rule or set of rules (e.g., patterns of numbers, letters, words, pictures, mathematical operations).
  • Hearing SensitivityThe ability to detect or tell the differences between sounds that vary in pitch and loudness.
  • Near VisionThe ability to see details at close range (within a few feet of the observer).
  • Finger DexterityThe ability to make precisely coordinated movements of the fingers of one or both hands to grasp, manipulate, or assemble very small objects.
  • OriginalityThe ability to come up with unusual or clever ideas about a given topic or situation, or to develop creative ways to solve a problem.
  • Fluency of IdeasThe ability to come up with a number of ideas about a topic (the number of ideas is important, not their quality, correctness, or creativity).
  • Arm-Hand SteadinessThe ability to keep your hand and arm steady while moving your arm or while holding your arm and hand in one position.
  • Time SharingThe ability to shift back and forth between two or more activities or sources of information (such as speech, sounds, touch, or other sources).
  • Selective AttentionThe ability to concentrate on a task over a period of time without being distracted.
  • Flexibility of ClosureThe ability to identify or detect a known pattern (a figure, object, word, or sound) that is hidden in other distracting material.
  • Auditory AttentionThe ability to focus on a single source of sound in the presence of other distracting sounds.
  • Still camerase.g. 35 millimeter cameras
  • Guitarse.g. Acoustic guitars
  • Archery bowse.g. Archery bows
  • Cassette players or recorderse.g. Audio tape recorders
  • Baseball batse.g. Baseball bats
  • Baseballse.g. Baseballs
  • Basketballse.g. Basketballs
  • Bicyclese.g. Bicycles
  • Bowling equipmente.g. Bowling balls
  • Canoes or kayakse.g. Canoes
  • Compact disk players or recorderse.g. Compact disk CD players
  • Croquet setse.g. Croquet sets
  • Desktop computerse.g. Desktop computers
  • Digital voice recorderse.g. Digital audio recorders
  • Digital camcorders or video camerase.g. Digital camcorders
  • Digital camerase.g. Digital cameras
  • Percussion instrument accessorye.g. Digital drumsticks
  • Drumse.g. Drum sets
  • Pianose.g. Electronic keyboards
  • Metronomese.g. Electronic metronomes
  • PsychologyKnowledge of human behavior and performance; individual differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; psychological research methods; and the assessment and treatment of behavioral and affective disorders.
  • Fine ArtsKnowledge of the theory and techniques required to compose, produce, and perform works of music, dance, visual arts, drama, and sculpture.
  • Therapy and CounselingKnowledge of principles, methods, and procedures for diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of physical and mental dysfunctions, and for career counseling and guidance.
  • Customer and Personal ServiceKnowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
  • English LanguageKnowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
  • Education and TrainingKnowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.
  • Sociology and AnthropologyKnowledge of group behavior and dynamics, societal trends and influences, human migrations, ethnicity, cultures and their history and origins.
  • Administration and ManagementKnowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.
  • ClericalKnowledge of administrative and clerical procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and other office procedures and terminology.
  • Medicine and DentistryKnowledge of the information and techniques needed to diagnose and treat human injuries, diseases, and deformities. This includes symptoms, treatment alternatives, drug properties and interactions, and preventive health-care measures.