What is Recreational Therapy?

What is a Recreational Therapist?

• Allied health professional who uses activity-based interventions to address client treatment goals.
• Who do RTs work with?
  •  veterans, older adults, children, individuals with developmental disorders, cognitive disorders, physical disorders, and mental health disorders.
• Where do RTs work?
  • parks and recreation departments, hospitals, fitness centers, rehabilitation centers, long term care facilities, assisted living facilities, correctional centers, mental health centers, adapted sports programs, school systems, and private RT facilities.
• Who Represents RTs?
  • American Therapeutic Recreation Association (ATRA)
  • Illinois Recreation Therapy Association (ILRTA)
• Who Accredits RT Academic Programs?
  • Committee on Accreditation of RT Education (CARTE)
  • Council on Accreditation of Parks, Recreation, Tourism, and Related Professions (COAPRT)

To become a Recreational Therapist (CTRS) you must:

1. Earn a Bachelor or higher degree in Recreational Therapy (RT) or Therapeutic Recreation (TR) from an accredited college or university that includes the following coursework:
   • 1 course (3 hours) in Recreation
   • 6 courses (18 hours) in RT/TR
   • 1 course (3 hours) in Anatomy & Physiology
   • 1 course (3 hours) in Human Growth & Development Across the Lifespan
   • 1 course (3 hours) in Abnormal Psychology
2. Complete a 560 hour & 14 consecutive week internship under the supervision of a CTRS at the internship site and at the academic institution. A partial list of organizations which may offer internship opportunities is listed below.
   • Adaptive Sports Programs
     • Ability 360
     • Arizona Disabled Sports
     • Great Lakes Adaptive Sports Association
     • Lakeshore Foundation
   • Community/Home Based Programs
     • Bridges of IN
     • New Leaf Recreation
     • Pure Abilities
     • Strive Recreational Therapy
   • Hospitals
     • Brooks Rehabilitation
     • Craig Hospital
     • Lurie Children’s Hospital
     • Mary Free Bed Rehabilitation Hospital
     • Shepherd Center
     • Shirley Ryan Ability Lab
   • Municipal or Special Rec Associations
     • Bloomington SOAR
     • Chicago Park District Special Recreation
     • Colorado Springs TR Program
     • Fort Collins Adaptive Recreation
     • Fox Valley Special Recreation Association
     • Kishwaukee Special Recreation Association
     • Maine-Niles Association of Special Recreation
     • NEDSRA
     • Northern Illinois Special Recreation Association
     • Northern Suburban Special Recreation Association
     • Northern Will County SRA
     • Northwest SRA
     • Reno Adaptive Recreation
     • STL ARC
     • Southeast Association for Special Parks & Rec
     • South Suburban SRA
     • Waukegan Park District SR
     • West Suburban SRA
   • Outdoor Centers
     • Achieve Tahoe
     • Adaptive Adventures
     • Adaptive Sports Center
     • Bradford Woods
     • Breckenridge Outdoor Education Center
     • Challenge Alaska
     • Eagle Mount Montana
     • National Ability Center
     • National Sports Center for The Disabled
     • Outdoors for All
     • Sun Valley Adaptive Sports
     • Touch of Nature
     • US Adaptive Rec Center
   • Residential
     • Marklund
     • Misericordia
     • Youth Villages
   • Veterans Health
     • Bay Pines, FL
     • Central Alabama
     • Chicago
     • Detroit
     • Hines IL
     • Houston TX
     • Minneapolis
     • Palo Alto
     • Saint Louis
     • Salt Lake City
     • South Texas
     • Tennessee Valley
3. Pass the Certified Therapeutic Recreation Specialist (CTRS) exam from the NCTRC.

Looking for an educational program? Try Southern Illinois University’s RT Program!

• Undergraduate Program
• Graduate Program