What is RT?

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/TR 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. 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. Some potential internship sites are listed below. Your university will have a list of sites they have current agreements with.
      • Community/Home Based Programs
        • Ability 360
        • Marklund
        • Misericordia
        • Pure Abilities
        • Strive Recreational Therapy
      • Hospitals
        • Brooks Rehabilitation
        • Craig Hospital
        • Lurie Children’s Hospital
        • Shepherd Center
        • Shirley Ryan Ability Lab
      • Municipal or Special Rec Associations
        • Bloomington SOAR
        • Chicago Park District Special 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
        • 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
        • Breckenridge Outdoor Education Center
        • National Ability Center
        • Outdoors for All
        • Sun Valley Adaptive Sports
      • Veterans Health
        • South Texas Veterans Health Care System
        • Marion VA Medical Center
        • Saint Louis VA
   3. Pass the Certified Therapeutic Recreation Specialist (CTRS) exam from the NCTRC.

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

• • Undergraduate Program
  • Graduate Program