The New Zealand Society of Diversional and Recreational Therapy is the professional body supporting all people working alongside different communities, in particular people living with dementia.
Recreational therapy is the application of recreational or leisure activities to achieve health and wellbeing outcomes. In simpler language, it is the use of meaningful activity, purposeful engagement, hobbies and recreational activities to support physical, emotional, spiritual, cognitive, and social needs of people, and to optimise health.
The goal of recreational therapy is to support people to feel better and improve their quality of life and overall wellbeing.
Recreational Therapy focuses on what is meaningful for the person. They focus on Life Story assessments, acknowledging people unique needs, as well as assessing and upholding peoples strengths, abilities, and interests of individuals to develop personalized support plans. Through creative and stimulating activities, Recreational Therapy helps people achieve personal growth.
When she told me her story, I was in tears. I was so happy for her and for her progress. I was proud that she took a bold stance, that she asked her family for the funds to make it happen, that she took action even though she probably still had some doubt. At the same time, I was disheartened and disappointed in the system. Why did she have to go to such lengths? Why was this an exception and not the norm? This is only one story. I have heard many more, and these kinds of stories have made my heart cry for years. I have seen many people’s goals of care prevented because of a system that has the potential but struggles to effectively to use it’scapital and resources. Our continuing care system was created and designed to move elderly or physically disabled people out of hospital beds when they were not independent enough to return home. It certainly was not created from an intense desire to improve their quality of life or help them experience ALIVENESS.
Recreational Therapists are health care practitioners that work with other health care professionals e.g. GP, RN, OT, PT, ST, SW, etc.
Recreational Therapy is an umbrella for different modalities, which include and are not limited to:
Benefits of recreational therapy
When we do leisure activities or hobbies that we enjoy, we feel better, and the research tells us that these activities have clinical benefits for clients, such as (Soubam et al., 2020):
Physical strength, mobility, and coordination can improve through engaging in activities such as sports, aquatics, yoga, and dance.
Positive outlets for expression and stress reduction through activities like art therapy, music therapy, and outdoor recreation can promote emotional wellbeing.
Enhanced social and cognitive skills of individuals with developmental disabilities, traumatic brain injury, and dementia are achieved through adapted recreational activities tailored to meet the unique needs of each person.
Healthier coping mechanisms can be developed through outdoor, creative expression, and team activities.
Quality of life and overall wellbeing can improve.
