community recreation

Aug 16, 2021

Written By Andrea Campbell

I have worked as a Recreation Therapist in community mental healthcare for sixteen years on an Assertive Community Treatment Team . Three teams for the same organization over those years. My initial engagement process with a new participant has changed over the years, as have I. I wanted to share with you what my current practice looks like and I hope it helps you build your own.

The basics are:

1. Introduce yourself and Therapeutic Recreation

2. Record all the information you need to help you draw a picture

3. Together, with the participant, create a leisure lifestyle.

Sounds easy, right? Let’s go!

Introduction

I introduce myself and the role of Therapeutic Recreation. This includes explaining and exploring the risks and benefits of participating in the assessment process. I encourage questions along the way.

Consent

Leisure is ideally freely chosen, therefor the participants require information about the activity/intervention to provide informed consent. This is not a nice to have. This is a professional obligation.

Formal Assessments

At the start of my career I had supervisor tell me “if you want to be treated like a professional, act like one”. This was said with affection and I took it to heart. How do you know what you know? Especially about another person. You ask questions. You ask meaningful questions. You ask them in a way they can be measured. You ask so you can compare these answers over time. And you learn to listen.

How do you know what questions to ask? You use a formal, standardized assessment . You also reassess over time. I tend to use a modified Leisurescope and the Leisure Barriers Assessment. I also routinely use the UCLA Loneliness Scale.

Provide Feedback

I ensure that part of my practice is checking in with the participant to discuss the assessment findings. Do they agree with what I found? Does my assessment of their lives and situation sound right? If not, why not? What did I miss? What should be added or subtracted? I encourage feedback and questions. This is the ultimate collaborative project.

Values

Who are you as a person? Why do you want what you want? What matters to you? Help people explore, identify and define their values and the role those play in their lives. One of many free values questionnaires is the VIA values questionnaire.

Planning

Now develop a plan together using a holistic , strengths-based , person-centered approach. Set SMARTER goals. Together.

Build

Use all this data to build a leisure inventory, create an activity analysis and support the therapeutic intervention .

Now that you have a process you will need some great tools to help you build your intervention

1. I keep Psychosocial Rehabilitation at the forefront at all times. It guides me when I read a journal article or adopt a model. It is the lens I process information through

2. The first place I consult is the Recreation Therapy Handbook of Practice and Recreational Therapy for Specific Diagnosis and Conditions . They give me the broad areas to look at when I’m planning an intervention

3. I recommend physical activity to everyone. I used the Canadian Physical Activity Guidelines to structure those conversations

4. In general, the people I work with are lonely. Whether its due to isolation, stigma , symptoms, substance use, trauma or something else, we know that loneliness has a whole host of health consequences so I use the UCLA Loneliness scale to assess that area and always include it in interventions.

5. I hold many certifications to back up the work I do and I value lifelong learning. I feel this is important for personal/professional development and for building trust in the people I serve. Personal Training, Smoking Cessation and Nutrition to name a few.

6. I took a course through Human Kinetics for continuing education credits for CanFitPro and it was one of the most useful texts I have owned. This drills down what is important for physical activity way before you ever enter the gym It explores values in a structured way. I can’t recommend it enough.

7. I enjoy taking Skillshare courses for their new ideas, skill building and my joy of lifelong learning. I use concepts from the ICAN and Leisure Step Up Model  as well.

Intro- check

Tools- check

Now we look around us to see what’s available.

Where to find accessible and welcoming places to participate in the client’s chosen activity?

I will share places I use but you can easily adopt these to your own community.

1. The Library . It is the best resource. It is undervalued. They have helpful, knowledgeable and community centered staff members. They want to help. They are the center of the community. They have technology and it’s one of the only places people I work with can experience actual quiet.

2. Coffee shops. Get the right coffee shop and they host open mic nights, have bulletin boards filled with ideas and connections and usually some cool local artwork.

3. Church. Churches offer food, groups and community space as well as meeting a spiritual need for some. Churches often volunteer and it’s an excellent opportunity to give back to the community and find a sense of purpose. Make sure to look for welcoming signs when suggesting this.

4. The municipal or city recreation programs offer free or low cost opportunities for recreation and are inclusive in their spaces. There are a variety of guides available in your area. Following these on your favourite social media platform is also a great idea. This includes outdoor parks, facilities and walking trails. Even the bus system is considered a resource. Provincial Parks often have fees to enter so make sure you consider this when you’re adding it to a plan.

5. The YMCA offers subsidized memberships for lower income households which is often what the people I work with experience. There’s a range of programming and opportunities there. It’s more than just a gym.

6. Farmer's Markets are wonderful places for entertainment, shopping and purchasing in-season fruits and vegetables. They build community and are usually located in prime locations. If you’re lucky your farmers market will include non-traditional groups to better serve the community as well. Recently, the famer’s market in my working community handed out naloxone kits. What a wonderful opportunity.

7. Partnering with your community-based mental health network , addiction services ,foodbanks and meal centers , friendship-centres or community health centre is often a rewarding opportunity as well. Connecting to a peer network, and building one’s community is a wonderful place to feel connected.

This is a guide on how I start my therapeutic intervention with a new participant.

It takes a long time.

It takes creativity and patience.

It takes building a trusting, therapeutic relationship.