TR.Hippy

February is Rec Therapy Month!!
~
"The word recreation is really a very beautiful word. It is defined in the dictionary as 'the process of giving new life to something, of refreshing something, of restoring something.' This something, of course, is the whole person."

Bruno Hans Geba
•

Journaling
•
Journaling is one of my absolute favorite leisure activities when i am happy, upset, or any type of mood!
•
Journaling evokes mindfulness and helps writers remain present while keeping perspective. It presents an opportunity for emotional catharsis and helps the brain regulate emotions. It provides a greater sense of confidence and self-identity.
•
I personally have my planner i make and I also have 3 different types of other journals. 1. my habit tracker, 2. my manifesting/scripting journal, 3. my tarot journal. Soon ill be adding a travel journal!
•
Journaling is something I do every day to help me take stress off and brain dump!
•
Do you do any 𝒋𝒐𝒖𝒓𝒏𝒂𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒈 ?
•

Finding Yourself
•
Hello everyone! Its Rebecca. I know its been a while scene i’ve posted. Maybe a few months? I know i dont need to explain myself for being MIA but ik ive shared things with everyone on why i haven’t been on TR.Hippy in a while. so let me share some more
•
Ive been juggling with a lot of things in my life; a full time job, a small business, having a somewhat social life, being a MOH, and trying to get my mind ready for the CTRS exam again. Yet, i haven’t been able to find my balance of leisure life. “Rebecca, didn’t you go to school for this, to help people with leisure life?” Yes and i often forget (a lot) to practice what i preach. Finding a balance is actually a lot harder then it looks to be completely honest. I realize driving home yesterday from a very stressful day, “what am i so burnt out?” Part of the reason was that i am so focused on making crafts for my small business or helping get things ready for a wedding or trying to see all my friends, i haven’t stopped and did things that I want to do. I thought i was doing leisure but it turned into work.
•
So while im writing this (Monday August 9th) i am going to start to find 𝒃𝒂𝒍𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒆 of work life and leisure life. I understand that not everything i do can be fun and games everyday, but giving myself an hour to journal or 20mins to do a workout, its not going to take up my whole day. I felt thats what i kept thing to myself, i have a long list of TO-DO’s and i have no time to do things.
•
I hope this post inspires you to find balance.
•
I hope you are as excited as i am to open up this new chapter of finding balance with me. Its going to be tricky but i got this!
•
how fo you find 𝒃𝒂𝒍𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒆 ?
•

something they dont really talk about in school is the day in a life of a recreation therapist. so if ur in school for TR or looking into TR, here is what i do as a recreational therapist at a rehab/nursing home!!
•
after clocking in, i go to the main board or a computer and check what my schedule is for today, so what activities ill be leading! i then write down my schedule in my handy dandy notebook and log into the website we use for documentation. here i check if when people’s progress notes are do.
•
then i go about my day, checking in on my residences, making sure i have the supplies for my programs/set up for programs, and doing the activities. i like to have a print out of the peoples names on my unit because it helps me remember names and keep track who attended the program.
•
once im done, i put in the computer who was at what programs and then start progress notes, care plan write ups, if people have been doing their goals, etc. sometimes if someone new comes along, ill do an assessment with them!
•
that’s basically a quick rundown of what i do as a recreational therapist!! feel free to add anything else you do as a rec therapist!!
•

This quote i found my first year at Cortland and i personally felt that it relates to TR so well!! It keeps me motivated to keep doing what i love!
•
This week is a very stressful week for me. What are some motivational quotes you absolutely love and live by?
•

My thoughts for my first week of starting a TR job. NOTE: this is my opinion and take this as you will! everyone’s experience is different and id like to share the important things ive learn during my first week of training:)
•
A lot of running around: The facility that i work for, i dont have my own personal desk so i have to do a lot of running around to a computer to get work done. its a bit annoying not having my own space but hey, its a first job. i recommend getting comfortable shoes and a tote bag to hold your stuff with! (will hopefully selling soon)
Learning Names are super Important: learning the names of staff and participants is very important! for some people is comes easy and for others, like myself, its a struggle. one thing i try to do it match personally to names. for example: “Joe B taps when upset”. so when i see him tapping, ik its joe. idk, its helps me.
Advocate for Yourself: i applied for the Recreation Therapist position and at the moment i am considered a Rec assistant... this makes me very upset. advocating for yourself and what you are capable of is important to make sure you are well respected and know to others that you are a professional.
•
any other advice or things you have observed during your first week of working, drop them in the comments below 🖤✨
•

Its ok to shut your brian off when things get crazy.
•
For mental health awareness month, let spread awareness about different recreational activities to do when you need to shut your brain off.
•
What does it mean to shut your brain off? Shutting the brain off is a way to detach yourself from reality and focus on something else that is not causing you stress. Whats a great way to destress, RECREATIONAL THERAPY!!!
•
One activity I like to do to detach when im in my head is crafting. Crafting is a great way to focus on something and not be in your head.
•

a beautiful quote about rec therapy!!!
•
an update on my personal life real quick, so tomorrow is my last day at my internship! how spooky!!! so this weekend ill be driving 15-16hours home. 🤭 cant wait to update yall on some exciting news when i come home! 🖤 so if im MIA, yall will know!!
•

what is a CTRS?
•
A qualified recreational therapist is someone who is nationally certified as a Certified Therapeutic Recreation Specialist (CTRS), usually referred to as Recreational Therapists. Qualified professionals are certified through the National Council for Therapeutic Recreation Certification (NCTRC), which requires a bachelor’s degree or higher from an accredited university, a formal internship and the passing of a national certification examination. A CTRS must maintain their credential every five years through the NCTRC recertification process. Academic programs in Therapeutic Recreation or Recreational Therapy emphasize course work in the physical, biological, and behavioral sciences and recreation and leisure theory.
•
Compassion. Recreational therapists should be kind and empathetic when providing support to participants and their families. They may deal with participants who are in pain or under emotional stress.
Leadership skills. Recreational therapists must plan, develop, and implement intervention programs in an effective manner. They must be engaging and able to motivate their participants to engage in a variety of therapeutic activities.
Listening skills. Recreational therapists must listen carefully to a participant’s problems and concerns. They can then determine an appropriate course of treatment for them.
Patience. Recreational therapists may work with some participants who require more time and special attention than others.
Resourcefulness. Recreational therapists customize treatment plans for participants. They must be both creative and flexible when adapting activities or programs to each person’s needs.
Speaking skills. Recreational therapists need to communicate well with their participants. They must give clear directions during activities or instructions on healthy coping techniques.
•

using positive affirmations at work, before or after a program, is super important. i didn’t use them at first and now i use them to help me calm down after a stressful day.
•
somedays, programs go better than others. there are just some days where my participants go through that activity that you planned out and just say negative comments like “this is stupid” or “i hate this” or “this is useless.” i know for me that really brings my mood down. so to get me back up i use different affirmations like these!!
•
go check out .insight to see their affirmation post as well! us rec therapists know the programs we provide to our participants are helpful for all and sometimes, participants don’t always see eye to eye but one day, they will look back at the session and reflect ✨🖤
•

what is therapeutic recreation? what is it all about??
•
yeah lets talk TR! so according to nctrc, tr is the systematic process that utilizes recreation and other activity-based interventions to address the assessed needs of individuals with varied abilities, as a means to psychological and physical health, recovery and well-being. basically we take a person’s leisure life and talk about goals they want to achieve and how we can help them achieve it! it seems pretty simple? eh kindaaa.. we use a fun little thing called the APIE process to help us do this!
•
whats the APIE process?? glad you asked! its a systematic problem-solving procedure used by recreation therapists to help participants improve their levels of health by meeting identified needs. it goes by assessment, planning, implementing and evaluation!!
•
why are rec therapists important? well there are MANY reasons why we are important but the best way i feel to put it is that we on on the floor with the participants watching and observing how they interact with the activity they do. we can see how their mood changes or how their mind and body works while doing that activity. i think that’s pretty rad!
•
what are some things you think about when someone asks what TR is?
•