News and notes from Imagine! and the Imagine! Foundation.
Celebrating National Therapeutic Recreation Month
Feb-10-2020
Employees
February is National Therapeutic Recreation (TR) month!
Imagine! uses TR as the foundation for its School Age Services and Community and Employment Services, and we're delighted by the recognition of this valuable approach to developing lifelong skills while having fun at the same time!
What is Therapeutic Recreation?
Therapeutic Recreation (TR) is an allied health profession which focuses on improving a person’s quality of life in five domains: physical, cognitive, social, emotional and spiritual with an emphasis of leisure needs through activity interventions.
At Imagine!, participants have fun while learning lifelong skills at the same time! We believe that every interaction and activity is intended to teach, heal, or simply validate our participants’ experiences.
What is a CTRS?
A CTRS is a Certified Therapeutic Recreation Specialist who has demonstrated professional competence by acquiring a specific body of knowledge and passing the NCTRC exam. The CTRS employs the scope of practice that is based upon theoretical constructs and applied methodology, and addresses a wide range of disabling conditions and illnesses. In practice, CTRSs apply this critical set of competencies and skill toward the total person and the life factors that are associated with a specific disability or illness. The CTRS often serves as a member of the treatment team in convert with other healthcare professionals, significantly contributing to the effectiveness and efficiency of patient care and service outcomes.
Currently, Imagine! has seven Certified Therapeutic Recreation Specialists and four Therapeutic Recreation interns who are working towards their certification.
What does our Therapeutic Team do?
Our team conducts intake assessments, works with interdisciplinary teams, develop individualized service and support plans, facilitate therapeutic activities, review documentation of service, establish and maintain community connections, and collaborates with other therapists. In the community, our Therapeutic Team supports instructors and coordinators to ensure we are providing the highest quality of service possible, assess the needs of each participants and create goals specific to each person, review skill acquisition of participants in the five TR domains, and ensure that the therapeutic aspects of our program remain a priority.
The Imagine! Therapeutic Team
Brittany Weissman, CTRS
Wendi Hershberger, CTRS
Chelsea Benson, CTRS
Ryann Mickens, CTRS
Quincy Malecki, CTRS
Taylor Combs, CTRS
Elizabeth Aslin, CTRS
(Interns: Caley O’Brien, Cortney Kosiak, Kelly Throckmorton, Samantha Reed)
Our Therapeutic Team works really hard to make sure that our program provides the highest quality of service for our participants, and we salute them for it!
