Therapeutic Recreation Option Purpose

The purpose of the Recreation Therapy (RT) program is twofold. First, the RT program provides academic course work and field-based experiences, which enable graduates to enter the profession qualified to effectively and successfully provide therapeutic recreation services to individuals with disabilities in clinical, transitional, and community settings.  Competencies addressed in the RT program are designed to meet the standards and evaluative criteria of the Council on Accreditation of Parks, Recreation, Tourism and Related Professions (COAPRT), the National Council for Therapeutic Recreation Certification (NCTRC), and the California Board of Recreation and Park Certification (CBRPC). Second, the TR program provides to both majors in the department, and campus-wide students who are non-majors, an orientation to individuals with disabilities and to the profession of Therapeutic Recreation. This knowledge will enable graduates to more competently provide recreation and other services to individuals with disabilities that are more comprehensive and sensitive to their needs.  

Goals of the Recreation Therapy Program

A. Offer courses and field-based experiences enabling graduates to meet the criteria for eligibility to sit for examinations to become a Certified Therapeutic Recreation Specialist (CTRS) through the NCTRC and Recreation Therapist, Certified (RTC) through the CBRPC

B. Prepare students to accept their professional and personal roles as advocates for and with individuals with disabilities 

C. Continually revise the Option's content so that it always reflects the most current professional standards and practices

D. Continually evaluate current and potential field-based experience sites to provide students with a wide variety of possible field experiences which will expose them to current professional practice by competent practitioners 

E. Assist students with securing therapeutic recreation positions before and after completion of the Option

A. Certification Criteria

Criteria of COAPRT, NCTRC and CBRPC are regularly reviewed and changes in the TR program including course content, structure, and requirements are revised as needed to reflect changes in criteria. Due to recent changes in NCTRC standards and COAPRT standards, several curriculum changes have been made to the TR program. These changes as well as the TR program course requirements are presented below. 

1.     Recreation Therapy Option Revisions

1)     REC 485 Fieldwork was added to the RT core courses as a requirement for all RT students (as of fall 2018 for the new cohort group who declared RT to be their major in fall 2018).  This change was made because of the rigorous fieldwork requirement by California Board of Recreation and park Certification (CBRPC), Inc.  The CBRPC requires a total of 1,000 hours of fieldwork experience in order for the applications to be eligible for the CA RT Certification exam.  Thus, completing this fieldwork (minimum 200 hours) would certainly help students to fulfil the required 1,000 hours standard by the certification body. 

 2)     REC 454 Counseling in Recreation Therapy was eliminated (fall 2017) from the RT Core Course list.  However, it is still in the catalog and will remain as an elective course.  

 3)     The dept. is in the process of proposing two new RT elective courses.  The proposals were submitted in fall 2018 and are currently under a review process.   National Council for Therapeutic Recreation Certification recently changed their policy on the number of recreation therapy/therapeutic recreation courses from five (5) to six (6).  The policy will be effective as of January 1, 2022.   Thus, it is required for the department of Recreation and Leisure Studies to add at least one more RT course ASAP to meet the Jan 1, 2022 deadline.  Our recreation therapy cohort group who will graduate in May 2021 or May 2022 should meet this requirement so that they can sit for the exam. The two RT elective courses proposed are: Rec 455 Recreation Therapy for Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation and REC 456 Recreation Therapy for Individuals with Psychiatric Disorders. 

Recreation Therapy Option Core Course Requirements 

HSC 150: Medical Terminology

PSY 100: General Psychology

BIO 207:  Human Physiology

BIO 208:  Human Anatomy

ANTH 318: Human Growth and Development Through the Lifespan

PSY 370: Abnormal Psychology

REC 351: Foundations of Inclusive Recreation and Recreation Therapy 

REC 451: Management and Administration of Recreation Therapy Services 

REC 452: Assessment and Documentation in Recreation Therapy 

REC 453: Comprehensive Programming and Evaluation in Recreation Therapy

REC 454: Counseling Techniques in Recreation Therapy

REC 458: Clinical Techniques in Therapeutic Recreation 

REC 485: Fieldwork in Recreation  

REC 498: Internship

9 units Supportive Courses 

1.     Schedule of Course Offerings

REC 351 is offered every semester since this course serves as a core requirement for both the Bachelor of Arts Degree in Recreation and Leisure Studies as well as a core course in the Recreation Therapy program.  In the past, core courses in the Recreation Therapy option: (REC 451, 452, 453, 454, and 458) are offered on a three semester rotation.  

In fall 2017, after the discussion on the RT curriculum, the RT faculty decided to eliminate REC 454 from the core RT course list.  And due to the sudden increase of RT student in the program, from fall 2017, the remaining RT core courses (REC 451, 452, 453, and 458) are being offered on a two semester rotation.  Specifically, REC 351, 452, 453 are offered in every fall semester and REC 351, 451, 458 are offered in every spring semester. 

 B. Field-Based Experience Sites

Based on the experiences of students and discussions with practitioners, the agencies to which students can be assigned are regularly updated.  The list of approved agencies can be found the Department’s Beachboard site and via this direct link: CBRPC Approved Agencies 2018/2019

 C. Employment

Notices of positions available in therapeutic recreation are shared with students through the announcements function on the Department’s Beachboard site and during class. In REC 451 Management of Therapeutic Recreation Services, time is spent orienting and preparing students to meet certification standards as well as securing a professional position. 

In addition, students are strongly encouraged to attend local (e.g., Beach Symposium, CPRS District 10 Workshops, etc.) and state level conferences and meetings (i.e., CPRS). Through the participation in those meetings, students have opportunities to interact with professionals in the field.  Although we do not have data, we heard that students get fieldwork, internship, and part-time and full-time employment opportunities.  

D. Faculty in Recreation Therapy 

Terry Robertson, Ph.D.

Heewon Yang, Ph.D., CTRS

Chungsup Lee, Ph.D., CTRS

Patti La Place, M.A., RTC