Leisure for Health: Therapeutic Recreation for All Canadians

The Canadian Therapeutic Recreation Association (CTRA) represents the interests and needs of all Recreation Therapists across the country. Recreation Therapists are allied health professionals who work in various settings, including but not limited to older adults, children and youth, community, rehabilitation, mental health, addictions, and education. Recreation Therapists use recreation, leisure, and play as treatment modalities to support purposeful and meaningful interventions based on individual strengths and values. Research shows the benefits of engaging in meaningful leisure for one’s holistic health (intellectual, emotional, environmental, physical, spiritual, and social.)

Recreation Therapists look at someone’s motivation to engage in an activity as it differs from person to person. They focus on person-centred care and ensure therapy is based on who they are to ensure successful outcomes. Perhaps you have found how valuable your own leisure has been in your life, especially throughout this

pandemic. Have you gone out in nature for relaxation? Did you join a book club for social connectedness and intellectual stimulation? Therapeutic Recreation is a profession that can also work in partnership with other healthcare practitioners such as Physiotherapists, Occupational Therapists, Social Workers, Speech-Language Pathologists, Psychologists, and more, all based on the person’s therapeutic goals.

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Canadian Therapeutic Recreation Association (CTRA) believes in the vision to have Therapeutic Recreation for all Canadians. One of CTRA’s missions is to promote and advance public awareness and understanding of Therapeutic Recreation, which brings us to you, dear reader. Our association continues to develop and promote the adoption and implementation of Professional Standards to deliver

Therapeutic Recreation Services. We are currently updating our Standards of Practice. The Standards of Practice for the TR profession provide a framework of principles that describe the knowledge, skills, values, and competencies inherent in the TR profession. These standards articulate the aspirations and goals of the profession and communicate how TR professionals should approach their daily practice.

As a way to support our members and create a space for shared professional knowledge and connectivity, an annual conference is held to celebrate our 25th conference this May 2022.

CTRA has recently launched the Canadian Journal of Recreation Therapy (CJRT), published by Sagamore-Venture Publishing LLC, to support excellence and advancement in Education and Research in TR. The first issue is expected to be published in 2022. CJRT is a semi-annual electronic publication devoted to publishing scholarly and substantive manuscripts in the field of therapeutic recreation/recreation therapy (TR/RT) that advance the body of knowledge by illustrating the translation of theory to practice in a variety of settings, as listed above.

To learn more about CTRA and its profession, please visit our website canadian-tr.org where you can learn about our history, get to know the board of directors, and more.

THERAPEUTIC RECREATION FOR ALL CANADIANS!YOU CAN VISIT AND CONTACT US ON OUR WEBSITE, FACEBOOK, AND INSTAGRAM! CANADIAN-TR.ORG | @CTRA1996

Canadian Therapeutic Recreation AssociationAssociation Canadienne de Loisir Thérapeutique