Recreation Therapy: Getting Comfortable with the Uncomfortable

By Rob Henderson, LASUDC, CTRS

As a seasoning addiction counselor and recreation therapist, I have, for over a decade now, seen some incredible things happen when recreation therapy is integrated into treatment and recovery. What’s more, my recreation-based training has also benefited my own personal and family life.

Since recreation therapy is somewhat less familiar to the general population, I thought there would be value in giving a brief overview of both the practice and some of its driving principles so that we all might benefit and maybe even consider re-creating how we recreate in our families.

What Is Recreation Therapy?

Per the official licensing board (NCTRC), recreation therapy (RT) comes with a pretty technical and jargony definition: a systemic process that uses recreation and other activity-based interventions to address the assessed needs of individuals with illness and/or disabling conditions as a means to psychological and physical health, recovery, and well-being. In simpler terms, RT engages an individual through hands-on recreational experiences that are intended to deepen the understanding of oneself and one’s healing process.

How Does Recreation Therapy Work?

In some ways, RT is similar to other clinical disciplines in that it addresses a broad range of behavioral health concepts, like pathology, human development, and treatment planning. However, unique from more traditional treatment practices, like talk therapy, where people try to put into words unclear and troubling thoughts, feelings, and behaviors, RT prioritizes the experiential intervention before attempting to talk and process. Through team-building activities, ropes course challenges, and adventure outings, a recreation therapist would make the case that when we act in a new way, we are also challenged to think, feel, and even behave in a new way, which brings insight and introspections to the healing process.

Get Comfortable Being Uncomfortable

Another distinction in RT practice is the usage and manipulation of risk. Where many clinicians wisely go to great lengths to create spaces of predictability, comfort, and safety for their clients, a recreation therapist is positioned on the other side of that contrary. A therapist that specializes in recreation is actually trained to expose people to certain levels of risk without inciting panic.

Activating—even at times provoking—unfamiliarity, vulnerability, and awkwardness are all seen as tools in a recreation therapist’s toolbox. Put another way, when traditional therapy says “feeling safe and secure is vital to the therapeutic process,” a recreation therapist would argue “so is risk and discomfort.”

Applications to Parenting

Children and youth are hard-wired to not only find safety but to also take risks. Yet often contemporary society overemphasizes and glamorizes caution while discouraging—even punishing— people for risk-seeking behaviors. Michigan State University, however, states, “Contrary to popular belief, risk-taking behavior is actually healthy and helps young people thrive.” The research explains that one of the keys to helping youth limit unhealthy, dangerous, and antisocial risk-taking behavior is to actually “channel their risky behaviors in prosocial ways, while encouraging the exploration of healthier risk.”

Healthy Risk-Making

You can put these principles into practice in your family by going out of your way to try new things together, as novelty and risk have an interconnected relationship. Facilitate and encourage family members to be vulnerable in the home and in public, such as performing in a talent show, running for student government office, or taking a skill to the next significant level. You can also gain incredible traction in parenting as you simply demonstrate and role model a willingness to be vulnerable and take healthy risks. Though it may feel counterintuitive at times, consider giving praise for and even rewarding your kids for taking calculated risks. It’s also okay to let your children marinate in discomfort, awkwardness, and insecurity for a bit. Encourage bravery and resilience but avoid swooping in too quickly to protect and buffer young people from the growth and developmental that is inherent in risk and danger.

And finally, as a disclaimer: you may only participate in these activities if you do so at your own risk!

Rob Henderson

About the Author

Rob Henderson is dually licensed in addiction counseling and recreation/experiential therapy and is a Wilderness First Responder. He also specializes in leisure and outdoor education, youth development, family systems, and parenting. He is best known for his ability to integrate play and a variety of adventures and backcountry pursuits into his private practice as well as with his family. Additionally, Rob is the executive director and co-founder of RITE Trainings, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that “provides for providers” effective, interactive, and affordable behavioral health training and education. Visit www.RITETrainings.org or www.ARETherapy.com to learn more.