Recreational Therapists
Certified Therapeutic Recreation Specialist (CTRS),
Recreation Therapist,
Recreational Therapist,
Rehabilitation Therapist
What they do: Plan, direct, or coordinate medically-approved recreation programs for patients in hospitals, nursing homes, or other institutions. Activities include sports, trips, dramatics, social activities, and crafts. May assess a patient condition and recommend appropriate recreational activity.
- DemandHigh
- state Avg. Salary $$$$$$51,830Download Career Flyer
What do they typically do on the job?
- Instruct patient in activities and techniques, such as sports, dance, music, art, or relaxation techniques, designed to meet their specific physical or psychological needs.
- Conduct therapy sessions to improve patients' mental and physical well-being.
- Plan, organize, direct, and participate in treatment programs and activities to facilitate patients' rehabilitation, help them integrate into the community, and prevent further medical problems.
Personality
Interests
Career interests describe the perspectives and interests of people who enjoy the type of work involved in this career.
Discover what your interests are by taking the Interest Profiler Quiz
Abilities
Whether you have received formal training or not, these types of abilities are helpful in this career.
Verbal
Communicate by speaking
Listen and understand what people say
Ideas and Logic
Notice when problems happen
Use rules to solve problems
Attention
Do two or more things at the same time
Pay attention to something without being distracted
Skills
People who want to pursue this career have skills in these areas.
Basic Skills
Listening to others, not interrupting, and asking good questions
Talking to others
Social
Looking for ways to help people
Changing what is done based on other people's actions
Problem Solving
Noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it
Does this sound like something you'd like to do?
1. Do some research
- Identify how your interests, values, and strengths match this occupation
- Talk to someone who works in this field or spend a day job shadowing
- Use the colleges and training directory to explore programs related to this career
2. Plan your next move
- Talk to your college and career counselor or school admissions staff
- Visit Idaho Launch
- Search for available Recreational Therapists jobs on Idaho Works
Data for NSI career cards comes from the following: Idaho Department of Labor, US Bureau of Labor Statistics, O*NET, MyNextMove, and Career OneStop