Kaplan国际教育集团

Become a recreational therapist and make a difference in the lives of individuals who live with illness and disabling conditions. Using activity-based therapeutic interventions, enjoy a rewarding career empowering people to live a healthy leisure lifestyle through your work with human service and recreation programs in the community.

The program prepares competent, entry-level recreational therapists with the requisite knowledge, skills and abilities needed to improve functional outcomes and increase participation in life activities for individuals experiencing health conditions. It is designed for students who want to learn to conduct assessments, develop service plans, implement therapeutic interventions, and evaluate and document outcomes of care. They gain skills to effectively provide comprehensive therapeutic recreation services that include program design and evaluation, individual and group service provision, and advocacy. The required fieldwork component of the program facilitates the development of competencies to provide quality recreational therapy services.

Students who choose this degree program are committed to improving people's lives and contributing to their communities. This degree program is one of two such programs in Arizona, both offered by the School of Community Resources and Development. This program has a heavier emphasis on healthcare settings such as hospitals and human service agencies while the Bachelor of Science in parks and recreation with a concentration in therapeutic recreation prepares students to provide recreational therapy services in community settings such as youth programs, adaptive sports, or parks and recreation.

Career Opportunities

Recreation therapy is a rapidly growing field, given the rising number of returning veterans and an aging population. Graduates are prepared for work in a wide variety of clinical settings, including hospitals, rehabilitation centers and extended care facilities. Graduates also are qualified to work in community settings such as parks and recreation departments.