Expanded therapeutic recreation outreach will help more clients

February is a busy time for the Rosecrance therapeutic recreation team. Months of planning client interventions take shape for the beloved Heart Art Show, a collaborative effort between staff and clients at our residential campuses.

The timing is purposeful, with both Valentine’s Day and National Recreation Therapy Month landing in February. It’s the right time to showcase the amazing work of clients in treatment and recognize the dedicated team behind these creative and memorable efforts.

Therapeutic recreation is one important way clients find healing at Rosecrance. It is woven into the fabric of treatment because it possesses a power to connect with clients in unique ways.

These experiential activities teach adolescents and adults how to navigate life using what they learned in a greenhouse or art room, in the gym, or by doing yoga or mindfully walking a labyrinth. Data show that this improves stress, anxiety, emotional regulation, engagement with others, and knowledge of life skills.

Purposeful leisure activities are transformed into spaces and places where hope is found. And growing the TR program is top of mind this year.

Rosecrance is working to expand therapeutic recreation clinical interventions in our outpatient settings, including crisis programs. It’s part of a larger effort to coordinate TR outreach across the organization, creating a global recreation focus tied to other initiatives like Rosecrance’s Diversity Equity Inclusion Belonging Committee.

“This expansion embraces our mission as an organization that’s dedicated to education and advocacy in the behavioral health field and connecting that directly to client care,” said Abby Nelson, M.S., CTRS, CADC, Rosecrance therapeutic creation coordinator.

The Rosecrance therapeutic recreation team is comprised of Nelson and TR specialists Paul Fasano, Jeremy Morehead, Alicia Kaleta, Erica Mohler, and Rebecca Teffeteller. Building a robust team with specialties in art, music, and horticulture was key to growing the program, Nelson said.