Sevierville, Tennessee, United States
I have been working as a Certified Therapeutic Recreation Specialist, CTRS, since 1981 when I graduated with a BPS in Recreation and Leisure Studies with a concentration in Therapeutic Recreation from SUNY at Brockport. Through the years I have worked in inpatient and outpatient mental health. I also had many opportunities to work as a Therapeutic Recreation consultant for LTC facilities across Oklahoma, Texas, North Carolina and Tennessee. My most impactful career change happened when my mother was diagnosed with dementia. My father was her caregiver, but he suddenly passed away leaving my mom without much needed support. Two weeks after my father passed away the community mental health center where I was employed merged with two other hospitals, and I was laid off. I became my mother's Recreational Therapist. For the next five years I created a 7 day a week RT/TR program for my mother with the goal to keep her home, happy and healthy as possible. Thats when I discovered the treatment advantages that TR/RT has against the symptoms associated with dementia. When the goal for someone is the live a healthy mental, emotional, physical and social life, then the Certified Therapeutic Recreation Specialist, CTRS is the best qualified professional. I created My Recreation Therapist LLC web site as a way for anyone to find and hire their own CTRS or LRT. We have an ever-growing data base of clients and therapists from all over North America waiting to connect. We hope to be joining with the Leisure professionals in Australia soon. I also created the site to provide education about Recreational Therapy, Therapeutic Recreation and its benefits. It is $14.95 per month for CTRS/LRT's to join. It is free for consumers. Home health is going to continue to trend to become the first option for people facing long term care. Currently there is a great push towards private practice and entrepreneurism in the field of TR/RT. Its time to deinstitutionalize ourselves and create our niche in the billion-dollar home health industry.