Are you a Recreation Therapist (RT) or know someone that is? If so, this blog is for you. We dive deep into the topics of people with depression, what science says about Rec Therapy, some personal and professional stories. I keep things light throughout with some fun GIPHYs. I close it out with a program I’m really proud about.
#1 Essential: 💃🏽 🏃♀️ 🤸♀️ 🧘♀️ 🙏 🍁 🥾Know what it looks like to have depression and participate in rec therapy.⠀
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According to the ATRA (American Therapeutic Recreation Association), “Recreational therapy, also known as therapeutic recreation, is a systematic process that utilizes recreation and other activity-based interventions to address the assessed needs of individuals with illnesses and/or disabling conditions, as a means to psychological and physical health, recovery and well-being…. Recreational therapists (RTs) seek to reduce depression, stress and anxiety in their clients and help them build confidence and socialize in their community.”⠀ ⠀
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Professionally, I worked in the psychiatric hospital with 2 licensed RTs; my boss Sue & my colleague Alek Rose. Sue oversaw our treatment mall for adult patients that lived there for either self request or court order 180 days-30+ years. ⠀
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Recreational therapy for all patients is a big umbrella category. Some of the treatment offered for patients in our care included: art therapy (drawing/coloring), art therapy (sculpture/painting for patients close to discharge), garden therapy, work rehabilitation, music therapy, outdoor recreation (weather pending in the Pacific Northwest), and my Move Happy group. The rest of the groups I would say were more medical/sociological hard core group therapies offered.⠀
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What I LOVED about the variety in treatment offered was how close knit our team was. We met daily for meetings, we ate lunch together for the most part and I got to observe all the groups available. I NEVER had this in teaching public schools outside of my college experience. It gave me the chance to ease in with shadowing and helping where I felt confident to add value. It also allowed me to learn patient names, get oriented in the hospital in a healthy pace since I had lost my father my 3rd day on the job and finalized my divorce a couple months prior to that.⠀
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What is your favorite memory of your workplace training experience in your career history? Tweet us @MoveHappyTeam and we’ll retweet the best stories in alignment with our brand pillars: Mindset, Community and Fitness.⠀
#2 Essential: 💃🏽 🏃♀️ 🤸♀️ 🧘♀️ 🙏 🍁 🥾 Know what some signs and symptoms of depression are and when the best solution could be rec therapy.
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Let me preface this with being authentic, I had 1 year experience working in a psychiatric hospital. I am no expert in mental health analysis from a professional standpoint. However, on a personal level I’ve known that I’ve had depression since I was 3 years old. ⠀
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I knew in college with 1 lecture my favorite professor shared about depression and the power of physical exercise and activity had more positive impact in META analysis than medication and talk therapy. I didn’t have to memorize that information because it mattered to me personally (and to my dad). I wrote my father a detailed letter with every work memorized from Dr. Hacker saying it 1 time. I BCCd Dr. Hacker (That’s Blind Carbon Copy, where the person you sent the email to doesn’t know you also sent it to the BCC person). I wanted her to know what a positive impact her lecture had on my family and that I was trying to help my dad by getting him to want to move. I cared about my father and care about YOU. I am an empath and from my experience we ALL need some RT right now and interwoven into our daily lives.
Signs and symptoms are similar for all depressed people regardless of language, culture, age, religion etc. A depressed person’s body posture is low and breathing is slow, most are not going to be smiling. Most spend all their energy getting the confidence to get out of bed and walk around exhausted all the time. Their language in story-telling (if you can even hear them speak) is negative about themselves or others. ⠀
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I encourage you to consider RT if it sounds like you and you’ve tried the traditional route of talk therapy. Try drawing or painting rocks, get a group together and paint some pottery if money allows and this virus scare is over. Go take a hike in the woods and pay attention to the sounds you hear and the smells you have. Don’t worry about finishing time. You should bring a mask if you go during daylight hours when others are around. Depending on the area you’re in, you might wait a few more weeks until it’s safe to do so in your community. I’d check the CDC guidelines.
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Tweet us @MoveHappyTeam your favorite recreational activity to add to the list and we’ll retweet the coolest ones 😉⠀
#3 Essential: 💃🏽 🏃♀️ 🤸♀️ 🧘♀️ 🙏 🍁 🥾 🌎 Know what the global usefulness of Recreational Therapy is with patients diagnosed with Depression.⠀
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It is difficult to find specific numbers on a global scale. However I was able to find a systematic review of other studies done for elderly population and the effectiveness of Recreational Therapy (RT) on elderly depression. They reviewed 18 articles and 5 electronic databases and found overall RT if effective in improving the mental health of elderly populations. For more info, check out article here.⠀⠀
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I’d love to hear from my elderly friends and/or working with elderly people that have found recreational therapy or RT useful in your daily life. ⠀
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Tag us on your LinkedIn with your favorite activity that helps you feel happier (knitting, sewing, gardening, hiking, any others I didn’t list). We’ll share it and give you writer’s credit.⠀
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#4 Essential: 💃🏽 🏃♀️ 🤸♀️ 🧘♀️ 🙏 🍁 🥾 Know what are some possible solutions for depression through the use of Recreational Therapy.
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Like with any skill or therapy it takes time and continuity to see improvement. Yes? Start small by adding 1 new thing a week or a day whatever feels right for you. Decide how long you’re going to do this 1 thing prior to starting. Measure how you’re feeling prior to starting new thing (insert RT activity). ⠀
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If you’re in a group therapy setting already, share what you’re doing with your group for positive accountability. If you’re not in a group, feel free to join our Move Happy community here (you’ll get a free copy of the Move Happy Participant Journal too)!⠀
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Take a screenshot of the title of this blog and share it to your Instagram stories. along with your fav recreational activity. Tag us @TheRealMoveHappy and we’ll share the best one’s on our Stories and give you writer’s credit.
Move Happy®️Updates:
The Move Happy Movement Podcast© is in full swing! Together we are bringing awareness to mental health, providing practical strategies to empower those with depressed states to move towards their own happiness and inspiring the joy of movement! Next Monday I’ll be releasing episode 53 with Dr. Ken Kaufman. He and I connected on LinkedIn. He is the Founder of Sports Med On Demand, the Team Doctor for the Baltimore Orioles, and Co-Founder and COO of Well Connected. The episode will be released Monday by 4p EST. Once its out, go to iTunes and give him a thank you in the reviews and any specific questions or comments so he knows we want him to come back for a 2.0 version!
Follow the Move Happy Movement Podcast wherever you listen (iTunes and Spotify) and Tweet us @MoveHappyTeam if you’d like it on a different platform. The last few weeks my computer has not been converting files which Spotify requires (#TechSupportNeeded). With that in mind, listen to current episodes on iTunes or straight from the distribution website here.
Once we have 10,000 listeners we’ll be offering a sweet giveaway! A private concert by me and my cool singer 🎶 friends! (Check my TikTok @TheRealMoveHappy for examples of my genre preference). You must be one of the monthly listeners to qualify and be active in commenting/liking/sharing/tweeting Move Happy®️ content on any and all social media platforms (and leaving iTunes reviews 😉😉😉). The more platforms you follow Move Happy®️, the easier it will be for us to remember your name when deciding on random giveaways 😘. We’ll keep things updated from the distribution website below ⬇️⬇️⬇️
The World Health Organization estimates that $1 trillion dollars is lost annually due to lack of productivity from employees specifically diagnosed with depression and anxiety and not receiving adequate resources from their workplace. I designed a solution to help decrease this statistic. “Work Happy: The Practical Tools For Effective and Inclusive Workplaces©” is in beta.
Employees will benefit from this because the workshop is designed with you as the main focus in a positive manner. Employers will benefit from this because people that are cared for work harder and take less sick days, thus increasing your bottom line 💰. The workshop includes a follow up refresher (2 days total). It starts at $1,997 for online training for a company of 5 people. Have more employees? We can discuss pricing. Next 2 businesses/EAPs to sign up get prioritized scheduling. Email me “Work Happy Workshop Interest” here to set up your Work Happy Analysis©️.
If you need services from Move Happy that can be provided by my team, that will be first priority. If you absolutely need to chat with me personally, I only have time for 1 for VIP client. Specifically, you look like a mental health practitioner/employer wanting specialized training in resilience/positive psychology. If that be the case for you, pay my $7,500/mo retainer rate here and email me your time zone and 3 days/times that work best with your schedule: subject line “MOVE HAPPY VIP CLIENT SCHEDULE REQUEST” to prioritize your email to the top.
#5 Essential: 💃🏽 🏃♀️ 🤸♀️ 🧘♀️ 🙏 🍁 🥾Know how Move Happy®️can help patients with depression that enjoy or are prescribed Recreational Therapy.
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I designed a combo positive psychology program and fitness program to help meet my patients in an intrinsic and extrinsic way. What I mean by that is, there is a power in journaling and internal introspection. There is a power in group think and discussion. Lastly, there is a power in improving your individual fitness. ⠀
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I created a safe space for positive directed conversation and fitness to take place in a locked facility without locker room access or even equipment access (we had $100/mo to split between 15 staff). I knew the power of my program and how much my patients needed it without them realizing it. Heck my manager Sue even told me prior to creating the program that the, “patients just aren’t interested in exercise here.”
I took that challenge and made sure to make the program fun, simple and goal directed to help empower them to move towards their own happiness 💃. By the 3rd round, the group ran itself as I had gotten a promotion and group members stepped up in leadership roles to help keep the group going. ⠀
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Since RT directly helps those with depression, I believe this program would be a perfect fit for any Recreational Therapist that does not have a strong background in content development to quickly implement as a whole or in supplement to their established program. ⠀
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The first 2 that order the Move Happy Facilitator Program©️will be given an additional 20-minute consultation with me. ⠀
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40% goes back to charities in mental health and Big Brothers and Big Sisters.⠀Make sure to email me a copy of your receipt and your preferred mental health organization and the closest BBBS chapter to your home for ease of donation.
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So there you have it folks. Recreation Therapy is very practical, fun, backed by science and can help people in the most sensitive populations find joy again. RTs don’t get enough credit for the power behind their facilitation. Some create their own plans and some prefer to utilize empirically backed programs. No matter what your preference, everyone should incorporate some level of recreational therapy (nature walks, knitting, etc) that feels right for you. If it is something that you’re enjoying, try a little bit every day. If your time is limited, maybe start with 1 time a week. When you intentionally fill your energy, time and space with things you enjoy, it creates positive memories to look back on. It also creates a space for looking forward to that activity in the future. If you can get in nature, by all means try it out this week and report back to us how you’re feeling.
I hope I’ve added value to you today. If you enjoyed this and learned something or I helped reinforce something in your soul, mind or spirit, I’d be honored if you’d share it with someone you care about.
PS: Don’t forget to tell someone you love them today.
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