Occupation · SOC 29-1125
Recreational Therapists
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.
Median wage
$60,280
$39,520–$96,600
Projected growth
—
—
Annual openings
—
per year
Employed (US)
15,060
Job Zone 4
Typical preparation
Considerable preparation
Stackable credential programs
17 mapped
Core skills
Service OrientationActive ListeningCoordinationSocial PerceptivenessSpeakingCritical ThinkingInstructingWriting
Knowledge areas
PsychologyTherapy and CounselingCustomer and Personal ServiceEducation and TrainingEnglish Language
Technology & tools
Music or sound editing softwareElectronic mail softwareSpreadsheet softwareOffice suite softwarePresentation software
Representative tasks
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.Observe, analyze, and record patients' participation, reactions, and progress during treatment sessions, modifying treatment programs as needed.Develop treatment plan to meet needs of patient, based on needs assessment, patient interests, and objectives of therapy.Confer with members of treatment team to plan and evaluate therapy programs.Obtain information from medical records, medical staff, family members and the patients, themselves, to assess patients' capabilities, needs and interests.Counsel and encourage patients to develop leisure activities.Encourage clients with special needs and circumstances to acquire new skills and get involved in health-promoting leisure activities, such as sports, games, arts and crafts, and gardening.Prepare and submit reports and charts to treatment team to reflect patients' reactions and evidence of progress or regression.Develop discharge plans for patients.
Competency framework
Skill expectations by proficiency level.
emerging
Patient needs assessments — conduct under direct supervision by reviewing medical records and gathering intake information in an inpatient rehabilitation setting.Therapeutic activity instructions — deliver pre-designed protocols for art, music, or relaxation techniques to individual patients under a supervising therapist's guidance.Treatment session observations — document patients' participation and reactions using standardized forms during structured group therapy sessions.Treatment team communications — attend interdisciplinary meetings and report basic patient observations to senior clinicians in a clinical care environment.Leisure activity counseling — introduce patients to recreational options and encourage engagement using scripted prompts under close supervisory oversight.Patient information gathering — collect background data from family members and medical staff using structured interview guides in a hospital or rehabilitation facility.Electronic health records — enter session notes and basic patient data accurately using medical software under direct supervision in a clinical setting.Therapy session support — assist senior therapists in organizing and facilitating group activities designed to improve physical or psychological well-being.Treatment plan components — draft initial goal statements for review and approval by a supervising therapist based on completed needs assessments.Office technology tools — prepare session schedules and activity materials using word processing and spreadsheet software in a therapeutic services department.
developing
Individualized treatment plans — develop goal-oriented plans based on needs assessments, patient interests, and therapy objectives with limited supervisory review in a community health setting.Therapeutic activity facilitation — plan and lead sports, dance, music, art, and relaxation sessions tailored to patients' physical and psychological needs across a routine caseload.Progress monitoring — observe, analyze, and record patient responses during sessions and apply standard modification protocols when treatment goals are not being met.Interdisciplinary collaboration — confer regularly with treatment team members to coordinate therapy planning and communicate patient progress in a multi-disciplinary care environment.Community integration programming — organize structured activities that help patients transition from inpatient care to community participation with reduced supervisory direction.Leisure activity development — counsel patients on identifying and sustaining personally meaningful leisure pursuits that support long-term health and social engagement.Medical record interpretation — extract relevant clinical information from patient records and translate findings into evidence-informed therapeutic goals within a rehabilitation facility.Patient communication — apply active listening and social perceptiveness skills to engage patients of diverse backgrounds in goal-setting conversations during individual sessions.Written clinical documentation — compose progress notes, session summaries, and assessment reports using medical and word processing software in compliance with facility standards.Time and caseload management — organize daily schedules and prioritize therapy appointments across a moderate caseload in an outpatient or long-term care setting.
proficient
Comprehensive treatment program design — independently plan, organize, and direct multimodal therapy programs addressing complex rehabilitation, community integration, and preventive health goals across diverse patient populations.Non-routine clinical assessment — synthesize information from medical records, multidisciplinary staff, and patients with complex co-occurring conditions to formulate nuanced, individualized therapy objectives.Advanced therapeutic instruction — deliver evidence-based interventions across a full range of modalities — including adaptive sports, expressive arts, and mindfulness techniques — adapting methods to patients' evolving functional status.Dynamic treatment modification — analyze patient behavioral and physiological responses across multiple sessions and restructure treatment protocols autonomously in response to unexpected clinical developments.Complex interdisciplinary problem-solving — lead clinical case conferences with physicians, social workers, and psychologists to resolve ambiguous or high-acuity patient care challenges in acute or specialty care settings.Community reintegration planning — design and implement individualized discharge and reintegration programs that link patients to community resources and preventive recreational services.Persuasive patient engagement — apply motivational interviewing and persuasion techniques to overcome patient resistance and build sustained commitment to therapeutic leisure goals.Outcome measurement and reporting — design session tracking systems using spreadsheet and medical software tools to analyze caseload-level progress data and inform clinical decision-making.Evidence-based practice application — critically evaluate therapeutic recreation research and incorporate current findings into program design within a structured healthcare or rehabilitation environment.Cross-cultural therapeutic adaptation — modify activity selection, communication style, and therapeutic framing to meet the cultural and linguistic needs of patients across a heterogeneous clinical population.
advanced
Therapeutic recreation program strategy — set the clinical and programmatic vision for a therapeutic recreation department, establishing standards of care aligned with organizational and regulatory requirements.Staff development and clinical supervision — mentor and supervise emerging and developing recreational therapists, providing structured feedback and building competency across the full therapeutic recreation scope of practice.Organizational treatment framework — design and institutionalize assessment, treatment planning, and documentation systems that ensure evidence-based, person-centered care delivery across a multi-site or large facility operation.Interdisciplinary leadership — represent therapeutic recreation at executive-level care coordination committees, advocating for the profession's role in integrated patient outcomes within a health system or network.Quality improvement and outcome evaluation — lead department-wide quality improvement initiatives, analyzing aggregate patient outcome data to drive continuous program refinement and demonstrate clinical value.Policy and standards development — author internal clinical policies, credentialing standards, and professional practice guidelines governing recreational therapy practice across an organization or system.Stakeholder and community partnership — negotiate and build sustained partnerships with community organizations, funders, and public health entities to extend therapeutic recreation services beyond institutional settings.Workforce learning strategy — design and deliver advanced training curricula, continuing education programs, and onboarding frameworks that elevate evidence-based practice across the therapeutic recreation workforce.Budget and resource stewardship — oversee departmental budgets, technology procurement — including medical software and adaptive equipment — and staffing allocation to sustain high-quality service delivery within financial constraints.Professional and public advocacy — represent the therapeutic recreation profession to external audiences — including policymakers, accreditation bodies, and the public — advancing awareness of recreational therapy's contribution to population health.
Also known as
58 alternate job titles map to this occupation.
Therapeutic Recreation SpecialistTherapeutic SpecialistMedical Specialist Corps Officer (Army 65)Creative Arts TherapistRecreation TherapistPhysical Therapist, Special Warfare (Air Force 42B3Z)EcotherapistPhysical Therapist (Air Force 42B1)Occupational Therapist (Air Force 42T3)General Activities TherapistPhysical Medicine Helper, Orthotic (Air Force 4J012A)Physical Medicine Journeyman, Orthotic (Air Force 4J052A)Occupational Therapist (Air Force 42T4)Physical Medicine Journeyman (Air Force 4J052)Occupational Therapy Assistant (Navy 003055)Occupational Therapist (Navy 0874)Lifestyle DirectorPhysical Therapist, Special Warfare (Air Force 42B4Z)Physical Therapist (Air Force 42B3)TherapistActivities TherapistPhysical Therapist, Special Warfare (Air Force 42B1Z)Music Rehabilitation TherapistPhysical Medicine Craftsman, Orthotic (Air Force 4J072A)Occupational Therapist (Air Force 42T1)Occupational Therapy (Army 65A)Certified Recreational TherapistRecreational Therapy Program CoordinatorActivity TherapistMusic TherapistPhysical Medicine (Air Force 4J0X2)Correctional Counselor (Navy 810A)Physical Therapist (Air Force 42BX)Recreational TherapistArt TherapistPhysical Medicine Apprentice (Air Force 4J032)Therapeutic Riding InstructorOccupational Therapist (Air Force 42TX)Physical Therapy (Army 65B)Occupational Therapy Assistant (Navy L21A)