What does a recreation therapist do?

A recreation therapist is responsible for supporting the patients' physical and mental wellness by organizing therapeutic programs and activities, depending on the patients' condition and existing treatment plans. Recreation therapists work with other medical health professionals for advice and medication needs. They also track the patients' progress, maintain a medical chart, and report any updates to the physicians and patients' family members. A recreation therapist manages the resources and materials for the activities and ensures the safety and security of the participants.
Recreation therapist responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real recreation therapist resumes:
- Manage ventilator care, intubation, arterial line placement, mechanical ventilation, BIPAP, and CPAP.
- Evaluate assigned patients to assess and document the need for therapeutic recreational interventions in order to attain rehabilitation goals.
- Obtain ABG samples when need, EKG analysis, and oxygen therapy to patients.
- Support the CTRS in planning and implementation of in- house events and community outings.
- Organize and facilitate programs for TBI survivors and their families.
- Use patient prefer music to apply NMT protocols into sessions.
- Provide coaching and performance evaluations of all CTRS staff in department.
- Administer, score, & interpret COPM on client with CVA.
- Complete all mandate training for staff, such as CPR and PMCS.
- Substitute for another music therapist on maternity leave in the autism program.
- Stock and run nursing home chuck wagon (nursing home store).
- Conduct individual consults, screen for mood disorders subsequent to hospital procedures (e.g.
- Assist nursing staff with helping clients to complete ADL s as well as serving meals.
- Develop client-centered goals and treatment plans specific to clients with CVA with supervision of OTR.
- Discuss current research with NMT researcher on site to expand understanding of the NMT field.
Recreation therapist skills and personality traits
We calculated that 27% of Recreation Therapists are proficient in Patients, CTRS, and Mental Health. They’re also known for soft skills such as Listening skills, Speaking skills, and Leadership skills.
We break down the percentage of Recreation Therapists that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Patients, 27%
Provide Recreational Therapy services for inpatient rehabilitation unit for a variety of diagnoses related to adult and elderly patients.
- CTRS, 11%
Work as a certified CTRS and provides Recreational Therapy goals and objectives to children and adults with developmental disabilities.
- Mental Health, 7%
Provided recreational therapy services in ambulatory and intensive programs for children and adolescents with mental health conditions and substance abuse problems.
- Rehabilitation, 7%
Performed orthopedic rehabilitation and adolescent psych rehabilitation.
- Patient Care, 6%
Collaborate with multidisciplinary teams implementing department goals and objectives for patient care.
- CPR, 4%
Red Cross certified in CPR, basic first aid, and basic water safety.
"patients," "ctrs," and "mental health" are among the most common skills that recreation therapists use at work. You can find even more recreation therapist responsibilities below, including:
Listening skills. The most essential soft skill for a recreation therapist to carry out their responsibilities is listening skills. This skill is important for the role because "recreational therapists must pay attention to patients’ concerns in order to determine an appropriate course of treatment." Additionally, a recreation therapist resume shows how their duties depend on listening skills: "coordinated and integrated ongoing evaluation of therapeutic recreation programs and services and communicated to all relevant parties. "
Leadership skills. Another skill that relates to the job responsibilities of recreation therapists is leadership skills. This skill is critical to many everyday recreation therapist duties, as "recreational therapists must be engaging and able to motivate patients to participate in a variety of therapeutic activities." This example from a resume shows how this skill is used: "implemented instruction and leadership for therapeutic recreational activities. "
Patience. recreation therapist responsibilities often require "patience." The duties that rely on this skill are shown by the fact that "recreational therapists may work with patients who require more time and special attention than do others." This resume example shows what recreation therapists do with patience on a typical day: "people skills, crisis management, patience, flexibility and adaptability. "
Resourcefulness. A commonly-found skill in recreation therapist job descriptions, "resourcefulness" is essential to what recreation therapists do. Recreation therapist responsibilities rely on this skill because "recreational therapists must be both creative and flexible when customizing treatment plans and adapting activities or programs to meet patients' needs." You can also see how recreation therapist duties rely on resourcefulness in this resume example: "provided client and family support, clinical assessment and psychoeducation to promote mental health wellness and resourcefulness. "
Compassion. Lastly, "compassion" is an important element of what a recreation therapist does. Recreation therapist responsibilities require this skill because "recreational therapists may deal with people who are in pain, so they should be empathetic when providing support to patients and their families." This resume example highlights how recreation therapist duties rely on this skill: "use compassion and encouragement to implement a recreation therapy program on a long-term, pulmonary unit with 35 beds. "
The three companies that hire the most recreation therapists are:
- WellBridge Group49 recreation therapists jobs
- Universal Health Services47 recreation therapists jobs
- Trinity Health19 recreation therapists jobs
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Recreation therapist vs. Activity specialist
An activity specialist is responsible for organizing events and planning activity outline for a social institution or a group of people. Activity specialists identify the activity requirements and goals, coordinate with suppliers and vendors for resources, and calculate costs and expenses within the budget limitations. They also finalize the participants' lists and pick the best grounds to set up an activity, ensuring the safety and security of the guests. An activity specialist must have excellent communication and organizational skills, especially in writing reports and creating clear expectations to discuss with the management.
These skill sets are where the common ground ends though. The responsibilities of a recreation therapist are more likely to require skills like "ctrs," "mental health," "patient care," and "treatment programs." On the other hand, a job as an activity specialist requires skills like "good communication," "mediation," "role model," and "classroom management." As you can see, what employees do in each career varies considerably.
Activity specialists tend to make the most money working in the education industry, where they earn an average salary of $33,838. In contrast, recreation therapists make the biggest average salary, $55,011, in the education industry.On average, activity specialists reach similar levels of education than recreation therapists. Activity specialists are 4.6% less likely to earn a Master's Degree and 0.1% more likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Recreation therapist vs. Treatment coordinator
A Treatment Coordinator is responsible for assisting the doctors and other medical professionals in performing treatment procedures and administering medications for the patients. Treatment Coordinators manage administrative duties, such as scheduling medical appointments, discussing the treatment plans to the patients, updating medical information on the database, and processing payments for the medical procedures. They also coordinate with the insurance agencies to verify the patients' eligibility and information and file documents as necessary. A Treatment Coordinator must have excellent communication and organizational skills, especially in maintaining databases and ensuring that all medical forms are organized and safely stored.
In addition to the difference in salary, there are some other key differences worth noting. For example, recreation therapist responsibilities are more likely to require skills like "ctrs," "rehabilitation," "cpr," and "treatment programs." Meanwhile, a treatment coordinator has duties that require skills in areas such as "customer service," "financial arrangements," "treatment options," and "oral surgery." These differences highlight just how different the day-to-day in each role looks.
Treatment coordinators earn a lower average salary than recreation therapists. But treatment coordinators earn the highest pay in the non profits industry, with an average salary of $42,993. Additionally, recreation therapists earn the highest salaries in the education with average pay of $55,011 annually.Average education levels between the two professions vary. Treatment coordinators tend to reach higher levels of education than recreation therapists. In fact, they're 5.4% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.1% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.What technology do you think will become more important and prevalent for recreation therapists in the next 3-5 years?
Associate Professor, Director, Industrial/Organizational Psychology Masters Program, Angelo State University
Recreation therapist vs. Music therapy internship
In a music therapy internship, an intern's duties primarily depend on the directives of a manager or supervising staff. Typically, they are responsible for gaining industry insights and practical experience while performing support tasks such as answering calls and correspondence, preparing and processing documents, conducting research and analysis, setting-up instruments and other devices, and running errands as needed. They may also assist and work with clients under the supervision of a therapist. Moreover, they must understand and adhere to the facility's policies and regulations, including its vision and mission.
The required skills of the two careers differ considerably. For example, recreation therapists are more likely to have skills like "ctrs," "rehabilitation," "cpr," and "treatment programs." But a music therapy internship is more likely to have skills like "occupational therapy," "individual therapy sessions," "traumatic brain injury," and "therapy intern."
Most music therapy interns achieve a higher degree level compared to recreation therapists. For example, they're 5.7% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 0.9% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Recreation therapist vs. Director of therapeutic activities
Types of recreation therapist
Updated January 8, 2025











