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Addiction Recovery Treatment Center Utah - Recovery Ways

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Recreation Therapy | Salt Lake City, Utah | Recovery Ways

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Recovery Ways in Salt Lake City utilizes recreation activities to bring about positive change for those with drug or alcohol addiction.

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When people think of drug rehabilitation, they often imagine difficult days spent detoxifying and delving into deep psychological problems. While this side of rehabilitation is absolutely necessary, there is another side that people rarely see: the more creative or even fun side. Recreational, art, and adventure therapies are alternative treatment methods that are becoming increasingly popular in the world of addiction recovery.

What Are These Therapies?

Recreational therapy is designed to help a person restore the normal functioning of their life after suffering from a debilitation condition, such as a mental health disorder or drug addiction. Basically, it works hand-in-hand in a variety of therapies that are designed to help a person:

Restore motor skills

Re-learn socialization

Increase their level of functioning

Increase personal independence

Boost physical and mental health

Art and adventure therapies are two methods that are often utilized in recreational therapy. However, a specific therapy will be chosen by the person who is suffering from addiction and will be guided by a trained counselor. In this way, they can regain many of the skills they lost during their addiction and learn new addiction coping skills.

How Do I Choose A Specific Treatment Type?

Recreational, art, and adventure therapies should tap into a possessed skill set and capture the imagination. They should also require careful physical movements, including fine motor skills. The types of activities used in recreational, art, and adventure therapy include:

When you receive recreational, art, and adventure therapy, you choose one or two of these activities and perform them daily. Slowly, but surely, you will find yourself becoming more confident in yourself, enjoying life, and even learning abilities you never imagined you'd possess.

And you'll also find that your desire to use drugs will greatly decrease. You'll have gone through detoxification prior to your therapy and will also no longer feel the psychological need to use drugs. Recreational, art, and adventure therapies can heal the body while creating hope and replacing the despair that drives addiction.

What Is Art Therapy Like?

Art therapy is the use of creative expression to explore the psychological under currents that fuel your addiction. You and an art therapy expert will work together to identify key themes in your artwork and utilize them to identify concerns or problems that may be bothering you. Typical art forms utilized include:

Examining your art work can be exhilarating and emotionally draining. For example, let's say you paint a picture of a young woman falling off of a cliff. You didn't consciously choose the image, but found yourself emotionally drawn to it. After you finish, you and the art therapist realize that you are the girl falling off the cliff and that the fall represents the damage caused by your addiction.

Insights like this can help you understand the depths of your emotional turmoil and develop coping strategies that will guide you to a life free of these problems and create a renewed sense of dedication to your rehabilitation and recovery.

What Kind Of Adventures Will I Go On?

Adventure therapy is typically an outdoors-based experience that pulls you out of your comfort zone and challenges you to grow and mature. People undergoing adventure therapy often feel trapped in their addiction and as if they can find no way out. Adding a little adventure to their lives helps expand their horizons and expectations. Typical adventure therapy activities include:

Exploring the world in this way is designed to activate your sense of adventure and the joy of life. Being immersed in nature and breathing in fresh air will clear your mind and challenge your body and give you the focus and strength of character you need to beat your addiction for good.

Are These Treatments Effective?

Recreational, art, and adventure therapies are effective because they target addiction in multiple ways. First of all, they help you work through the psychological process involved in rehabilitation in a comfortable and healthy way.

Second, they help you relearn crucial skills and abilities you lost during your addiction. They target aspects, such as fine motor skills, that are often ignored in other rehabilitation methods. They combine that with traditional methods, such as detoxification and counseling, in a bold new way.

Last, but not least, they help provide what is known as "distraction" therapy. Distraction therapy is based on the idea that your mind can't focus n two entirely different things at the same time. If you are focusing on activities like painting, basketball, or mountain climbing, your mind will be distracted from withdrawal symptoms and cravings.

When Can I Start?

There are a variety of recreational, art, and adventure therapy options available around the country. While they aren't as wide spread as traditional rehab centers, they are becoming more and more popular. To learn more, please contact our counselors at TreeHouseRehab.org today.

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Recreational, Art & Adventure Therapies For Addiction Treatment

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When people think of drug rehabilitation, they often imagine difficult days spent detoxifying and delving into deep psychological problems. While this side of rehabilitation is absolutely necessary, there is another side that people rarely see: the more creative or even fun side.

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ATRA

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The American Therapeutic Recreation Association (ATRA) is the largest national membership organization representing the interests and needs of recreational therapists. Recreational therapists are healthcare providers who use recreational therapy interventions for improved functioning of individuals with illness or disabling conditions.

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"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."- American Therapeutic Recreation Association 

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"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."- American Therapeutic Recreation Association 

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Recreational Therapy - Florida Drug Addiction Treatment

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Since substance abuse and other addictive behaviors penetrate every facet of life and eventually consume leisure time, therapeutic recreation is an essential treatment component. A combination of a physical fitness program, healthy recreation activities, and fulfilling leisure time will aid in the development of a healthy recovery since it provides the client the opportunity to practice the lifestyle changes, balance and healthy coping skills.

Engagement in Recreational Therapy has many benefits including:

Improves Social Functioning

Develops effective problem-solving skills

Improves self-esteem

Decreases loneliness

Promotes skills for socializing drug free

Increases ability to cope with stress and frustration without using substances

Reduces boredom

Develops relaxation skills

Increases ability to focus

Increases feelings of control

Improves use of free time and increases leisure planning

Increases ability to have fun while SOBER

Recreational Activities include, but are not limited to:

Beach activities

Mindful walking

Journaling

Arts and Crafts

Cooking

Music and Movement

Movies

Board Games

Volunteering

Gardening

Library visits

Swimming

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Since substance abuse and other addictive behaviors penetrate every facet of life and eventually consume leisure time, therapeutic recreation is an essential treatment component.

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People learn in different ways. Some people consider themselves visual learners, while others fare better with hands-on practice.

In a similar sense, people also respond differently to various styles of addiction treatment. Not everyone has their biggest breakthroughs while sitting and talking during a psychotherapy session. For many people, participating in therapeutic recreational activities has a powerful effect, bringing buried emotions to the surface and helping them learn more about themselves.

This article discusses the benefits of recreational therapy and goes over how it can be effective in the treatment of addiction.

What Is Recreational Therapy?

Recreational therapy uses a variety of activity-based interventions to help individuals deal with disabilities, illnesses or substance abuse. Some of these activities make use of the calming powers of nature, while others take place indoors.

The origin of recreational therapy can be traced back to Florence Nightingale, who noted that recreational activities had a real impact on a person's quality of life. By the early 20th century, the American Red Cross had begun employing recreational hospital workers.

The practice of recreational therapy has been used to treat mental health disorders since the 1940s; today, it is also widely used in the treatment of drug and alcohol addiction.

Why It Works

The most powerful benefit of recreational therapy is that it helps people to drop their defenses and allow true change to take place. In counseling sessions, it's not uncommon for people to try to say what they think their therapist wants them to say. Many people also believe that they can think their way out of their addiction.

Recreational therapy has a way of breaking down these walls and misconceptions and allowing clients to connect with their emotions. Some of the goals of recreational therapy include:

Improving communication skills

Focusing on relationships and bonding with others

Helping participants become aware of when they need to ask for help

Working through anger issues

Getting in touch with emotions

Developing team-building skills

Providing a sense of accomplishment

Healing through Recreation

When used in combination with traditional therapy, recreational therapy can help clients make great strides in treatment. The Lakes Treatment Center harnesses the power of nature, teamwork and physical activity in their treatment plans for clients.

The Lakes offers a variety of therapeutic recreational activities, including:

These activities don't just provide a fun outlet for residents during addiction treatment; they help clients get in touch with their feelings, bond with each other and develop the tools they'll need to move forward in recovery.

Recreational therapy has been shown to help people with a range of conditions, including addiction. If traditional therapy hasn't been successful on its own, incorporating therapeutic recreation may help people suffering from addiction to make important breakthroughs in their recovery.

When a treatment plan is designed to heal the whole person, it's more likely to result in long-term success.

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The Power of Recreational Therapy - The Lakes Treatment Center

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People learn in different ways. Some people consider themselves visual learners, while others fare better with hands-on practice. In a similar sense, people also respond differently to various styles of addiction treatment. Not everyone has their biggest breakthroughs while sitting and talking during a psychotherapy session.

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Recreation Therapy | Rehab for drug & alcohol addiction | Marworth Treatment Center

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Recreation therapy is an integral component of all of Marworth's inpatient addiction treatment programs. Under the guidance of Marworth's three certified recreation therapists, rec therapy activities stimulate a wide array of addiction recovery themes, such as fostering group problem-solving capabilities, learning to trust others, asking for help and confronting compulsive behavior.

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Call Call (877) 640-1943 to speak with an Addiction Treatment Consultant.

Recreational therapy, which is sometimes called therapeutic recreation and occasionally categorized under experiential therapies, is defined by the National Council for Therapeutic Recreation Certification (NCTRC) as a system developed to use recreational activities and activity-based interventions to address specific individual needs for physical, behavioral, emotional, and psychological health. The overall goal of recreational therapy is to improve each individual's cognitive, social, emotional, physical, and social functioning through enjoyable activities.

What Is Recreational Therapy?

Although recreational therapy may not seem that impactful at first glance, it can be a very important complementary treatment in many circumstances. For example, people who have struggled with addiction and substance abuse for a long time may not know how to engage in social activities or hobbies without consuming an intoxicating substance. Recreational therapy can help them change behaviors around fun activities and understand that it is possible to relax without the presence of drugs or alcohol.

A person attending recreational therapy may meet with their therapist once every two weeks or up to several times per week, depending on their needs. Types of recreational therapy include:

Arts and crafts

Sports

Dance

Yoga, tai chi, and other gentle movement

Animal therapy

Community outings

Many of the kinds of therapy applied to recreational therapy can be found in art therapies and expressive therapy, but the overall group of recreational therapy may also include outdoor activities and generally includes more group-oriented activities. These forms of therapy seek to reduce stress, which can trigger mood disorders like depression and anxiety. By reducing an individual's stress, recreational therapy moderates neurotransmitter production in the brain, which can reduce the person's risk of relapsing into substance abuse if they are going through addiction treatment.

While many therapists and counselors narrow down their fields to a specific specialty, recreational therapists focus on the individual as a whole, with unique physical, emotional, cognitive, social, spiritual, and environmental needs. Therapeutic recreation is often considered a holistic therapy and is applied alongside other kinds of behavioral therapy.

Goals for recreational therapy session may include:

Improved mood

Increased motor skills and physical strength

Social skills

Independence

Sense of well-being

Better quality of life

Better time management and work-life balance

The History and Use of Recreational Therapy

Although the concept of therapeutic recreation has existed for a long time, the concept as a medical practice solidified during World War II with the formation of the Hospital Recreation Section of the American Red Cross. There were over 1,800 Red Cross workers hired to work in this department, which eventually became a large part of the Office of Veterans Affairs (VA) hospitals.

Recreational therapy also became population in mental hospitals and medical facilities across the country as solders returned home from war. The National Association of Recreational Therapists (NART) formed in 1952; other professional organizations and certifying bodies formed in the years following.

Today, the VA still employs the most recreational therapists in the nation, with 850 therapists and 115,000 unique patients receiving therapeutic recreational treatment. As members of the government healthcare agency for veterans, recreational therapists are part of the overall team to treat members of the military dealing with traumatic brain injury, spinal cord injuries, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and substance abuse and drug addiction. Recreational therapy has proven to help this group not only improve physical functioning, but also reduce stress, anxiety, and maladaptive behaviors, such as impulse control problems associated with addiction.

Both in the VA system and outside of it, about 37 percent of behavioral therapists work in behavioral health settings, including addiction treatment programs.

Applying Recreational Therapy to Addiction Treatment

Therapy is a vital part of addiction treatment. People who struggle with substance abuse problems have a chronic disease that changes their brain's reward system pathways. Working with a trained counselor or mental health professional to understand behaviors as a reaction to emotional experiences or mental states can help to create new pathways for healthier behaviors.

Some of the most effective forms of therapy used in rehabilitation programs include:

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy

Contingency Management

Motivational Enhancement Therapy

Peer support or 12-Step facilitation

Family therapy

Complementary and alternative treatments

While no one form of treatment will work for every person, a general path through detox and a rehabilitation program works best for the most people. The specifics types of therapy included in the rehabilitation program, however, can change. As each person's unique needs are better addressed through more programs, recreational therapy is coming to the forefront as a resource for addiction treatment.

The Effectiveness of Therapeutic Recreation

Since therapeutic recreation is predominantly a group of complementary therapies that can enhance more intensive group, individual, and family therapy, there is little information on the concept as a whole in addiction treatment. Recreational therapy is being applied to numerous specific needs, including those with mental and physical disabilities, dementia patients, and veterans.

For people undergoing addiction treatment, recreational therapy is being included in a larger treatment plan more often because the positive reinforcement of this kind of therapy can make continued abstinence from drugs and alcohol more appealing and reduce the risk of relapse. For example, a study published in 2012 found that those moving from a rehabilitation program to housing that required abstinence from drugs and alcohol (called abstinence-contingent housing) were more successful at maintaining sobriety when there were supported activities, like skills-building courses and recreational activities, available to residents. About 50 percent of those undergoing Contingency Management and additional therapeutic activities were able to maintain abstinence compared with 37 percent who received only Contingency Management and 13 percent who received traditional treatment.

Additionally, a very successful method of prevention involves increasing the availability of recreational activities to a community that do not involve drugs and alcohol. Access to recreational activities at the community level increases everyone's ability to modulate their mood and physical health. Using some of the concepts underlying therapeutic recreation for preventative measures can reduce rates of substance abuse within communities. Overall, adding this type of therapy to a bigger, long-term addiction recovery plan will benefit people overcoming addiction and substance abuse.

(877) 640-1943 to speak with an Addiction Treatment Consultant.

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Organized Recreation Therapy and Substance Abuse

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Call Call (877) 640-1943 to speak with an Addiction Treatment Consultant. Recreational therapy, which is sometimes called therapeutic recreation and occasionally categorized under experiential therapies, is defined by the National Council for Therapeutic Recreation Certification (NCTRC) as a system developed to use recreational activities and activity-based interventions to address specific individual needs for physical, behavioral, emotional, and psychological health.

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Recreation Therapy at Recovery Ways | Utah Drug Rehab | Experiential Therapy