Career options unlimited
Stacey Carlson with Francis Cassidy at Maplewood House. As their recreation therapist, Carlson leads activities from creative arts to exercises and games.
When it comes to job satisfaction, Stacey Carlson says the field of recreational therapy simply can’t be beat.
“I love helping to put smiles on people’s faces. The feeling I get when I help someone accomplish their goals is amazing,” says Carlson.
The third-year Bachelor of Therapeutic Recreation (BTR) student says already, her education has given her the skills needed to help people of all ages.
Carlson currently balances her full-time studies with a part-time job as a recreation therapist at Maplewood House, a nursing home in Abbotsford. She leads a variety of activities, from exercises and active games to small group discussions to creative arts.
This Summer, she heads to Bradford Woods in Indiana, a facility that offers camping programs for children and adults with disabilities and chronic illness. Last Summer, she spent three months there working with young campers.
“We did anything you would do with kids without disabilities and normalized it for them. When we had them use the climbing towers, the looks on their faces were incredible. They realized, ‘I can be up in the air without a wheelchair.’ It solidified why I’m doing what I’m doing,” says Carlson.
She credits the BTR Program with giving her the advanced skills needed to work on par with students who were a year ahead of her in similar degree programs last Summer. This year, Carlson will supervise interns as logistics coordinator.
She credits the passion of her instructors at Douglas with driving her to learn more.
“Lee Chamberland is such a positive person. Her energy is contagious. She is a real ambassador for the program. You really need to be energetic, positive, compassionate and outgoing to succeed in this program,” Carlson explains.
In addition attracting recent high school graduates, the program is drawing experienced practitioners wanting a bachelor’s degree. Though a licence to practice therapeutic recreation is not required in Canada, it is anticipated this will change in the near future. This blend of students makes for a diverse environment where they learn from one another too, notes Carlson.
Carlson is looking forward to the future, for herself and for the field of therapeutic recreation.
“The possibilities of the areas I can work in are unlimited. It’s such a new field that there is a lot of potential for it to grow and expand. If you are creative, enjoy relating to people and go into this program with an open mind, you’ll have an amazing career ahead of you,” Carlson says.
For more information on the Bachelor of Therapeutic Recreation Program, attend the next information session. Douglas also offers a well-respected Therapeutic Recreation Diploma Program – you may learn more about it at the same information session.
Links:
Information Sessions
Bachelor of Therapeutic Recreation
Therapeutic Recreation Diploma
Maplewood House
Bradford Woods
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