Therapeutic Recreation Courses
Note: Any student who started the Therapeutic Recreation Diploma prior to September 2006 and has not completed graduation requirements must contact a Therapeutic Recreation Coordinator prior to continuing studies in Therapeutic Recreation.
THRT 1101 Therapeutic Recreation Foundations (3 credits)
This course introduces the philosophical and theoretical concepts of therapeutic recreation. The theoretical concepts are examined and applied in the form of therapeutic recreation service models, which provide direction for the development and delivery of therapeutic recreation. The therapeutic recreation process of assessment, planning, implementation and evaluation is introduced and applied in examining a broad range of consumer services. The development of therapeutic recreation as a profession is also addressed.
Prerequisite: None
Lecture: 60 hours
THRT 1102 Leisure and Recreation Foundations (3 credits)
This course introduces the student to the foundational constructs of leisure, play and recreation and explores their significance throughout the lifespan. Historical and current perspectives, philosophies, theories and models of leisure are examined. Contemporary professional issues, the development of leisure and recreation as a profession and the interrelationships of diverse leisure service delivery systems are explored.
Prerequisite: None
Lecture: 60 hours
THRT 1201 Recreation Program Planning (3 credits)
This course examines the theories and strategies used in the organization and delivery of leisure and recreation programs and services. Students will apply the total program planning process including: needs assessment, program design, implementation strategies and leadership and evaluation of recreation programs.
Prerequisite: THRT 1102
Lecture: 60 hours
THRT 1203 Leisure, Recreation and Health Throughout the Lifespan (3 credits)
This course builds upon lifespan development perspectives and theories by examining the impact of leisure and recreation on growth and development through the lifecycle. Students will explore the relationship between leisure experiences and family, childhood peer relations, career involvement, retirement, healthy aging and prevalent health issues in the Canadian population. Students will implement physical recreation and creative arts activities intended to promote health and wellness throughout the lifespan.
Prerequisite: PSYC 1130
Lecture: 60 hours
THRT 1204 Principles and Practices of Health (3 credits)
This course examines current concepts in health ranging from the individual perspective of a healthy lifestyle to the societal perspective of health care services and delivery. Students will acquire the knowledge and skill to promote healthy behaviour and avoid harmful habits. Health professions, service and delivery will also be examined, with a special focus on the health benefits of leisure and recreation.
Prerequisite: None
Lecture: 60 hours
THRT 1205 Communication Skills for Recreation and Health Promotion Professionals (3 credits)
This course focuses on the principles and practices of effective communication. Students will become aware of their communication with themselves and others and learn to effectively use and interpret verbal and nonverbal messages. The impact of culture and gender on communication will be explored. Basic helping skills: attending, paraphrasing, questioning, empathy and summarizing are introduced and applied when conducting leisure interview.
Prerequisite: None
Lecture: 60 Hours
THRT 2301 Program Planning in Therapeutic Recreation (3 credits)
This course teaches students to apply the therapeutic recreation (TR) process of assessment, planning, implementation and evaluation to individuals and groups. Students will use different assessment tools and develop, implement and evaluate individual program plans. Students will apply systems theory to analyze, conceptualize, investigate and determine TR programs and services for groups.
Prerequisites: THRT 1101 and THRT 1201
Lecture: 60 hours
THRT 2306 Inclusive Leisure Practice (3 credits)
This course introduces a variety of perspectives on inclusion and encourages awareness of self and society as students examine values, feelings and behaviours in relation to issues of diversity. Students will apply systems theory to deepen their understanding of how individuals adjust to disabling conditions and how to promote inclusive practices, focusing on community inclusion in leisure and recreation.
Prerequisites: THRT 1102
Lecture: 60 hours
THRT 2307 Valuing Diversity: Therapeutic Recreation and Mental Health (3 credits)
This course examines the most frequently occurring mental health issues, which occur through out the lifespan. Specific mental illnesses will be examined from a variety of perspectives, including: developmental, ecological and socio-cultural. Students will demonstrate recreation, therapeutic recreation and health promotion interventions designed to meet the needs of mental health consumers.
Prerequisites: THRT 1101 and THRT 1204
Lecture: 60 hours
THRT 2308 Older Adulthood: Psychosocial Issues and Interventions (3 credits)
This course examines the impact psychosocial impairments and loss of cognitive function has on quality of life in older adulthood. Dementia, specifically Alzheimer's Disease, and changes in social structure and supports are addressed in depth. The impact of societal attitudes and political, economic and social structures on the life of older adults is examined. Innovative therapeutic recreation interventions for older adults with dementia are explored.
Prerequisites: THRT 1203
Lecture: 60 hours
THRT 2309 Physical Fitness: Assessment and Programming (3 credits)
This course prepares the student to plan, implement and evaluate recreation and health programs involving physical fitness. Students will examine health-related fitness, motor fitness and functional fitness. Assessment procedures, the design and evaluation of individual and group fitness programs, as well as fitness class leadership and promotion will be emphasized for people of different ages, cultures and abilities.
Prerequisites: BIOL 1105
Seminar: 60 Hours
THRT 2333 Therapeutic Recreation Practice I (3 credits)
The purpose of the practicum is to provide students with an opportunity to begin to understand the values, skills and knowledge required for practice in therapeutic recreation and health promotion services. Students will have the opportunity to integrate theory and philosophy with professional practice. Students will conduct assessments and, in concert with the client, design, implement and evaluate an individual program plan.
Prerequisites: THRT 1205 (may be taken concurrently) and THRT 2301 (may be taken concurrently) and THRT 2306 (may be taken concurrently) and THRT 2307 (may be taken concurrently)
Seminar: 7 hours
Practicum: 105 hours
THRT 2406 Recreation Leadership in Small Groups (3 credits)
The purpose of this course is to provide students with the theoretical foundation for assessing, designing and leading effective groups. Students will learn to observe and interpret group behaviour for the purpose of intervening effectively. Group dynamics theory, leadership skill development, activity analysis and adaptation will be applied in the delivery of expressive and creative arts small group activity.
Prerequisites: THRT 1205 and THRT 1201
Lecture: 60 hours
THRT 2407 Valuing Diversity: Therapeutic Recreation and Physical and Developmental Disabling Conditions (3 credits)
The purpose of this course is to give the student an appreciation of the changes, diversity and needs of people with different abilities and cultural experiences. Therapeutic Recreation implementation strategies and techniques will be used to study age, disability and disease related changes and diversities, focusing on people living with a variety of physical and developmental disabling conditions. This understanding of diversity will enable the design and development of leisure experiences to meet a variety of client needs.
Prerequisites: BIOL 1205
Lecture: 60 hours
THRT 2408 Older Adulthood: Physical Issues and Interventions (2 credits)
This course identifies secondary physical aging changes, losses and impairments which may occur in older adulthood. Respiratory, cardiovascular, endocrine, musculoskeletal, sensory and nervous system disorders will be examined. Issues of impairment and loss will be addressed from an ecological, client-centered perspective. A variety of interventions including physical activities, leisure experiences and health strategies will be explored, analyzed and adapted for clients with the disorders described.
Prerequisites: THRT 1203
Lecture: 40 hours
THRT 2444 Therapeutic Recreation Practice II: Diploma (4 credits)
This second, diploma-level practicum provides students with the opportunity to further develop skills and apply theory to therapeutic recreation practice. Students will conduct assessments, activity analysis and adaptation and demonstrate leadership in the design and delivery of individual and group program plans.
Prerequisites: THRT 2333
Lecture: 10 hours; Field Experience 140 Hours
THRT 2455 Therapeutic Recreation and Recreation Health Promotion Practice (4 credits)
This practicum provides students with the opportunity to integrate theory and philosophy with professional practice. Students will conduct assessments and, in concert with the client, design, implement and evaluate individual and group program plans. Students will demonstrate activity analysis and adaptation in the leadership of small group activities. Students will establish effective working relations with field personnel as they work within agencies which offer therapeutic recreation and / or recreation health promotion services.
Prerequisites: THRT 2307 (may be taken concurrently) and THRT 2306 (may be taken concurrently) and THRT 2309 (may be taken concurrently) and THRT 1205 (may be taken concurrently) and THRT 1201 or THRT 2301 (may be taken concurrently)
Seminar: 10 hours; Field Experience 140 hours
THRT 3504 Managing Stress: Principles and Strategies for Health Promotion (3 credits)
This course builds upon previously acquired knowledge of health and offers a mind/body perspective in its examination of the nature of stress and health promotion practices. Principles of integrative and complementary medicine are applied to the design and delivery of individual and group recreation health promotion interventions. Students will have the opportunity to develop depth in one area of health promotion.
Prerequisites: THRT 1204
Lecture: 60 hours
THRT 3505 Counselling: Theory and Practice in Therapeutic Recreation and Health Promotion (3 credits)
This course builds upon a foundation of basic communication and helping skills and provides the student with the theoretical framework to provide counselling and leisure counselling services. Students will be prepared to provide counselling services for both individuals and groups in therapeutic recreation and health promotion settings.
Prerequisite: THRT 1102 and THRT 1205 and THRT 2406
Lecture: 30 hours; Seminar: 30 hours
THRT 3506 Group Processes and Group Work Practice: Advanced Skills for Therapeutic Recreation and Health Promotion Practitioners (3 credits)
In this course the study of group process and group work practice is taken to a more advanced level as students analyze the relationship between group theory and practice. Group assessment skills are demonstrated. Experiential education concepts, ethical group work practice, adapting to diversity and advanced leadership skills will be applied as students design, implement and evaluate a health promotion program.
Prerequisites: THRT 1204 and THRT 2406
Lecture: 60 hours
THRT 3601 Community Development Concepts for Recreation and Health Promotion (3 credits)
This course employs an ecological perspective in exploring the nature and process of family and community systems. The course examines various definitions and theories of community, community development and community health. The interconnectedness between leisure education, recreation and health and community development is discussed.
Prerequisites: THRT 1201
Seminar: 60 hours
THRT 3710 Community Action Research (3 Credits)
The purpose of the course is to provide a set of specific research skills that will enable therapeutic recreation professionals to deal effectively with many of the research issues that confront them as they work with multi-disciplinary health and recreation teams. The course provides clear guidelines, skills and direction to enable neophyte practitioner researchers to move comfortably through a process of scientific inquiry that provides effective solutions to significant day-to-day problems in their ever growing accountable work lives.
Prerequisites: THRT 3601 and (THRT 2455 or THRT 2444)
Lecture: 60 hours
THRT 4701 Management in Therapeutic Recreation and Health Promotion (3 credits)
This course introduces the theory and practice of management in therapeutic recreation and recreation health promotion services. It prepares students to become effective practicing therapeutic recreation or recreation health promotion managers in community-based, clinical or facility settings. Selective functions in administrative, operational, human resource, quality, and consumer management will be addressed.
Prerequisite: THRT 1201
Lecture: 60 hours
THRT 4702 Leisure Education (3 credits)
This course examines the philosophy, theory and methods of a variety of leisure education orientations. Leisure education will be examined in relation to theories of leisure, serious leisure, flow and community development. Students will acquire the skills to plan, implement and evaluate a small group leisure education program and a series of individual leisure education interventions.
Prerequisites: THRT 1101 and THRT 1102 and THRT 1205
Lecture: 60 hours
THRT 4704 Wellness: Leisure and Community Health (2 credits)
This course builds upon the foundational concepts of health, wellness, leisure and community development. Students apply concepts of leisure and recreation to the broader concept of population health, which recognizes the range of social, economic, political and physical environmental factors that contribute to health and aims to improve the health status of the entire population or community. Models of healthy communities, healthy schools and current health issues in Canada will be examined.
Prerequisite: THRT 3601
Lecture: 40 hours
THRT 4802 Current Health Issues and Trends in Recreation and Health Promotion (2 credits)
This course examines critical issues and current trends in recreation, therapeutic recreation and health promotion. Discussions are based upon different perspectives and dimensions of diversity. Topic examples include: professionalization, health issues in Canada and contemporary leisure trends, concepts and values.
Prerequisite: THRT 4704
Seminar: 40 Hours
THRT 4855 Therapeutic Recreation and Recreation Health Promotion: Internship (12 credits)
The internship, implemented in partnership between Douglas College and an approved agency, offers the student the opportunity to apply classroom theory and skills. Supervised by the College faculty and qualified agency staff, students will plan, develop, implement, monitor and evaluate individual and group programs and projects aimed to provide and promote therapeutic recreation and/or health promotion.
Course Prerequisites: THRT 2444 or THRT 2455 and THRT 4701 and THRT 4704 and THRT 3601
Seminar 11 Hours/semester
Practicum: 480 Hours/semester
THRT 4901 Advanced Assessment and Clinical Practice (1 credit)
This course will build on the students' understanding of clinical practice, specifically, client assessment, and focus on the advanced skills of clinical report writing, interdisciplinary communication, discharge planning and the development of treatment protocols.
Prerequisite: THRT 2301
Lecture: 20 hours
THRT 4905 Wellness Coaching (2 credits)
This experiential course introduces the theory and practice of coaching. Students will demonstrate the skills and qualities of a wellness coach as they create alliances with clients who are aiming to achieve high-level wellness and to manifest their full potential in life. Key concepts include: core coaching values and beliefs, essential wellness coaching concepts, skills and processes.
Prerequisite: THRT 3504
Lecture: 40 hours