What’s it like being a recreation therapist at Forensic Psychiatric Hospital?

Recreation activities may seem like all fun and games, but to the recreation therapist (RT), they are also clinical interventions based on individual needs with purpose and outcomes. 

The RT’s goals are to increase confidence, enhance coping skills, improve overall health and wellness, and develop positive, leisure lifestyles in support of quality of life and successful community reintegration.

Supporting patients at Forensic Psychiatric Hospital

For people who have come into contact with the legal system in B.C. and are challenged with mental illness, substance use, and other significant issues, the rediscovery of leisure, recreation, and play is an important part of the recovery journey. 

We caught up with the RTs supporting these journeys at Forensic Psychiatric Hospital to ask three questions: What does being a RT mean to you? What does a typical day look like for you? What patient stories have stuck with you? Read on for their answers.

What does being a RT mean to you?

• Being a RT means providing patients with choice and autonomy, fostering independence, building life skills, reducing stigma, and improving patients’ overall well-being through meaningful purposeful leisure interventions.
• I am lucky that I get to spend my days watching patients grow through new experiences and reconnecting them with what makes them feel joy, hope, and happiness. I get to combine my passion with helping others and recreation into my job and I am grateful every day to work alongside a supportive and collaborative team.
• I’m blessed in being part of a special group of colleagues that I respect and have fun with, even when things get challenging. I’m proud to be a RT every single day. I can’t tell you how lucky I am when I get opportunities every day to make a difference in people’s lives. I don’t take that responsibility lightly.
• As a RT professional practice lead, my role is about being a champion for therapeutic recreation, ensuring that interventions align with evidence-based practices while also fostering innovation and growth in the field. It is about supporting and inspiring fellow therapists, collaborating with interdisciplinary teams, and advocating for the value of recreation therapy in health care settings.

What does a typical day look like for you?

• It involves a mix of leadership, mentorship, advocacy, and clinical oversight.
• It consists of facilitating programs, communicating and collaborating with interdisciplinary teams, tending to my caseload, and supporting my team in anything and everything that needs to get done. We have a variety of programs that we facilitate that focus on physical health, creative expression, leisure knowledge, and leisure skills. I regularly complete Leisure Assessments and Staff Supported Community Outing (SSCO) Assessments, which provide me with a better understanding of patients’ goals and needs. I am constantly adapting and adjusting my schedule to provide the best patient-centered care possible.
• Every day is different, and I love working at a job where I am able to implement the skills and knowledge I have acquired throughout my education.
• I facilitate programs, write treatment plans, chart, write RAMPs (Risk Analysis and Mitigation Plans) for high-risk patients, attend interdisciplinary rounds, and more! I work with a great team of RTs and a RT professional practice lead who supports us in our practice. We often collaborate with other disciplines within the hospital because we all have skills and assets that benefit the patients. It is also an opportunity for us to advocate for our profession.
• My day consists of preparing for and implementing programs in hospital and in the community. I’m meeting and communicating with patients and various members of the hospital staff and physicians. I am documenting, documenting and documenting, “for if it wasn’t documented, it didn’t happen”.  I’m problem-solving and dealing with sudden and ongoing changes. I may even be involved in seasonal and special events. I have filled in where I’m needed and I’m grateful every day is different, and I thoroughly enjoy it.

What patient stories have stuck with you?

• A unique aspect of recreation therapy at Forensic Psychiatric Hospital is our contribution to the First Steps program. This program is designed to support patients living in (or who recently lived in) long-term seclusion. This program demonstrates the power of collaboration between multiple disciplines to promote the treatment trajectory of a patient. Doing the work we do can be discouraging and disheartening at times, but the (big and small) success of our patients makes it all worth it. A story I am proud to share is one of an individual with severe cognitive impairment and a significant history of violence. A devoted team of RTs, nurses, health care workers, social workers and psychiatrists met regularly to implement, review and adapt this patient’s care plans to provide consistent care that matched the patient’s strengths, limitations and needs. The patient went from living in long-term seclusion, to attending off-unit programs, to going on community outings, to living in Community Living BC housing. It was amazing to inform staff that this patient had a successful shopping trip to buy Levi’s jeans or attended a group lunch outing to Red Robin. It was an honour to be able to share his successes.
• I began working with a patient who was extremely high risk and had been on a maximum-security unit for close to 15 years. This patient was very challenging, had a significant history of abuse and violence towards others, and many people who knew him for a long time were either scared of him or had given up hope. The patient also gave up hope as well and continued to act out. A group of staff and I decided to change our approach with this patient. We began a strict behaviour modification plan and showed him different ways of expressing his needs. It started off day by day, showing him what he can receive if he follows staff direction, is polite and respectful, and is appropriate to others. With a team approach, the patient felt supported to grow and now is working towards gaining more independent community access. It was all because everyone worked together and tried something different that this patient could move forward.
• Attending a Zumba class in the community with patients. Seeing them be able to relax and have fun while trying something new. The patients we took wanted to continue going as long as possible and were recognized and greeted each time by the instructor and other members of the class. It was nice being part of building a sense of belonging and community.
• Working with a patient who started in a seclusion room and eventually was discharged. I was able to connect with the patient through music, card games, and humour. This particular patient was a reminder of why I absolutely love my job and value the unique work and perspectives that rec therapy brings to health care. I was able to build trust through these therapeutic interactions that played a role in the patient moving forward to eventual community reintegration.