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Recreational Therapist Jobs
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Recreational Therapist pay and benefits
The usual route to the credential is a 560-hour internship under a certified therapist, and finding a site delays people more than the exam does. Paid work experience can stand in for the internship, which is the slower door in.
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Recreation therapy has a federal job series
Veterans Affairs hires into the government-wide recreation and creative arts therapy series, which it shares with art, music, dance and drama therapists, each of them a separate profession with its own credential. The qualification standard takes a degree the NCTRC approves, or a bachelor's degree or higher in any field, and it wants the CTRS either way; hired under the second route, you can't have the certification waived. Federal applications run through USAJOBS on their own timetable, and the pay scale is published before you apply.
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2Your questions about recreational therapist jobs, answered
- What does a recreational therapist do?
Adaptive sports and exercise for someone relearning movement, community outings that rehearse going back into public after a brain injury, coping-skills groups on a psychiatric unit. Every one of them is assessed, documented and tied to a treatment plan.
- Is a recreational therapist the same as an activities director?
No, and the distinction matters when reading a posting. A recreational therapist holds a degree and a national credential and delivers treatment. An activities director in long-term care organizes the calendar of events a facility is required to provide. Some nursing homes use the titles loosely, so go by the qualifications line.
- Where do recreational therapist jobs sit?
Inpatient rehabilitation, psychiatric units, long-term care and veterans' facilities. Because the settings are institutional, openings cluster around those institutions, so a regional search turns up more than a city one.