Envisioning the Future: Therapeutic Recreation as a Profession

1. chapter17 Envisioning the Future: Therapeutic Recreation as a Profession Terry Robertson, PhD

2. Learning Outcomes • Identify primary elements of the model of personal and professional development • Apply the proposed model to develop a long-term plan for personal and professional development • Identify at least three social, economic, or cultural trends that may affect the therapeutic recreation profession in the future • Recognize and use six paradigms for understanding and addressing future trends, challenges, and opportunities in therapeutic recreation

3. Introduction • The future is yet to be determined • We must be careful stewards of the field • The profession is open for future professionals to • make decisions and choices, • harness opportunities, and • lead the profession into the future

4. Living Our Legacy • National professional organizations • Alberta Therapeutic Recreation Association (20 years) • National Council on Therapeutic Recreation Certification (25 years) • National Therapeutic Recreation Society (40 years) • American Therapeutic Recreation Association (22 years) • Contributions of regional symposiums • Midwest Symposium on Therapeutic Recreation (35 years) • Mid-East Symposium on Therapeutic Recreation (30 years) • Licensure of therapeutic recreation professionals • Utah (30 years) • New Hampshire (1 year) • North Carolina (2 years) • Successful city therapeutic recreation programs • Las Vegas (34 years) • Eugene, OR (30 years)

5. Using Change • Expect and plan for change. • Absence of change (consistency) helps build identity • Change helps build relevance • The key is to find the balance between the two • Are you comfortable with change? • Personally • Professionally • In the short term (right now) • In the long term (5, 10, or 20 years from now)

6. Emergence of a Global Society • Changes in cultural and independent belief systems • Accelerated changes due to technology • More global and mobile • More dissatisfied and segregated • Economic changes • One-world economy • Expansion of capitalism • Multinational organizations • Outsourcing • Collaborative relief and aid work • Application of democracy to other countries (continued)

7. Emergence of a Global Society (continued) • Fundamental issues to address • Race – Terminology • Religion – Cross-cultural concerns • Age – Immigration vs. refugee status • Gender – Best practices • Language • Problatunity: a problem and an opportunity residing in the same space at the same time • Think globally and act locally • Control the question and control the answer • Influence policy, legislation, regulation, and practice • Consider the human development index

8. The Future of Therapeutic Recreation as a Profession • Primary tools to create the future of therapeutic recreation • Model of professional development • Six paradigms for understanding • Developing a collective wisdom • Growth of the professional knowledge base • Enhancing the collective wisdom of the profession

9. Model of Professional Development: Bicycle Wheel • Figure 17.1 • Hub: body of knowledge (what we know and its impact) • Spokes: delivery mechanism • Help build individual and corporate body of knowledge • Differences in size and length of spokes • Must maintain them to move forward • Tire rim: practice or application; can also represent organization or management structure • Tire tread: consumer group (face-to-face service delivery) • Size of the tire: influence, community size, or role of therapeutic recreation

10. Growing Pains and Reaching Out • Growing pains • Wheel of torture: professionals must be active or the wheel will need repair • Personal and professional development are processes, not events • Be mindful of the benefits and obligations of personal and professional development • Reaching out • Prepare potential professionals • Seek access to groups and organizations not focused on therapeutic recreation • Feel comfortable applying our knowledge base in different settings and service areas • Find ways to collaborate with like-minded organizations and professions

11. Paradigm 1:Social and Civic Engagement • Everything is framed through citizenship, politics, and democracy • Access equals influence • Develop social and professional networks • This paradigm could be considered a grassroots or political approach

12. Paradigm 2:Consumer or Economic • View the world within the context of economics • Decisions are money driven • This paradigm may entail various approaches: • Supply and demand approach • “You get what you pay for” approach • Marketing approach

13. Paradigm 3:Quality Management (Mission and Vision) • Use core values to make decisions • Believe in the values of the group and use the values to guide actions • Leaders model the values • Reward value-congruent behavior of team members • This paradigm could be viewed as a ritualistic or a humanistic approach

14. Paradigm 4:Behavioral or Outcomes • Focus on the end product • This approach is data driven • Use organizational management and marketing strategies • Outcomes are more important than process • This approach can be viewed as the segmentation–sterilization or specialization approach

15. Paradigm 5:Change Theory • Mathematical or theoretical examination of abnormal vs. normal • Mathematical, experimental, or systematic pattern and outlier approach • Project future based on trends of the past

16. Paradigm 6:Spirituality or Religious Systems • Influence of religious systems on the world • Faith and hope issues • Rituals or beliefs about: • purpose in life • roles • families • relationships • lifestyle issues • death

17. Discussion Questions • How does knowing and understanding the past help improve the future? How does it prevent or hinder improvement or change? • Identify the primary elements of the professional development model and discuss which element (spoke, hub, tire, and so on) will be the most challenging for you and why. • Create a plan to help you work on this element both before and after you graduate. Share this with at least one other person. • Identify at least three trends (social, economic, cultural, and so on) that could affect the future of the profession and your potential for becoming a practicing professional. (continued)

18. Discussion Questions (continued) • Please identify one new trend (technology, economic, social, and so on) that is changing the way that you or those around you complete (or not) a routine task. Describe it to someone else and then identify how this could be used (positively or negatively) within the profession as you know it. • Identify by name or description the six different paradigms presented and then identify how each could be used to better assure or eliminate services to those you work with and why.