INSIDE DOUGLAS COLLEGE / FEBRUARY 20, 1990

Job prospects good in therapeutic recreation

Recreation is more than just playtime after a long day at the of- fice. It is a way to learn new skills and gain self-confidence, knowledge and independence.

Douglas College in New Westminster offers a two-year pro- gram that trains students in therapeutic recreation. It’s the only program of its kind in B.C.

Therapeutic recreation is a rela- tively new field and one that is growing, says program co-or- dinator Daniel McDonald. Career opportunities for graduates are varied, and many graduates are “snapped up right after they com- plete the program.”

The College’s two-year Therapeutic Recreation Diploma Program trains students to provide a wide range of leisure services for children, adolescents and adults who have special needs, be it physi- cal, emotional, social or mental. The program, available on a full-time or part-time basis, combines class- room learning and work ex- perience. Students learn to plan, implement and evaluate individual and group therapeutic recreational activities.

Job opportunities exist in rehabilitation recreation, leisure education and recreation. In rehabilitation recreation, students find work in health agencies like hospitals, nursing homes, and in- stitutions.

The majority of graduates find work with older adults in inter- mediate, extended care or private facilities. “The main focus is to maintain the quality of life for older adults and contribute to maintain- ing the skills people had when they came (to the institution),” says Mc- Donald.

Graduates fill leisure education

roles with health agencies, municipal recreation agencies, and human services agencies, including group homes, developmental day care centres, alternate schools and treatment facilities. People trained in therapeutic recreation also work at community aquatic and fitness centres, making the facilities and programs accessible to clients.

“Our aim isn’t just to provide a diversion,” says Tricia Rachfall, a second-year student in the pro- gram. Therapeutic recreation can be applied at a therapy level or in leisure education, she says. “We help individuals gain self- knowledge and independence and increase their personal participa- tion level through leisure activity.”

Rachfall says that working with people in a therapy-type situation is rewarding because the clients are “doing something they enjoy and doing something they choose to do. When people choose to do some- thing, it brings out the best in them,” she explains.

McDonald says recreation therapy is important because not all people’s needs can be met through work. “Our basic goal is for people to satisfy their needs in their recrea- tion time,” he says. “And because so many of these people are dis- abled, so much of their time is recreation.”

McDonald adds that the Therapeutic Recreation Program at- tracts students who are “very caring individuals, who have good listening skills and the ability to es- tablish good relationships.” Stu- dents in the program come from a broad range of backgrounds. Most have graduated from high school and have worked directly with people for a few years.

“The students in this program

West publishes poetry

Douglas College instructor David West has recently published his fifth book, a collection of poetry entitled Picking Up the Pieces (The Caitlin Press).

West teaches Communications at Douglas College and English Literature at Kwantlen College. West has lived and taught in B.C., Ontario, and New Brunswick, and is completing his Ph.D. in Canadian Literature. A former poetry editor of The Fiddlehead West is currently an editorial assis- tant for Event.

The new poetry collection fea- tures two long poems, “At the Food Bank,” and “Transcanada”, both originally broadcast on CBC Radio.

West says of the book, “Part of it is personal; but part of it is definitely political. I’ve developed a social, as well as a personal, con- science over the last decade. It shows in these poems.” West, a political activist, says he will be put- ting his beliefs into practice again. He plans to seek a nomination as a civic New Democrat candidate for the Vancouver School Board.

As a poet, West is perhaps best known for his top-selling Franklin and McClintock, a series of documentary-style poems about the two Northwest Passage

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all have something in common,” adds Rachfall. “They want to make other people’s lives richer.”

Bruce Devereux, who graduated from the Therapeutic Recreation Program in 1986, is now the provincial co-ordinator for the

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