Recreation Therapist

The Recreation Therapist plans, schedules and implements facility-wide recreational therapy and leisure activities and groups so that patients across inpatient and outpatient levels of care are offered a wide range of expressive therapy opportunities. The Recreation Therapist also supports a safe, structured and therapeutic milieu during scheduled programming and unstructured time. Consistently demonstrates Elevare's values of uncompromising care, relentless compassion, and unconditional joyful spirit.

Primary responsibilities

1. Assesses each patient's recreational therapy and leisure needs through analysis of interests, needs and skills, to provide a basis for individual program planning.

2. Plans and implements recreational therapy groups, expressive therapy, leisure and social activities that address patients' clinical needs. This is accomplished by directly observing patients, conducting assessments, reviewing literature to identify effective methods, consulting with other recreational and expressive therapy professionals, and designing individual recreation programs.

3. Participates as a member of the interdisciplinary treatment team in planning treatment programs.

4. Designs and writes recreational therapy goals and interventions for patient treatment plans.

5. Establishes therapeutic relationships with patients that are beneficial to their treatment.

6. Counsels patients individually and in group sessions to help them address behavioral health, substance use and social issues.

7. Educates patients on healthy alternative ways of coping with problematic events, emotions, cravings and triggers, including sober leisure and relapse prevention skills.

8. Develops cooperative relationships with volunteers and community service organizations to expand programming opportunities, including animal-assisted therapy, outings and community recovery resources.

Milieu management

1. Promotes a safe, structured, recovery-oriented therapeutic milieu during groups, activities, meals, outings and unstructured time.

2. Partners with Behavioral Health Technicians, nursing and clinical staff to maintain the daily schedule, transitions between activities, and patient participation.

3. Monitors patient behavior, mood and peer interactions, and identifies early signs of conflict, escalation, withdrawal, cravings or risk of leaving against medical advice (AMA).

4. Uses verbal de-escalation, redirection and motivational interviewing techniques to address disruptive behavior and encourage engagement.

5. Reports safety concerns, behavioral incidents, suicide or self-harm risk, and changes in patient presentation immediately to the primary therapist, nursing staff and leadership, following Elevare policy.

6. Reinforces community expectations, house rules and peer accountability in a consistent, respectful way.

7. Participates in shift huddles and communicates milieu observations to the treatment team.

8. Supervises patients during on-site and off-site recreational activities and outings, maintaining accurate patient counts and line-of-sight supervision as required.

9. Maintains recreation spaces, equipment and supplies in a clean, safe and organized condition, including the courtyard and activity areas.

Inpatient and outpatient populations

1. Provides recreational therapy services across all levels of care, including detox, residential, partial hospitalization (PHP), intensive outpatient (IOP) and outpatient (OP) programs.

2. Adapts activities to each patient's level of care, medical status, withdrawal symptoms, physical limitations and stage of recovery, in coordination with nursing and medical providers.

3. For inpatient patients, provides structured daily recreation and leisure programming that supports stabilization,…