Certified Recreational Therapist

FLSA Status

Nonexempt

Job Role Summary

The Certified Recreational Therapist (“CRT”) provides rehabilitation services for clients admitted to Sandra Eskenazi Mental Health Center (“SEMHC”)’s Mental Health Recovery Center (“MHRC”).  The CRT assesses and assists clients with improving functional levels to facilitate clients’ community reintegration. The CRT provides individualized assessments, care planning, and therapeutic interventions to restore, remediate, or rehabilitate physical, cognitive, emotional or social functioning to clients who have psychiatric and other co-occurring conditions.  Working in conjunction with nursing staff in developing milieu programs, assessments, and subsequent interventions, this position plans and implements recreational therapy practices for clients based on MHRC’s milieu/community assessments and clients’ needs in accordance with care plans.

Essential Functions and Responsibilities

• Proactively contributes to Eskenazi Health’s mission: Advocate, Care, Teach and Serve with special emphasis on the vulnerable population of Marion County; models Eskenazi Health’s values of Professionalism, Respect, Innovation, Development and Excellence
• Embraces, understands, and operates under the Recovery Model, including AIDET (Acknowledge, Introduce, Duration, Explanation, Thank You) and the spirit of motivational interviewing
• Endorses and models a strengths-based, community centered model of care
• Selects appropriate instruments/batteries, uses systematic assessment procedures (including structured interview, direct observation, performance testing, information from others, and/or record review), and interprets assessment findings to generate age-, diagnostic-, and culturally-appropriate baseline data that identifies the client's strengths and limitations in physical, cognitive, social, emotional functioning as well as behavioral functioning and interests in recreational skills and leisure time management
• Collaborates with the client and their personal supports as well as the multi-disciplinary treatment team to develop the individualized recreational therapy care plan
• Provides direct individual and group therapeutic recreational interventions
• Develops and implements evidence-based therapeutic recreation programs tailored to the specific needs and preferences of clients, ensuring person-centered care, integrating recreation therapy into comprehensive care plans that maintain consistency with the overall multi-disciplinary client treatment program
• Completes all required documentation accurately and timely
• Formulates clinical impressions and recommendations for treatment, referral for other services, or no service at all
• Evaluates client progress and satisfaction resulting from the treatment interventions provided and modifies or discontinues the treatment interventions as needed based upon client progress, achievement of functional outcome goals, lack of progress, or change in condition
• Develops a recreational therapy discharge plan and summary, in collaboration with the client, and their personal supports as well as the multi-disciplinary treatment team
• Stays current with trends and advancements in therapeutic recreation, incorporating best practices into program development
• Meets agency requirements for continuing education

Job Requirements

• Graduation from an accredited university with a bachelor’s degree in Therapeutic Recreation required; Master’s degree in Therapeutic Recreation preferred
• Certification as a Certified Therapeutic Recreation Specialist
• Minimum of one (1) year of full-time professional experience in the delivery of rehabilitative services in a similar psychiatric setting preferred
• Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and CPI certification

Knowledge, Skills & Abilities

Knowledge

• Intermediate knowledge of behavioral health, substance use disorders and/or co-occurring disorders
• Intermediate knowledge of medical terminology
• Advanced knowledge of client rights and responsibilities
• Knowledge of human development, physiology, psychological functioning, as well as cognitive and motor learning
• Advanced knowledge of recreational therapy practices, methods, techniques, and opportunities for recreational therapists to collaborate with other health care disciplines
• Knowledge of the medical, psychiatric, developmental disabilities, substance abuse, sensory impairments, co-occurring disorders or other disabling conditions and the implications for recreational therapy treatment interventions

Knowledge of evidence-based assessment instruments and techniques and skill in conducting individualized client assessments

• Knowledge of assistive devices, assistive technology and activity adaptations used to assist clients to function as independently as possible in life activities
• Knowledge of evaluation techniques and basic statistics and the ability to evaluate safety and risk management and quality improvement activities

Skills

• Basic computer skills
• Crisis intervention skills
• Strong interpersonal and customer service skills
• Skill and ability in designing, planning and implementing evidence-based recreational therapy treatment interventions

Abilities

• Ability to develop and maintain professional relationships with clients, visitors, and coworkers Ability to be both clear and concise in written and verbal communications
• Ability to work cooperatively in a multidisciplinary team
• Ability to think critically and problem-solve efficiently
• Ability to respond to individual needs of clients and perform safety interventions including physical safety interventions
• Ability to lift a minimum of 50 lbs
• Ability to meet all population-specific competencies for role and service areas
• Ability to interpret assessment results and skill in writing functional outcome goals
• Ability to evaluate and document clients’ responses to treatment and progress towards goals, to develop and document recommendations for discharge and aftercare
• Ability to be physically active in activities that may include running, jumping, bending or swimming