The Department of Recreation Therapy continued to provide treatment to the patients of the Schizophrenia Research Unit (SRU), the General Clinical Research Unit (GCRU), and the Children's Day Unit (CDU). Suzette Lennard-McFarlane, CTRS, continued to be assigned to the Schizophrenia Research Unit. William Rios, CTRS, was assigned primarily to the Children’s Day Unit, but provided coverage on the SDU and GURU on Sundays and evenings. Pedro Gonzalez, CTRS, continued to provide Saturday coverage to both inpatient research units, in addition to his primary assignment on the GCRU, and Patricia Smith continued her service to the GCRU as well. Recreation Therapy fieldwork students from Ithaca College and Temple University completed internships. Department members also supervised volunteers assigned to the three units. These volunteers implemented patient groups such as Art, Yoga, Photography, Creative Writing, Pet Therapy and Computer Skills. The department was administered by Matt Gold, CTRS.
Recreation Therapy is the provision of treatment, leisure education and recreational services to help persons with psychiatric illness to restore and rehabilitate functioning, to improve health and well-being, and to develop, maintain and express their most independent leisure lifestyle. During this year the staff of the Department of Recreation Therapy again functioned as active members of their respective interdisciplinary treatment teams. Their responsibilities included assessing patients’ progress, participating in team meetings, maintaining their own level of professional preparedness, and contributing to the education and training of the many volunteers, students, new practitioners and interns that come to the Institute. The major focus of these treatment modalities was activity groups, but individual attention, in the form of educational, vocational and leisure counseling was also provided.
The Department of Recreation Therapy continued to offer a variety of regularly scheduled groups on the research units, in addition to individual work with patients. On the GCRU, separate clusters of groups were offered to patients in the two major research protocols. Ms. Smith was primarily responsible for recreation therapy treatment offered to patients within the eating disorders protocols, and Mr. Gonzalez was primarily responsible for recreation therapy treatment offered to patients in the affective disorders protocols. Patients admitted with bulemia and anorexia participated in discussion groups such as Goal Setting and Leisure Education. Coffee Klatch offered patients an opportunity for socialization, as well as the challenge of dealing with food in an informal setting. The Lunch Group, which included clothes shopping and lunch at a local restaurant, afforded these women the support and structure to try on and purchase clothing and to order food from a restaurant menu. Journal Group and Self-Esteem Group helped patients examine their distortions around their self-image and interpersonal relations. Both protocols had access to Yoga, as well as to Creative Writing and Art & Creativity to offer opportunities for creative expressions. Patients had access, in small group and individual sessions, to the computer center in the Patient Library and Learning Center. Using the internet, they explored educational, vocational and social resources within their
communities. Patients admitted with depression were also offered Goal Setting, Cooking, Self-Esteem and Leisure Education, as well as a Photography Group co-led by Eve Vagg, the Institute's photographer. This latter group addressed several cognitive skills such as concentration and the ability to follow directions. These patients were also involved in a Stress Management Group to expand their repertoire of skills with which to deal with stressful situations. Patients in these protocols were also offered individual and/or small group access to the exercise equipment in the gym, and to the computers, in the library. Groups on the Schizophrenia Research Unit, primarily led by Ms. McFarlane, included Leisure Education, Cooking Group, Meditation and several Crafts groups. Start-Up/Stretch was offered four times weekly and served as an early morning basic stretch group and a day planning session. Opportunities for supervised exercise, using the exercise equipment in the gym, were offered several times a week. A Photography Group, also co-led by Ms. Vagg, continued. The Pet Therapy program continued, through the sponsorship of an organization called The Good Dog Foundation, which sends a trained dog and her owner weekly. Patients had an opportunity to play with and care for the dog, in a safe and non-threatening environment. In addition, several groups were conducted by a number of volunteers, all supervised by RT staff, including Yoga, Computer Tutoring and Art Group. William Rios implemented several recreation therapy groups on the Children’s Day Unit, including a new Pet Therapy program, also supported by The Good Dog Foundation. He expanded the physical exercise program, and added a Team Building Group and a Table Games Group, to help the adolescents improve their social skills. He co-led the Yoga Group and the Photography Group, with volunteers. All-hospital special events included several barbecues in the Patients' Park and Garden. The department continued to maintain a video library of over 350 titles, for patients to borrow for evening and weekend viewing.
Department members attended seminars and workshops on Suicide Prevention and Pain Management. Mr. Gold attended the New York State Therapeutic Recreation Association’s (NYSTRA) Annual Multi-Day Conference. He presented a session at this conference, entitled, “The Art of Interviewing.” Mr. Gold ended his long term involvement in the field’s national credentialing organization, the National Council for Therapeutic Recreation Certification (NCTRC). He had served for the past twelve years on two of that organization’s committees.
