Recreation Therapy
Recreation Therapists at Provo Canyon School provide a unique opportunity for students to work through their issues both cognitively and physically. Talk therapy alone takes a youth through many issues that are valuable. Yet there is much to be gained by taking a teen into a new environment and stripping away the normal social context he or she enjoys. This new environment is void of the distractions of music and TV, clothing styles and popular culture. The youth has only himself/herself and his/her peers to confront nature or complete a task. Such an environment has many therapy possibilities. Frustrations become evident. Poor social interactions become glaring. Antisocial behavior is apparent to all and dealt with more honestly. Recreation therapists are trained to use the dynamics of these interactions to propel a youth into greater understanding of his/her own difficulties and encourage change. Each recreation therapy group includes a focus on goal-setting and a powerful debriefing of the experience as it relates to each student.
The Program
The Provo Canyon School Recreation Therapy Department uses a variety of activities to assist in the therapeutic process, always ensuring the focus is therapeutic rather than merely recreational. Some of the off-campus activities used most frequently are: canoeing, fishing, cross-country skiing, hiking, rappelling, rock-climbing, snow-sculpting, down-hill skiing and snowboarding at nearby Sundance Resort. The on-campus groups at Provo Canyon School utilize both high and low course elements on our indoor and outdoor ropes courses. Recreation Therapy also conducts numerous other adventure therapy, problem-solving, and cooperation building groups that aid in the therapeutic process. At Provo Canyon a student will typically participate in two recreation therapy groups every month, one off-campus with the student’s therapist and one on-campus in his/her assigned specialty group. In addition to Recreation Therapy activities, team coaches (daily living mentors) provide leisure time activities and reward activities for the students. Examples of some off ground reward activities are: miniature golf, bowling, movies, plays, JAZZ games and sei-pro sporting events.
Therapy Without Walls
Therapy Without Walls (TWW) is another valuable component of the Provo Canyon School Recreation Therapy program. TWW is longer-duration, powerful recreation therapy. Each TWW trip is accompanied by at least two Provo Canyon School Recreational therapists and one other residential licensed therapist. Some of the winter experiences include cross-country skiing to a yurt (a cabin/teepee type structure) in the high Uinta mountains. Summer trips include hiking, backpacking, and camping excursions. Southern Utah TWW includes an early-adolescent trip in the Moab and Arches National Park area.
Internships
Provo Canyon School offers internships year round for therapeutic recreation students who are in their final semester of study.
Please contact Human Resources at (801) 227-2033 for information.
Qualifications
Recreation Therapists at Provo Canyon School are expected to have:
• National (CTRS) and State (TRS) certifications
• CPR for the Professional Rescuer certification
• Lifeguard certification
• Utah River Guide license
• Ropes Course (rappel and belay systems) training
• Wilderness First Responder Training
