February is Recreation Therapy Month!
At The Royal, recreation therapy programs provide clients with enhanced care on their journey to wellness. With a variety of both creative and active programs/activities, the recreation therapists at The Royal work tirelessly to help understand clients’ unique needs and tailor the right programs to offer hope and fulfillment while they recover.
Sixteen recreation therapists work across Mood and Anxiety, Schizophrenia, Community Mental Health (CMH), Forensics, Geriatrics, Recovery, ROP, and Substance Use and Concurrent Disorders (SUCD). There are 3-7 recreation therapy programs offered every day at The Royal. Our programs include: gardening, art, cooking, bike rides, fitness classes, yoga/meditation, badminton, music, therapy dogs, baking, volleyball…the list goes on!
Many programs and units benefit from recreation therapy across The Royal – including Mood and Anxiety, Youth Inpatient, and The Royal Ottawa Place (ROP). One program offers young inpatient clients the opportunity to learn how to cook for themselves – giving them a ‘taste of home’ during their recovery, while also teaching them a valuable life skill. Recreation therapists working at the ROP offer clients a variety of programs from relaxation and education to innovative practices like laughter yoga. Gardening was introduced to clients in the Mood and Anxiety Unit in the summer of 2022, and they eventually won a first-place prize for their watermelon and zucchinis in the Vankleek Hill Fair!
