Recreational Therapy (RTH) - Graduate Courses

RTH 412/512 Cr.3

Animal Assisted Therapy

This course demonstrates how to safely and ethically integrate animals into a variety of therapeutic settings while creating mutually beneficial relationships with animals and the environment. Differences between Animal Assisted therapy (AAT), Animal Assisted Activities (AAA), and certified Service Dogs are explored. A focus on the effects of Animal Assisted Therapy (AAT) as a recreational therapy intervention to address agitated behaviors and social interactions learned through research, practitioners, and observations. Site visitations may include long-term health care facilities, specific animal use in physical medicine and rehabilitation facilities, equine-assisted psychotherapy, literacy programs in libraries, and/or agencies serving veterans with polytrauma. AAT, AAA, and Service Dog skills are applied through a series of learning experiences during this interactive course. This course includes direct contact with a trained Service Dog. This course is taught largely at an undergraduate level. Graduate students will have additional course requirements/expectations. Prerequisite: admission to Recreational Therapy MS Program or Recreational Therapy BS/MS Dual Degree Program. Offered Occasionally.

RTH 414/514 Cr.3

Recreational Therapy and Adaptive Sports

This course introduces recreational therapists' use of adaptive sports, recreation, and leisure activities for individuals with disabilities to meet treatment goals and improve quality of life. Emphasis is given to the history and rules of a variety of sports, and possible settings where these take place. The examination of each sport includes a focus on its connection to the recreational therapy profession and professional processes used in the field. Hands on experience with a variety of sports is included. This course is taught largely at an undergraduate level. Graduate students will have additional course requirements/expectations. Prerequisite: admission to Recreational Therapy MS Program or Recreational Therapy BS/MS Dual Degree Program. Offered Occasionally.

RTH 516 Cr.3

Recreational Therapy for Youth and Adolescents

This class is designed to provide students with information relating to recreational therapy services for youth and adolescents with and without disabilities. Programming consideration includes treatment concerns, community inclusion, and leisure activities. This course is taught largely at an undergraduate level. Graduate students will have additional course requirements/expectations. Offered Occasionally.

RTH 520 Cr.3

Nature and Forest Therapy

This course is designed to provide students with specialized sessions relating to nature-based therapy knowledge and application in outdoor leisure and recreational therapy settings from international and domestic perspectives. The course provides special emphases on general nature-based therapy concepts and benefits, planning for nature-based therapy walks with various clients with and/or without special needs, the process of implementing nature-based therapy walks, actualizing mindfulness in nature, nature connection, relevant environmental literature (e.g., outdoor therapies related to trauma or depression), interactions between humans and environments, medicinal plants, and practice doing therapeutic walks. This course is taught largely at an undergraduate level. Graduate students will have additional course requirements/expectations. Offered Occasionally.

RTH 430/530 Cr.3

Recreational Therapy and Mental Health

This course is designed to provide students with information regarding therapeutic recreation services to persons with mental illness, and substance abuse disorders, or individuals served in behavioral health treatment facilities. Course emphasizes mental health recovery, activities to facilitate change in different behavioral domains, therapeutic interventions for adults and children, treatment settings and services, and trends in recreation therapy program delivery. This course is taught largely at an undergraduate level. Graduate students will have additional course requirements/expectations. Offered Occasionally.

RTH 432/532 Cr.3

Recreational Therapy for Physical Disabilities

This course is designed to provide students with information relating to recreational therapy services for individuals with physical disabilities. Programming considerations include treatment concerns, community inclusion, wheelchair sports and leisure activities. This course is taught largely at an undergraduate level. Graduate students will have additional course requirements/expectations. Offered Occasionally.

RTH 434/534 Cr.3

Recreational Therapy for Individuals with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities

This course introduces students to recreational therapy interventions and facilitation techniques commonly used by professionals who work with individuals who have intellectual and developmental disabilities. The course emphasizes behavioral and developmental approaches to working with this population and address the social and sensory needs of this population within a leisure context. This course is taught largely at an undergraduate level. Graduate students will have additional course requirements/expectations. Offered Occasionally.

RTH 445/545 Cr.3

Recreational Therapy for Older Adults

This course teaches students to facilitate psychosocial intervention to address needs, strategies, techniques, and approaches for older adults with chronic health conditions through health promotion and leisure activities. This course is taught largely at an undergraduate level. Graduate students will have additional course requirements/expectations. Prerequisite: admission to Recreational Therapy MS Program or Recreational Therapy BS/MS Dual Degree Program. Offered Occasionally.

RTH 456/556 Cr.3

Program Design and Administration of Recreational Therapy

This course is designed to present a rationale and foundation for systematic program design, program implementation and program evaluation in various recreational therapy settings. Students develop competence in the planning and development of evidenced-based recreational therapy programs using a structured and systematic process for purposes of improved client functioning and independence in life activities. This course is taught largely at an undergraduate level. Graduate students will have additional course requirements/expectations. Prerequisite: RTH 319, RTH 352, RTH 355, RTH 376; or admission to the Recreational Therapy MS program. Offered Fall, Spring.

RTH 462/562 Cr.3

Inclusive Recreation Program Administration

This course is designed to provide the student with information relating to recreation in inclusive settings. General administration concepts, management concepts, advocacy, legislation, and therapeutic recreation as a related service in the schools will receive special emphasis in this course. This course is taught largely at an undergraduate level. Graduate students will have additional course requirements/expectations. Prerequisite: RTH 456/556. Offered Fall, Spring.

RTH 470/570 Cr.3

Recreational Therapy Processes and Facilitation Techniques

In this course students implement the individualized treatment/program plan using appropriate evidence-based treatment interventions and programs to restore, remediate, or rehabilitate patient/client functioning as well as to reduce or eliminate the limitations to participation in life activities resulting from medical, psychiatric, or other disabling conditions. Included are processes for leading therapeutic groups, experiences of modalities and facilitation techniques, and counseling techniques and approaches for recreational therapy as an action therapy. This course is taught largely at an undergraduate level. Graduate students will have additional course requirements/expectations. Prerequisite: RTH 319, RTH 352, RTH 355, RTH 376; or admission to the Recreational Therapy MS program. Offered Fall, Spring.

RTH 476/576 Cr.3

Assessment and Treatment Planning in Therapeutic Recreation

Overview of individual client assessments used in therapeutic recreation practice; development of individualized treatment/program plans in a therapeutic recreation context; review resources, standards and issues related to client assessment and program planning in therapy, leisure education and recreation participation programs. This course is taught largely at an undergraduate level. Graduate students will have additional course requirements/expectations. Prerequisite: RTH 456/556, RTH 470/570. Offered Fall, Spring.

RTH 480/580 Cr.3

Leisure Education in Therapeutic Recreation

This course is designed to provide a philosophical understanding and overview of leisure education as well as to emphasize the approaches and strategies that can be utilized in enabling people to enhance the quality of their own lives in leisure. The focus will be leisure education as a major component of therapeutic recreation services. Topics included are leisure theory, leisure education conceptual models, leisure education programming techniques, facilitation of leisure education groups for various ages. This course is taught largely at an undergraduate level. Graduate students will have additional course requirements/expectations. Prerequisite: RTH 456/556, RTH 470/570. Gerontology students should have completed one core gerontology course and have permission from the director of therapeutic recreation. Offered Fall.

RTH 491/591 Cr.1-3

Workshops in Recreational Therapy

Group study of varying recreational therapy topics. University professors as well as visiting lecturers will be invited to address the students and conduct specialized phases of the workshops. This course is taught largely at an undergraduate level. Graduate students will have additional course requirements/expectations. Repeatable for credit under different subtitles. No student may earn more than six credits in REC 591 or RTH 591. Offered Occasionally.

RTH 592 Cr.3

Clinical Education Experience in Recreational Therapy

This course provides opportunities to practice and integrate cognitive learning, with the associated psychomotor skills requirements of the profession, in accordance with professional standards of practice, to develop entry-level clinical proficiency and professional behavior as a recreational therapist as defined by professional guidelines for competencies necessary for safe and effective recreational therapy practice. This course is taught largely at an undergraduate level. Graduate students will have additional course requirements/expectations. Prerequisite: RTH 319, RTH 352, RTH 355, RTH 376; or admission to the Recreational Therapy MS Program. Offered Fall, Spring.

RTH 493/593 Cr.3

Advancing the Recreational Therapy Profession

This course provides an examination of current issues, trends, and professional concerns in recreational therapy including: professional standards, ethics, advocacy, professional development, professional organizations, credentialing, accreditation standards, improving organizational performance, research, and current professional controversies. This course is taught largely at an undergraduate level. Graduate students will have additional course requirements/expectations. Prerequisite: admission to the Recreational Therapy MS Program. Offered Fall, Spring.

RTH 700 Cr.1-6

Internship in Recreational Therapy

This course is a full-time field placement where students apply academic learning to demonstrate competencies associated with entry-level practice in recreational therapy. This includes involvement in the assessment of clients, planning and delivering recreational therapy services to clients, and evaluating these decisions. Additionally, the student gains experience with self-reflective learning through clinical supervision with both a faculty and clinical supervisor. Upon completion of the internship, students have the knowledge, skills, and abilities needed to assume the responsibilities of a recreational therapist. Prerequisite: RTH 556, RTH 570, RTH 593 or equivalents and/or approval of graduate program director and internship coordinator; admission to Recreational Therapy MS Program. Offered Fall, Spring, Summer.

RTH/REC 701 Cr.3

Philosophical Foundations of Leisure, Play and Recreation

In-depth study of past and current theories of leisure, play and recreation; concepts of work and time; the influence of technology and societal changes and the role of recreation in modern day society. (Cross-listed with REC/RTH; may only earn credit in one department.) Offered Fall.

RTH 702 Cr.3

Foundations in Recreational Therapy

This course provides a graduate level overview of recreational therapy including: historical and philosophical foundations of recreational therapy; disability education and medical language; and service learning applications. This course is specifically designed to help recreational therapy graduate students who do not have a recreational therapy undergraduate degree. Offered Occasionally.

RTH/REC 720 Cr.3

Research Methods for Recreation, Parks, and Leisure

The course introduces graduate students to research methods used in leisure research and recreation programs. Students learn to develop a research question, collect and analyze research literature, and conduct research using both quantitative and qualitative methods. The course is designed specifically to help students use methods relevant to the recreation field to take the initial steps for a graduate thesis or project. (Cross-listed with REC/RTH; may only earn credit in one department.) Offered Spring.

RTH 730 Cr.3

Advanced Clinical Aspects in Recreational Therapy

An investigation of the concepts and techniques utilized by the experienced and advanced recreational therapist including clinical issues, comprehensive program concerns, administrative functions and trends in the practice of recreational therapy service. Offered Spring.

RTH 740 Cr.3

Evidence-Based Practice in Recreational Therapy

This course provides both an overview of and builds expertise for incorporating evidence-based practice within recreational therapy to improve client outcomes, ensure consistency and communication among professionals, create protocols and criteria for client assessments, and increase recreation therapists' (RTs) research capacity. Students will develop an evidence-based recreational therapy curriculum with a community partner based on clinical outcomes. Offered Annually.

RTH 750 Cr.3

Authentic Leadership and Clinical Supervision in Recreational Therapy

This course is designed to prepare the graduate student with the skills and abilities to assume a management position in the health and human service industries or engage in private practice in recreational therapy. The class will explore the qualities of leadership and the components of authentic leadership. The student will develop an understanding of contemporary healthcare systems and human service agencies, the influence of licensing and regulatory bodies, and the necessity of funding sources. The class will apply this learning through implementation of the quality improvement process as it relates to recreational therapy management practices. Students will also be introduced to the core concepts of clinical supervision as they relate to student internships and professional supervision. Upon completion, students additionally discern the creation of work-life integration to promote sustainability in the field. Offered Annually.

RTH 770 Cr.3

Interprofessional Education and Collaborative Healthcare

This course is designed to provide students with introductory knowledge of interprofessional teamwork within an evolving health care system. The purpose of the course is to introduce concepts in interprofessional education to allied health profession students for collaborative patient, family, and community health care. The philosophical and theoretical foundations of interprofessional health care are explored. Interactive learning experiences provide the opportunity to develop knowledge and understanding of each profession's contribution to health care. This is a foundation course for future interprofessional study of health promotion, issues of health care delivery, evidence-based practice, and clinical application of these concepts. Offered Fall, Spring.

RTH 790 Cr.1-3

Advanced Seminar - Therapeutic Recreation

Various current professional and theoretical topics will be presented in workshop format. Visiting scholars will supplement faculty presentations. Repeatable for credit - maximum six. Offered Occasionally.

RTH 795 Cr.1-3

Independent Study in Recreational Therapy

Individualized study of areas not available in existing courses. Repeatable for credit - maximum six. Consent of instructor. Prerequisite: admission to Recreational Therapy MS Program or Recreational Therapy BS/MS Dual Degree Program. Consent of department. Offered Fall, Spring, Summer.

RTH 797 Cr.1-3

Special Projects in Recreational Therapy

Students pursue individualized study areas not available in existing courses or independent study. These projects will be completed under the supervision and direction of a faculty member within the department of recreation management and recreational therapy. Examples include: wheelchair sports/coaching, special recreation programs, Special Olympics, development of professional materials/programs, and other topics. Repeatable for credit - maximum six. Prerequisite: RTH 456/556; consent of instructor and student's advisor. Consent of instructor. Offered Fall, Spring, Summer.