Recreational Therapists
Health ScienceO*NET 29-1125.00United States
Plan, direct, or coordinate medically-approved recreation programs for patients in hospitals, nursing homes, or other institutions. Activities include sports, trips, dramatics, social activities, and crafts.
- Median annual earnings
- $61,963
- Projected change
- +5.7%
- Typical education
- Bachelor's degree
- Employment
- 16.03K jobs
50th percentile, United States
2025 to 2035
97.3% of the workforce
Growing to 16.95K by 2035
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These courses and certificates are connected through catalog career relationships and Lightcast skill tags.
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The work
What recreational therapists do
Tasks reported for this occupation, ordered by how often they come up in the role.
- Instruct patient in activities and techniques, such as sports, dance, music, art, or relaxation techniques, designed to meet their specific physical or psychological needs.
- Conduct therapy sessions to improve patients' mental and physical well-being.
- Plan, organize, direct, and participate in treatment programs and activities to facilitate patients' rehabilitation, help them integrate into the community, and prevent further medical problems.
- Observe, analyze, and record patients' participation, reactions, and progress during treatment sessions, modifying treatment programs as needed.
- Develop treatment plan to meet needs of patient, based on needs assessment, patient interests, and objectives of therapy.
- Confer with members of treatment team to plan and evaluate therapy programs.
- Obtain information from medical records, medical staff, family members and the patients, themselves, to assess patients' capabilities, needs and interests.
- Counsel and encourage patients to develop leisure activities.
- Encourage clients with special needs and circumstances to acquire new skills and get involved in health-promoting leisure activities, such as sports, games, arts and crafts, and gardening.
- Prepare and submit reports and charts to treatment team to reflect patients' reactions and evidence of progress or regression.
- Develop discharge plans for patients.
Pay and outlook
What the job pays and where it is heading
Annual earnings range
Reported earnings by percentile, United States
- 10th percentile
- $40,997
- 25th percentile
- $50,253
- 50th percentile
- $61,963
- 75th percentile
- $79,934
- 90th percentile
- $100,422
The gold marker shows the median. Half earn more than $61,963 and half earn less.
Employment outlook
2025 to 2035 projection
+5.7%average or slower
202516,031 jobs
2035 projected16,947 jobs
916 more positions over the decade, before replacement hiring.
Preparation
Education levels
What people currently working in the career hold. These are not entry requirements.
- Bachelor's degree
- 97.3%
- Master's or Professional degree
- 2.7%
Skills
Skills employers ask for
Technical skills appearing most often in job postings for this occupation.
How the work gets done
Core competencies
Broad capabilities associated with strong performance in this occupation.
- Service Orientation
- Actively looking for ways to help people.
- Social Perceptiveness
- Being aware of others' reactions and understanding why they react as they do.
- Speaking
- Talking to others to convey information effectively.
- Active Listening
- Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
- Coordination
- Adjusting actions in relation to others' actions.
- Writing
- Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.
- Critical Thinking
- Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions, or approaches to problems.
- Reading Comprehension
- Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work-related documents.
- Instructing
- Teaching others how to do something.
- Complex Problem Solving
- Identifying complex problems and reviewing related information to develop and evaluate options and implement solutions.
- Monitoring
- Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.
- Persuasion
- Persuading others to change their minds or behavior.
- Learning Strategies
- Selecting and using training/instructional methods and procedures appropriate for the situation when learning or teaching new things.
- Active Learning
- Understanding the implications of new information for both current and future problem-solving and decision-making.
- Time Management
- Managing one's own time and the time of others.
- Negotiation
- Bringing others together and trying to reconcile differences.
- Judgment and Decision Making
- Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.
- Systems Evaluation
- Identifying measures or indicators of system performance and the actions needed to improve or correct performance, relative to the goals of the system.
- Systems Analysis
- Determining how a system should work and how changes in conditions, operations, and the environment will affect outcomes.
- Management of Personnel Resources
- Motivating, developing, and directing people as they work, identifying the best people for the job.
In the market
Job titles and employers
Recent job postings in United StatesCommon job titles
- 01Activities Directors3,479 postings
- 02Recreation Therapists1,977 postings
- 03Activities Assistants926 postings
- 04Activities Coordinators813 postings
- 05Life Enrichment Directors708 postings
- 06Activities Aides656 postings
- 07Activity Therapists627 postings
- 08Directors of Memory Care557 postings
- 09Lifestyle Assistants474 postings
- 10Life Enrichment Coordinators438 postings
- 11Recreation Directors408 postings
- 12Lifestyle Coordinators403 postings
- 13Lifestyle Directors327 postings
- 14Certified Activities Directors178 postings
- 15Therapeutic Recreation Specialists152 postings
- 16Certified Therapeutic Recreation Specialists138 postings
- 17Activity Leaders132 postings
- 18Memory Care Activities Assistants121 postings
- 19Activities Staff108 postings
- 20Assisted Living Activities Directors107 postings
Top employers
- 01Uhs225 postings
- 02Universal Health Services175 postings
- 03Acadia Healthcare167 postings
- 04Sagora Senior Living107 postings
- 05ProMedica97 postings
- 06YMCA89 postings
- 07Oakmont Management Group86 postings
- 08Signature Healthcare84 postings
- 09Atria Senior Living82 postings
- 10Oakmont Senior Living80 postings
- 11Ambulatory Surgical Center Of Aiken76 postings
- 12Trilogy Health Services76 postings
- 13Bestnest Management74 postings
- 14Ivy Park74 postings
- 15Texas Health and Human Services Commission62 postings
- 16Genesis Administrative Services61 postings
- 17Oceans Healthcare58 postings
- 18PruittHealth57 postings
- 19Lifespace Communities56 postings
- 20Bristal Assisted Living52 postings
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