A mental and behavioral health treatment center will use a variety of services to help people deal with disorders. The reason is that no two people face the same challenges or respond the same to treatment. With recreational therapy for teens, the facility can offer numerous experiential and adventure activities. However, what is recreational therapy, and how does it differ from other forms of adolescent therapy?
What Is Recreational Therapy?
Also called therapeutic recreation, this well-organized process uses experiential activities to deal with teens’ individual needs. A treatment center can use it to address mental and behavioral disorders of all kinds, such as:
- Trauma
- Substance abuse
- Disordered eating
- Gaming addiction
- Social media addiction
- Anxiety and depression
Qualified professionals with proper training and certification lead experiential therapy sessions. They earn the credentials after obtaining at least a Bachelor’s degree, completing a formal internship and passing an exam.
What’s the Purpose of Therapeutic Activities?
Teens with mental and behavioral issues need help learning how to live healthy lives. To that end, the goal of experiential therapy for teens is to improve cognitive, emotional, physical, social and spiritual well-being. Essentially, its purpose is to enhance teens’ quality of life.
Therapists also aim to reduce anxiety, depression, and stress. In addition, they help teens build confidence, develop effective social skills, and enhance their ability to make better decisions. In order to achieve these results, they encourage teens to engage in recreational activities.
How Does Therapeutic Recreation Differ From Other Therapies?
Experiential therapy differs from other therapies in that it doesn’t only consist of teens participating in talk therapy. In doing so, it encompasses the full meaning of well-being. It treats the whole person rather than just one aspect so that teens can become functional members of society.
As such, it uses tailored interventions or experiential therapy services. Some of these include drama, games, arts and crafts, music and dance, community outings and sports. Therapists plan the activities according to each teen’s needs and abilities. Also, they take into account each teen’s past, present, and future lifestyles and interests.
Furthermore, therapists make the therapeutic process even more relevant and meaningful by inviting the teen to test their limits in a safe and healthy way. As a result, the teen learns that they’re capable of more than they expected of themselves. It also gives the teen’s self-confidence a significant boost.
What Are the Benefits of Experiential Activities for Mental Health?
As an integral part of treatment, experiential therapy for teens provides numerous positive effects. Firstly, participating in physical activities stimulates the release of endorphins. These hormones regulate many bodily functions, including sleep and mood.
Secondly, recreational activities increase attention span, mental alertness, and immune system function. Teens build better conversation skills and develop improved motor, coping, cooperation, and social skills. Thirdly, experiential therapy can help teens maintain fit bodies, which promotes a healthy body image. Finally, the activities reduce stress, anxiety, depression, and tension.
Let Foothills at Red Oak Recovery Help Improve Your Teen’s Quality of Life
Are you looking for teen therapy services NC provides? Foothills at Red Oak Recovery can provide the care that your teen needs. We can help him achieve a better quality of life through therapeutic recreation.
However, recreational and experiential therapy is only part of our treatment options. In addition, we use a range of services, including:
Don’t let a behavioral or mental health disorder keep your teen from achieving his full potential. Let Foothills at Red Oak Recovery use recreational and experiential therapy to help your teen prepare for a bright future. Call 866.300.5275to learn more.
