Chock-full of the very best activities, The Fun Encyclopedia for Therapists: Proven Activities for Therapists gives therapists a comprehensive resource of fun and therapeutic activities and games to use in a variety of settings with people of all ages and abilities.

This book consolidates activities from top publications and resources, including Harbin’s The Fun Encyclopedia, and
from practitioners working in the field.

From cooperative games to video games, the activities in this book have been designed to focus on specific goals and objectives for use as therapeutic tools. Most activities include debriefing questions and some
have discussion built into their procedure—a key element in the therapeutic use of activities.

Recreational therapists, as well as other therapists, can directly adopt and employ the activities and games in this book or simply use these to spark their creativity.

Arising from personal experiences of the authors as recreational therapists and from input from recreational therapists practicing in the field, The Fun Encyclopedia for Therapists is sure to be a useful resource for therapists, to engage participants in therapeutic activity.

Contents

1. Fun With a Purpose
2. Fun With Icebreakers
3. Fun With Hobbies/Leisure Education
4. Fun With Games for Small Groups
5. Fun With Cognitive Activities
6. Fun Outdoors
7. Fun With Adventure Therapy Activities
8. Fun With Relaxation: Stress Reduction Activities
9. Fun With Cooperative Games

10. Fun With Music
11. Fun With Dramatic Games
12. Fun With Individual Activities
13. Fun With Humor and Laughter
14. Fun for Persons With Dementia
15. Fun With Reminiscence
16. Fun With Video Games
17. Fun With Physical Activities

About the Authors

David R. Austin, PhD, FDRT, FALS, is professor emeritus of recreational therapy in the School of Public Health, Indiana
University, Bloomington. He began his career as a recreational therapist working in hospitals of the Indiana Department of Mental Health and now has more than 50 years of experience in recreational therapy as a therapist, educator, researcher, and author. He is the author of over 150 articles and several textbooks, including the widely used book Therapeutic Recreation Processes and Techniques: Evidence-Based Recreational Therapy, now in its 8th edition. He is the only individual to have received the NTRS Distinguished Service Award, the ATRA Distinguished Fellow Award, and the SPRE Distinguished Fellow Award.These are the highest awards bestowed by these professional societies. He was honored by IndianaUniversity, which awarded him its highest teaching award, the Frederic Bachman Leiber Memorial Award.

Colleen A. Cooke, EdD, FDRT, CTRS, CLL, CHP, is a professor of recreational therapy in the College of Health, Engineering, and Science, at Slippery Rock University in Pennsylvania. She began her career as a recreational therapist working with elderly populations in a nursing home setting and went on to work with individuals with intellectual disabilities, people with physical disabilities, and people with severe, persistent mental illness. She has over 35 years of experience in recreational therapy as a practitioner, educator, author and consultant. Her research and professional growth interests include addictions, mental health, and the impacts of laughter and humor on overall quality of life. She is a Certified Laughter Leader (CLL) with the World Laughter Tour and a Certified Humor Professional (CHP) through the Association of Applied and Therapeutic Humor.