Rec Therapy Today – October 2026
The Behavioral Health Issue
A monthly resource for recreational therapists since 2004
From the Editor
Hello Forward-Thinking Rec Therapist —
Welcome to the October 2026 Behavioral Health Issue!
This month, we’re exploring the important role recreational therapy plays in behavioral health.
Through purposeful recreation, meaningful connection, self-expression, coping skills, and opportunities for success, recreational therapists help people discover their strengths and move toward greater well-being.
Whether you work in behavioral health every day or occasionally support someone facing mental health challenges, I hope this issue gives you practical ideas you can use.
Most importantly, never underestimate the difference you can make simply by creating opportunities for people to participate, connect, grow, and experience hope.
Your friend and partner in Rec Therapy,
Danny
Danny W. Pettry II, M.Ed., M.S., LPC, NCC, CTRS-BH
🎃 P.S.
The October 2026 Giveaway is at the bottom of this newsletter
– enter if you dare — for a chance to win! 👻
New Course Alert
Leading therapeutic groups in behavioral health takes more than having a good activity planned. Recreational therapists must know how to encourage participation, respond therapeutically, remain calm when challenges arise, and keep the focus on meaningful outcomes.
Our new Therapeutic Groups for Behavioral Health course explores practical approaches you can use when facilitating groups. Topics include “It’s Not About the Activity—It’s About the Outcomes,” “Invite, Encourage, Accept,” and “Stay Calm, Be Therapeutic.” The course combines audio learning, a special report, discussion, and a quiz. Rec Therapy Today
Whether you are new to behavioral health or have years of experience, this course provides a reminder of something important: the activity is the tool—the therapeutic outcome is the goal.
Explore Therapeutic Groups for Behavioral Health
Included FREE with Elite Membership
Elite members received this new course FREE as part of their membership.
And we’re continuing that benefit in October.
Everyone who joins Rec Therapy Today Elite during October will receive:
- Therapeutic Groups for Behavioral Health — FREE
- Our new October 2-clock-hour course — FREE
That means new Elite members won’t just gain access to the benefits of membership—they’ll immediately receive two additional continuing education courses during October.
Learn. Grow. Apply it in practice. That’s what Elite is all about.
Opening Insight
Recreation gives people a safe place to practice coping, connection, and choice.
In behavioral health, recreation can be much more than a way to pass the time. Purposeful recreational experiences provide opportunities for people to practice skills they can use in everyday life.
Coping — Recreation can provide healthy ways to manage stress, express emotions, experience enjoyment, and discover activities that support emotional well-being.
Connection — Games, creative activities, sports, music, leisure, and group experiences can create natural opportunities to communicate, develop social skills, build relationships, and experience a sense of belonging.
Choice — Behavioral health challenges can sometimes leave people feeling that they have little control. Recreation provides opportunities to make decisions, identify preferences, set personal goals, take healthy risks, and experience success.
For recreational therapists, the activity is not necessarily the outcome. The activity creates an opportunity to practice skills that can carry into life beyond the treatment setting.
Rec Therapist Identity
Who you are matters as much as what you do.
In behavioral health, the relationship we build with the people we serve matters. Research on psychotherapy outcomes has long suggested that relationship factors—such as empathy, warmth, acceptance, and genuineness—contribute substantially to positive outcomes, while the specific technique or intervention represents only one part of the change process.
One widely cited framework describes the contributors to change as approximately 40% client and life factors, 30% therapeutic relationship factors, 15% hope and expectancy, and 15% specific techniques or approaches. These percentages are best understood as a historical framework rather than precise modern measurements.
For recreational therapists, there is an important reminder here: our activities and interventions matter, but so does the person facilitating them. Be present. Listen. Show empathy. Recognize strengths. Offer hope. See the person beyond the diagnosis.
Source: Lambert, M. J., & Barley, D. E. (2001). Research summary on the therapeutic relationship and psychotherapy outcome. Psychotherapy: Theory, Research, Practice, Training, 38(4), 357–361.
Rec Therapy Insights
Before asking, “What activity should I do?” ask, “What does this person need?”
It can be easy to begin planning with an activity: a game, craft, exercise, discussion, or leisure experience. But recreational therapy begins with the person, not the activity.
Consider the person’s strengths, interests, needs, goals, and current challenges. What are you hoping to help them experience or practice? Do they need connection? A healthy coping strategy? Self-expression? Confidence? Emotional regulation? Problem-solving? An opportunity for success?
Once you understand the need, you can intentionally select or adapt an activity to help address it.
The activity is the tool. The person is the focus. The outcome is the purpose.
Evidenced Based Insight
The arts aren’t just enjoyable.
They can support our health.
In Art Cure, Daisy Fancourt examines decades of research on the relationship between participation in the arts and health. The evidence she discusses spans music, visual arts, dance, reading, theater, creative hobbies, and other forms of cultural engagement. Macmillan Publishers
Research summarized in the book connects arts engagement with areas particularly relevant to recreational therapy, including mental health, stress, pain, brain health, social connection, healthy behavior, and overall well-being.
Fancourt argues that the arts deserve to be considered alongside other important contributors to health, such as physical activity, sleep, diet, and nature.Celadon Books
For recreational therapists, this reinforces something important: creative experiences don’t have to be “just activities.” Music, art, dance, writing, and other creative experiences can be intentionally selected to support therapeutic goals.
RT Takeaway: Don’t underestimate the clinical potential of creativity.
Source: Fancourt, D. (2026). Art Cure: The Science of How the Arts Save Lives. Celadon Books. Celadon Books
Learn more about Art Cure from the publisher
Dr. Daisy Fancourt Lecture on Arts and Health
I’m looking forward to attending Dr. Daisy Fancourt’s presentation at Marshall University (Huntington, West Virginia) on Tuesday, October 13 at the Joan C. Edwards Performing Arts Center.
Dr. Fancourt, Professor at University College London, is a leading researcher in arts, culture, social connection, and health. Her work explores how creativity and engagement with the arts can influence psychological, social, and physical well-being.
Her research is especially relevant to recreational therapy and our understanding of how creative expression, meaningful activity, and social connection can contribute to health and well-being.
Danny Pettry, Rec Therapy Today®, will be attending the presentation. I’m excited for the opportunity to hear directly from one of the leading researchers in this area.
RT Spotlight:
October 2026 Recreational Therapist of the Month
Kim Canova-Romans, CTRS
This month, Rec Therapy Today is proud to recognize Kim Canova-Romans as our Rec Therapist of the Month.
Kim has spent her career embracing two things she says drew her to recreational therapy from the beginning: adventure and challenge.
She earned her B.S. in Recreation & Park Administration, Therapeutic Recreation Sequence, from Illinois State University in Normal, Illinois, in 1986 and holds the CTRS credential.
Today, Kim works with adults ages 18 to 84 in outpatient mental health with the Department of Veterans Affairs in Dallas. Her recreational therapy interventions include community integration, leisure education, social skills, role play, yoga, and Tai Chi.
A Career Built on Variety
When asked what she enjoys most about recreational therapy, Kim had a simple answer: “Variety.”
That variety has been a defining part of her career. Kim says she has worked in many different capacities within the profession and experienced many different challenges along the way. Through those experiences, she has arrived at an important insight about the people we serve:
“People want to be valued, included and appreciated most of all.”
That message feels especially fitting for our Behavioral Health Issue. Behind every diagnosis, treatment plan, goal, and intervention is a person who wants to know that they matter.
Keep Reinventing Yourself
Kim also has valuable advice for recreational therapists who are just beginning their careers:
“Be sure to keep reinventing yourself and trying those things you don’t think you are good at.”
Her own career demonstrates that willingness to grow. Recreational therapists may work across different populations, settings, interventions, and stages of their careers. Continuing to learn and being willing to stretch beyond what feels comfortable can open new possibilities for both the therapist and the people they serve.
Looking toward the future of recreational therapy, Kim hopes to see the profession continue “growing and cultivating relationships that will keep people connected.”
A Rec Therapist Who Inspires Her
Kim identifies Santo Trombetta, founder of the Veterans Winter Sports Clinic, as a recreational therapist she admires. What stands out to her is his passion for improving the lives of others.
That same emphasis on connection, inclusion, and quality of life runs throughout Kim’s own reflections on recreational therapy.
Continuing to Learn
Kim is also a member of the Rec Therapy Today learning community. When asked what she enjoys about Rec Therapy Today, she shared:
“The different CEU opportunities! I am impressed by the approach and the quality of the professional education.”
Congratulations, Kim Canova-Romans, our October 2026 Rec Therapist of the Month!
Thank you for your dedication to recreational therapy, behavioral health, our veterans, and the belief that people deserve to feel valued, included, and appreciated.
Be Featured in Rec Therapy Today
Recreational therapists are making a difference every day. Complete our quick survey for a chance to be featured in an upcoming issue of Rec Therapy Today
Share your experiences, ideas, and insights with the RT community.
FREE PDF Download for Halloween
👻 FREE Download: Monster Games!
Looking for something fun for October? Monster Games is a FREE printable game collection from Rec Therapy Today featuring vintage-inspired monster cards that can be used for a variety of recreational and therapeutic activities.
Use the cards for matching, memory, group games, creative activities, and plenty of Halloween fun!
Download your FREE copy of Monster Games:
Monster Games 2026 – Free PDF
Print it. Play it. Adapt it. Have fun! 🎃
Actionable Tool
In behavioral health, we can sometimes be too quick to offer advice, solve a problem, or move the conversation forward. Sometimes the better intervention is simply to listen more.
Reflective listening communicates that the person has your attention and that what they are saying matters. Lean in. Nod to show you are following. Allow moments of silence instead of immediately filling them. Briefly paraphrase what you heard and validate the person’s experience.
You might say, “It sounds like that was really frustrating,” or simply, “Tell me more.”
You don’t always need the perfect response. Giving someone your full attention can create the space they need to express themselves and feel heard.
Listen. Reflect. Validate.
Outcome Reminder
Participation matters—but participation alone is not the therapeutic outcome.
A person may attend your group, complete the activity, and even have a great time. As recreational therapists, we also want to ask: What did the person gain from the experience?
Look beyond attendance and identify the change. Did the person practice a coping strategy? Connect with another person? Express a thought or feeling? Experience success? Make an independent choice? Identify something that gives them hope?
Those are the outcomes that help demonstrate the purpose behind our interventions.
When documenting a session, don’t stop with what activity was provided or whether the person participated. Connect the experience to the individual’s treatment needs and describe the response you actually observed.
Don’t just document what they did. Document what changed.
Recreational Therapists Voices
What Makes a Great Recreational Therapist?
We recently asked members of the Rec Therapy Today community a simple question:
What makes you a great recreational therapist?
The answers were inspiring—and although everyone expressed it differently, several themes appeared again and again.
Compassion & Empathy
One of the strongest themes was simply caring about people. Recreational therapists described themselves as compassionate, empathetic, patient, kind, and understanding.
Listening & Meeting People Where They Are
Great recreational therapy starts with the person. Respondents talked about listening to clients, learning what matters to them, recognizing their strengths, and adapting interventions to meet individual needs.
Creativity & Adaptability
Recreational therapists know that the original plan doesn’t always work—and that’s okay! Creativity, flexibility, resourcefulness, and the ability to adapt were common responses. As one person explained, they can “go with the flow when groups are not going as expected.”
A Commitment to Growth
Many RTs talked about continuing education, researching new interventions, using evidence-based approaches, mentoring others, and constantly looking for ways to improve their practice.
Passion for the Profession
Perhaps the most powerful theme was how much recreational therapists love what they do.
Some respondents have worked in the profession for 20, 30, 40 years or longer—and they’re still passionate about helping others. One RT summed it up beautifully:
“After 20 years, I still love and believe in what I do.”
Another captured the heart of the profession:
“I MAKE A DIFFERENCE!”
What Makes a Great RT?
There isn’t just one answer.
It’s compassion.
It’s creativity.
It’s listening.
It’s adapting.
It’s advocating.
It’s continuing to learn.
It’s believing in people’s potential.
And most of all, it’s showing up every day and using recreation to help people live healthier, happier, and more meaningful lives.
To everyone who shared a response: thank you for reminding us what makes the recreational therapy community so special.
Rec Therapy Today is Sponsoring Adaptive Skateboarding
Rec Therapy Today® is proud to sponsor Shred Co New Jersey’s Adaptive Skateboarding clinic on October 11, 2026.
We’ve provided 37 T-shirts for participants and $1,500 to help purchase adaptive equipment.
Shred Co’s all-abilities sessions provide adaptive equipment, one-to-one instruction, and a pace set by each skater. Skateboarding meets people where they are.
We’re excited to support greater access to recreation, inclusion, and the opportunity for everyone to experience skateboarding. ❤️
Danny’s Corner
What Skateboarding Gave Me
I was an avid skateboarder during the 1990s. I skated just about every day it wasn’t raining or snowing—and sometimes bad weather didn’t stop us. We created our own makeshift skateparks in abandoned warehouses so we could keep skating through the colder, wetter days.
Looking back, skateboarding gave me much more than something fun to do.
It taught me persistence and determination. You could try a trick 50 times, fall 49 times, and still get back on the board because this might be the one. Nobody made me practice. There were no grades, awards, or requirements. The motivation was intrinsic. I wanted to improve simply because I loved doing it.
Skateboarding taught me balance—both physical and mental. It gave me an outlet for creativity and self-expression. It helped my mental wellness; I simply felt happier when I was skating. It connected me with other skateboarders and gave me a sense of camaraderie and belonging. And there was an incredible sense of freedom.
I don’t usually brag about my skateboarding abilities, but I was pretty good! Around 1996, my bag of tricks included ollies, frontside and backside 180 ollies, kickflips, varial flips, hardflips, and pressure flips. I could also land 360 kickflips—but only in my backside rotation. For whatever reason, that was the direction that worked for me.
And, yes, skateboarding came with some painful lessons. I broke a wrist, dislocated a shoulder, sprained ankles, and collected more scrapes and bruises than I could count.
But even those experiences taught me something.
You fall. You learn how to fall better. You get back up. You try again.
Every new trick that finally landed brought a feeling of accomplishment and built confidence and self-esteem. Skateboarding taught me that falling wasn’t necessarily failure—it was often part of learning.
Decades later, I can see why adaptive skateboarding means so much to me and why I’m excited for Rec Therapy Today® to support it. The benefits go far beyond riding a skateboard. Persistence. Creativity. Connection. Freedom. Confidence. Joy.
Those are experiences have shaped me into the person who I am today.
Thank you skateboarding.
Monthly Article Feature
10 Things I’ve Learned From 24½ Years Working in Behavioral Health
By: Danny W. Pettry II, M.Ed., M.S., LPC, NCC, CTRS-BH
I started working in a psychiatric hospital in 2002. Over the past 24½ years, I’ve worked with children, adolescents, and adults experiencing behavioral health challenges.
I’ve facilitated thousands of groups. I’ve met people on some of the hardest days of their lives. I’ve seen setbacks, breakthroughs, frustration, laughter, tears, and hope.
There are plenty of things I’ve learned from textbooks, continuing education courses, conferences, and other professionals. But some of the most important lessons I’ve learned came directly from the people I’ve had the privilege to work with.
Here are ten.
1. Every person is more than a diagnosis.
A diagnosis can help professionals understand symptoms and determine appropriate treatment. But it doesn’t tell you who a person is.
A person is not schizophrenia. They are not depression, bipolar disorder, addiction, or anxiety.
They are a person with interests, talents, relationships, dreams, fears, strengths, and a story.
I’ve learned to look for the person before the diagnosis.
2. Sometimes showing up matters more than saying the perfect thing.
Early in our careers, we can put a lot of pressure on ourselves to say exactly the right thing.
I’ve learned that sometimes people don’t need a brilliant therapeutic statement.
They need someone who is present.
Someone who listens.
Someone who treats them with dignity.
Someone who doesn’t give up on them.
Being genuinely present can be therapeutic.
3. Recreation is not “just something to do.”
I’ve spent my career believing in the therapeutic power of recreation, and my experiences in behavioral health have strengthened that belief.
I’ve watched music change the atmosphere of a room. I’ve watched someone who barely spoke begin interacting during a game. I’ve seen art become a safer way to express something difficult. I’ve seen exercise help people manage stress and tension.
Meaningful activity can provide purpose, connection, accomplishment, identity, and hope.
Research continues to recognize meaningful leisure and activity as important components of mental health and recovery.
4. Small successes aren’t really small.
Getting out of bed.
Coming to group.
Introducing yourself.
Trying an activity.
Talking to another person.
Laughing for the first time in days.
Completing something you didn’t think you could complete.
From the outside, these things might seem small. For someone struggling with their mental health, they can represent significant steps forward.
I’ve learned to notice them.
5. People need choices.
Behavioral health treatment can involve situations where people feel that much of their life is outside their control.
Whenever possible, I want to give people opportunities to choose.
What activity interests you?
Would you like to participate?
What goal matters to you?
What works for you?
Choice supports dignity, autonomy, and ownership. Trauma-informed care similarly emphasizes safety, collaboration, empowerment, voice, and choice.
6. Connection matters.
Human beings need other human beings.
I’ve watched people enter groups withdrawn and leave talking with someone they didn’t know an hour earlier.
Sometimes recreation creates connection without forcing it.
Two people play cards.
Someone passes a basketball.
A group laughs together.
People discover they like the same music.
Those moments matter. Recovery isn’t only about reducing symptoms. Relationships, community, meaningful roles, and social support are also important parts of recovery.
7. You never completely know what someone has been through.
Behavior usually has a story behind it.
Over the years, I’ve learned to become more curious and less quick to judge.
Instead of simply asking, “Why is this person behaving this way?” it can be more helpful to wonder, “What has happened in this person’s life, and what might they need right now?”
That doesn’t mean every behavior is acceptable. Boundaries and safety still matter.
But compassion and accountability can exist together.
8. Progress isn’t always a straight line.
People improve. People struggle. People have setbacks. People start again.
That’s human.
One difficult day doesn’t erase all the progress that came before it.
Recovery can happen through many different pathways and involves continued growth, managing setbacks, and developing resilience.
I’ve learned not to underestimate someone’s ability to begin again.
9. Hope is part of treatment.
I’ve met people who couldn’t see a future for themselves.
Sometimes, before people can believe things can get better, someone else has to hold a little hope for them.
Not false promises.
Not “Everything is going to be fine.”
But the genuine belief that change remains possible.
Hope is recognized as a foundational principle of recovery.
After 24½ years, I still believe in it.
10. I am still learning.
Perhaps this is the biggest lesson.
After thousands of groups and more than two decades in behavioral health, I don’t have everything figured out.
Every person is different.
Every group is different.
Every day can teach you something.
The people I’ve worked with have taught me about resilience, humor, courage, persistence, grief, creativity, kindness, and the human capacity to keep going.
I started this work in 2002 believing recreation could make a difference in people’s lives.
Twenty-four and a half years later, I believe it even more.
Behavioral health treatment certainly involves diagnoses, medications, assessments, treatment plans, and evidence-based interventions.
But it also involves something profoundly human:
Helping people rediscover connection, meaning, purpose, strengths, hope—and sometimes even joy.
That’s one of the reasons I’m proud to be a recreational therapist.
Did You Win Our September 2026 Giveaway?
🎉 Congratulations to Our Giveaway Winners!
In September, Rec Therapy Today held a special giveaway for our recreational therapy community. Five lucky winners will each receive a Rec Therapy Today T-shirt and an “I’m the Best Rec Therapist” coffee mug!
Congratulations to:
Kim S. — Rock Hill, SC
Bret G. — Sherwood, WI
Angelina F. — Cheshire, CT
Jenn G. — Waterford, CT
Felicia B. — Colorado Springs, CO
And 100 People received a FREE “I’m the Best Rec Therapist” sticker in the mail.
Thank you to everyone who participated! We appreciate having you as part of the Rec Therapy Today community. 💙
Stay tuned for more fun giveaways in the future!
Enter the Octover 2026 Giveaway!
🎃 October Giveaway! 👻
Five (5) people will be randomly selected to receive a physical copy of Danny Pettry’s Monster Game Night cards! Atual Size of Phsyical Game: Bridge size cards.
Plus, 100 people will receive a FREE “I’m a Spooktacular Rec Therapist” sticker! 🎃👻
Enter before NOON on October 10, 2026 so we can get the games to the winners before Halloween! 🎃
Good luck—and have a spooktacular October!
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Could You Be Part of Rec Therapy Today’s Future?
Rec Therapy Today was founded in 2004 with a commitment to supporting recreational therapists through resources, innovation, and professional pride; and started providing online conitnuing education courses in 2006.
I have no plans to step away anytime soon. However, I believe responsible leadership includes thinking about the distant future.
Ten, fifteen, or twenty years from now, Rec Therapy Today will need someone who believes in its purpose and wants to carry its work forward. That person may already be part of our community.
We are looking for people who believe:
We believe in the healing, transformational power of recreational therapy.
Would you ever consider leading Rec Therapy Today, protecting its mission, and helping it grow for the next generation of recreational therapists?
Completing this brief survey is not an application or a commitment. It simply allows you to express interest, share your ideas, and help us begin thinking about the long-term future of Rec Therapy Today.
Interested in being part of the conversation?