Rec Therapy Today – September 2026
The A.I. Issue
A monthly resource for recreational therapists since 2004
From the Editor
Hello Forward-Thinking Rec Therapist —
Welcome to the September 2026 A.I. Issue!
This month, we’re exploring how artificial intelligence can help recreational therapists generate ideas, save time, and work more efficiently.
AI can be a powerful tool—but it cannot replace your empathy, professional judgment, creativity, or human connection.
I hope this issue inspires you to use the tool while keeping the work human.
Your friend and partner in Rec Therapy,
Danny
Danny W. Pettry II, M.Ed., M.S., LPC, NCC, CTRS-BH
AI + Recreational Therapy: The Future Starts Now
SAVE THE DATE
Saturday, September 19, 2026
Rec Therapy Today® will present two or three FREE webinars exploring how artificial intelligence can support recreational therapy practice, education, documentation, creativity, and professional growth.
CALL FOR SPEAKERS
Do you have practical ideas, experience, or insights about AI and recreational therapy? We are currently seeking presenters for this special virtual event.
Share what you know. Inspire the profession. Help recreational therapists prepare for the future.
Opening Insight
Artificial intelligence can help recreational therapists brainstorm ideas, organize information, and reduce time spent on routine tasks. It may even help us explore activity adaptations or identify patterns in participation.
However, AI should remain a tool—not the therapist. It cannot replace professional judgment, ethical responsibility, genuine empathy, or the ability to respond to what a person needs in the moment. We can use AI to support our work while keeping people, relationships, and meaningful experiences at the heart of recreational therapy.
Source: Purrington, S. (2025, October 22). Why artificial intelligence will never replace recreational therapists. American Therapeutic Recreation Association. Read the article on LinkedIn
Rec Therapist Identity
AI can generate a list of activities in seconds. However, choosing an activity is only the beginning of recreational therapy.
A recreational therapist observes body language, listens to tone of voice, notices changes in energy, and adjusts the intervention in real time. We know when to encourage someone, when to simplify the challenge, when to change direction, and when a person needs to feel heard.
AI may suggest what could work. The recreational therapist determines what will work for this person, with these needs, in this moment. That human connection, adaptability, and professional judgment are at the heart of our identity.
Sources:
Purrington, S. (2025, October 22). Why artificial intelligence will never replace recreational therapists. American Therapeutic Recreation Association. Read the article on LinkedIn
AI Career Index. (2026). Will AI replace recreational therapists in 2026? Read the AI Career Index analysis
Rec Therapy Insights
The quality of an AI response often depends on the quality of the prompt. A vague request may produce a generic activity. A clear prompt gives the AI enough context to offer a more useful starting point.
Before writing your prompt, include four key details:
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Person: Who will participate?
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Need: What treatment need will be addressed?
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Outcome: What should the intervention help the person achieve?
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Setting: Where will the intervention take place?
Vague prompt:
“Give me a recreational therapy activity.”
Better prompt:
“Suggest three 30-minute recreational therapy group interventions for adults receiving inpatient behavioral-health treatment. The treatment need is social isolation, and the desired outcome is increased positive interaction. Activities must be appropriate for a small indoor space and require minimal supplies.”
Always review the response for accuracy, safety, accessibility, and clinical appropriateness. AI provides a starting point—the recreational therapist makes the professional decision. Never include names or other information that could identify a client.
Source: OpenAI. (2026). Prompt engineering best practices for ChatGPT. Read the official guidance
Evidenced Based Insight
Evidence-Based Book Insight
Co-Intelligence: Living and Working with AI By Ethan Mollick
AI can be impressive—but its abilities are uneven.
Ethan Mollick calls this the jagged technological frontier. AI may complete one difficult task well and then give a confident but incorrect answer to another.
What the Research Found
In a study of 758 knowledge workers, people using AI:
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Completed 12.2% more tasks
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Worked 25.1% faster
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Produced results rated more than 40% higher in quality
However, when participants used AI for a task outside its abilities, they were 19% less likely to reach the correct answer.
What This Means for RTs
Use AI to brainstorm, organize, and create a starting point.
Then use your professional judgment to check the result for accuracy, safety, accessibility, and clinical appropriateness.
AI can assist with the work. The recreational therapist remains responsible for the outcome.
Sources:
Mollick, E. (2024). Co-intelligence: Living and working with AI. Portfolio.
Dell’Acqua, F., et al. (2026). Navigating the jagged technological frontier: Field experimental evidence of the effects of artificial intelligence on knowledge worker productivity and quality. Organization Science. Read the study
RT Spotlight:
September 2026 Recreational Therapist of the Month
Courtney Peterson, B.S., CTRS
Rec Therapy Today is proud to recognize Courtney Peterson as our September 2026 Recreational Therapist of the Month!
Courtney earned her Bachelor of Science in Therapeutic Recreation from Eastern Michigan University in Ypsilanti, Michigan, in 2018. She is a Certified Therapeutic Recreation Specialist (CTRS).
Courtney provides recreational therapy services to adolescents and adults ages 12 and older in an acute inpatient psychiatric setting. She works with individuals experiencing a variety of mental health diagnoses and treatment needs.
Her group-based interventions address coping skills, leisure education, stress management, social skills, self-esteem, communication, mindfulness, creative expression, and healthy leisure exploration.
Courtney knew she wanted a career that would allow her to help others without making every interaction feel clinical. Recreational therapy fit her personality because it gave her opportunities to be creative, connect with people, and make a meaningful difference.
“I like creating groups where they can laugh, be creative, socialize, and have a break from everything they’re dealing with while still working toward therapeutic goals,” Courtney shared.
Her advice for new recreational therapists is simple and important: Be flexible and learn how to adapt activities to different populations, abilities, and situations.
Courtney admires the recreational therapists she has worked alongside throughout her career. She has learned something different from each of them and appreciates how every recreational therapist brings a unique personality and approach to the profession.
Looking toward the future, Courtney hopes recreational therapy will become more widely recognized and utilized as an essential part of mental health treatment. She also wants others to understand that recreational therapy is much more than providing activities.
Courtney enjoys Rec Therapy Today because of the variety of continuing-education opportunities and the ability to find education that is relevant to the populations she serves.
Congratulations, Courtney Peterson, our September 2026 Recreational Therapist of the Month!
Wear Your Recreational Therapy Pride!
Our September 2026 Recreational Therapist of the Month, Courtney Peterson, B.S., CTRS, has created a collection of cool recreational therapy T-shirts!
These shirts give recreational therapists a fun way to celebrate the profession, show their RT pride, and help others recognize the important work recreational therapists do.
Interested in ordering one?
View Courtney’s designs and complete the shirt order form
Thank you, Courtney, for using your creativity to promote recreational therapy!
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.
Actionable Tool
Turn an Activity Into an Intervention
Try this simple AI exercise. Copy the prompt below, paste it into ChatGPT, and replace the information inside the brackets with your own choices.
Copy and Paste This Prompt
Act as an idea-generating assistant for a recreational therapist.
Create three ways to adapt [ACTIVITY] for [POPULATION] in [SETTING] to address [TREATMENT NEED OR DESIRED OUTCOME].
For each idea, include:
- A brief description
- Materials needed
- Steps for facilitating the intervention
- One adaptation
- Two processing questions
- One observable outcome
Use clear language. Do not make clinical decisions. Remind me to review each idea for safety, accessibility, and appropriateness.
Example
Replace the blanks with:
- Activity: Uno
- Population: Adolescents receiving inpatient psychiatric treatment
- Setting: Small group room
- Treatment need or desired outcome: Practice positive communication
ChatGPT will generate three possible ways to turn Uno into a purposeful recreational therapy intervention. Review the suggestions and use your professional judgment to adapt the ideas for your participants.
Protect Privacy
Never enter a participant’s name, date of birth, medical-record number, facility information, or other identifying details into a public AI tool. Use general descriptions such as “an adult receiving inpatient behavioral-health treatment.”
AI can help you generate ideas. The recreational therapist remains responsible for safety, accessibility, clinical appropriateness, and treatment decisions.
Outcome Reminder
An activity alone is not recreational therapy. A game, craft, exercise, or leisure experience becomes a therapeutic intervention when it is intentionally selected, facilitated, and evaluated to help a person achieve a meaningful outcome.
Before choosing an activity, ask: What does this person need to achieve?
The answer might be improved communication, increased confidence, better stress management, greater independence, or stronger social skills. Once the desired outcome is clear, the recreational therapist can select or adapt an activity to help the person move toward it.
AI can generate hundreds of activity ideas. The recreational therapist provides the purpose.
The activity is the tool. The outcome is the purpose.
Recreational Therapists Voices
We asked recreational therapists to finish this sentence:
“Recreational therapy has made a difference because…”
Recreational therapy has made a difference because…”
- “…healing isn’t just about restoring basic physical function—it’s about giving people back their independence, joy, and meaningful connection to life.”
- “…it helps people find purpose and meaning in their lives now and in the future.”
- “…it makes people smile while they work toward their treatment goals.”
- “…we see the real person.”
- “…it heals the whole person through what they find meaningful.”
- “…it gives people a purpose to do the things they have to do so they can return to the things they love.”
- “…it helps people rediscover their passions and regain their skills, confidence, and independence.”
- “…everyone deserves the opportunity to reach their goals in a way that cultivates joy instead of stress.”
- “…we are more than fun and games. We provide interventions and teach skills that our clients need.”
- “…our methods help lower walls that remain up for many other professionals.”
- “…it gives people their sense of belonging back.”
- “…it gives individuals a light at the end of a dark tunnel.”
One powerful reflection
“Recreation therapy isn’t about throwing interventions at someone and hoping something sticks. It’s about recognizing that people already possess strengths, abilities, and resilience. We assess, discover what already exists within them, and come alongside them as they build on those strengths.”
Different settings. Different populations. One shared purpose: helping people live meaningful lives.
Danny’s Corner
In January 1995, I wrote down a simple goal: Get on the internet.
The internet was still new and interesting. My family did not have it at home, and I was curious to find out what it was all about.
I finally achieved that goal on December 31, 1995.
A group of my friends—the cool kids—gathered at my friend Justin’s house to spend New Year’s Eve playing Dungeons & Dragons. We were a group of young people with different interests.
Justin was a Star Trek fan and fiction writer. One Chris loved Transformers and Dungeons & Dragons; and played on the middle school football team. My brother, Jimmy, was a Star Wars fan and skateboarder. The other Chris enjoyed Dungeons & Dragons and played on his middle-school football team. Johnson was a skateboarder. I was a skateboarder, too; and kind of the odd one.
That evening, everyone gathered on the floor and began playing Dungeons & Dragons. I had another adventure in mind.
I asked Justin if I could use the internet.
He showed me how to get connected. His sister, Jenni gave me a few basic instructions. Then I began exploring.
I searched for No Doubt, Gwen Stefani, Nirvana, Kurt Cobain, skateboarding, and Alien Workshop skateboards; and of course… Cindy Crawford. I learned how to enter a chat room. Each discovery led to another question, another search, and another part of this new world.
My friends continued their Dungeons & Dragons game throughout the night. Every so often, I would interrupt them to announce one of my cool internet discoveries.
I stayed online through the final hours of 1995 and into the early morning of January 1, 1996.
That was the first time I used the internet.
I did not understand how much it would eventually change our lives. I only knew that it was new, interesting, and filled with possibilities. I wanted to explore it.
Artificial intelligence feels a little like that to me today. We may not know exactly where it will lead or how it will change our profession. We do not have to understand everything before we begin exploring.
We can start with curiosity. We can ask questions, try something new, and share what we discover with others.
Nearly 31 years later, the tools have changed—but I still believe curiosity can lead us toward possibilities we cannot yet imagine.
—Danny W. Pettry II
Monthly Article Feature
Start With Why: The Belief Behind Rec Therapy Today
By: Danny W. Pettry II, M.Ed., M.S., LPC, NCC, CTRS-BH
Rec Therapy Today creates continuing-education courses, newsletters, conferences, free resources, books, stickers, apparel, and professional-pride campaigns.
Those are the things we make. They are our what.
However, they are not the reason Rec Therapy Today exists.
Everything we do and everything we create is focused on one central belief:
We believe in the healing, transformational power of recreational therapy.
That is our why.
Starting From the Inside
In Start With Why, Simon Sinek explains that inspiring organizations begin with their purpose, cause, or belief. They communicate from the inside out—starting with why they exist before explaining how they work or what they provide.
It is easy for a continuing-education company to begin with what it sells:
“We offer online CEU courses.”
That statement may be accurate, but it does not fully explain Rec Therapy Today.
Our courses are not the heart of our organization. Our belief in recreational therapy is.
We believe recreational therapists help people rediscover joy, rebuild confidence, develop skills, strengthen relationships, regain independence, and reconnect with meaningful parts of life.
We believe recreation can become a powerful vehicle for healing and transformation when it is intentionally selected and facilitated by a trained recreational therapist.
We believe the world needs more people who understand what recreational therapy can accomplish.
Our Why Guides Our Work
Our why influences every decision we make.
When we create a continuing-education course, our goal is not simply to provide hours for recertification. We want recreational therapists to gain practical ideas that help them become more confident and effective.
When we publish a newsletter, we want recreational therapists to feel informed, inspired, connected, and proud of their profession.
When we create a free resource, we want to place a useful tool into the hands of someone who can use it to improve another person’s life.
When we recognize a Recreational Therapist of the Month, we are not simply sharing a biography. We are celebrating the people who bring the healing, transformational power of recreational therapy to life every day.
When we create stickers, shirts, and professional-pride messages, we are reminding recreational therapists that their work matters. We want them to feel proud to say, “I am a recreational therapist.”
The products may be different, but the belief behind them remains the same.
Continuing Education Is How We Help
If our belief is our why, continuing education through innovation is one of our most important hows.
Recreational therapists serve people with changing needs in complex environments. They deserve education that is practical, relevant, accessible, and created with their profession in mind.
Learning helps recreational therapists expand their skills. New skills build confidence. Greater confidence improves practice. Better practice creates more opportunities for people to experience meaningful outcomes.
That is why continuing education matters to us.
A certificate may document that a course was completed. The real value is what happens afterward—when a recreational therapist applies an idea, adapts an intervention, reaches someone who was difficult to reach, or helps a participant move closer to a goal.
More Than Courses
Rec Therapy Today has offered continuing education and resources for many years, but we have always wanted to be more than a place to earn CEUs.
We want to support a profession.
We want to help recreational therapists grow.
We want to advocate for the value of their work.
We want to create tools that save them time and strengthen their practice.
We want to encourage professional pride and help recreational therapists explain that their work is much more than providing activities.
Most importantly, we want more people to experience the outcomes that recreational therapy can make possible.
The Belief That Moves Us Forward
Technology will change. Educational formats will change. The needs of recreational therapists will continue to evolve.
Rec Therapy Today will evolve, too.
But our why will remain at the center:
We believe in the healing, transformational power of recreational therapy.
That belief guided our beginning. It guides what we create today. It will guide the future of Rec Therapy Today.
We do not create courses merely to distribute information.
We create because recreational therapists use knowledge to change lives.
We do not promote recreational therapy simply because it is our profession.
We promote it because we have seen what happens when people rediscover hope, confidence, connection, independence, joy, and purpose.
That is why Rec Therapy Today exists.
And that is why we will keep learning, creating, supporting, and advocating.
Source: Inspired by Simon Sinek’s Golden Circle framework and Start With Why. Learn about the Golden Circle
FREE CEU Course for A.I Month
Get This Course FREE!
Use coupon code GENAI at checkout to enroll in this course for free.
Offer ends at noon on September 30, 2026.
August 2026 Winners
At Rec Therapy Today, generosity is part of who we are.
We love giving back to the recreational therapists who make a difference every day.
Thousands Downloaded Our FREE Ebook Resources!
100 Readers Received a FREE Cookie Recipe Magazine in the mail.
100 Readers Received a FREE Rainy Day Activity Book in the mail.
15 People Won this Hardcover Book
Tena W. — McKinney, Texas
Mandy Y. — Portland, Maine
Diane G. — Suffolk, Virginia
Dawn R. — Amherst, Wisconsin
Julie S. — Holland, Michigan
Mika G. — Fremont, California
Brandy R. — Cordova, Tennessee
Alicia G. — Casa Grande, Arizona
Diana W. — San Diego, California
Sabrina W. — Rochester, New York
Nancy P. — Port St. Lucie, Florida
Sallie C. — New Rochelle, New York
Stephanie C. — Farmington, Missouri
Michelle M. — Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Kayleen W. — Bunker Hill, West Virginia
12 Elite Members Received a Rec Therapy Today T-Shirt!
12 Elite Members Received a “Rec Therapist of the Year” Coffee Mug!
100 People Won FREE Stickers
Four (4) Lucky Winners Received a Rec My Life Prize Bundle!
Lori D. — Springfield, Missouri
Heather S. — Columbus, Ohio
Jennifer T. — Fillmore, California
Robin G. — Blue Springs, Missouri
Never Miss an Issue
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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?