This is the story of my journey to becoming my own version of the Empowered Therapeutic Recreation Professional.
After 10 years in the field of Therapeutic Recreation, I can tell you with 100% certainty that I have no regrets about my career choice. Would that have always been the case? Unfortunately, I have not always felt this way. Over my career, I have made great strides in developing my confidence to do the life-changing, therapeutic work that I believe in so deeply.
I want to share a bit of my story, in case you may resonate with some aspects of it. I want you to know that if you are currently struggling like I once was, you are not alone. The good news is that there is a light on the other side of the tunnel.
From Victim Mentality to Empowerment
Personally, I struggled a lot over these past ten years with a few big issues.
Imposter syndrome, burnout, and compassion fatigue followed close behind me as I moved from each position and company I worked for. No matter what team I was on, or what population I served, I had a little voice inside my head that would become exceptionally mean to me in times of stress and self-doubt would seep in.
I know firsthand how challenging it can be to enter the field as a young and enthusiastic practitioner and have your spark diminished by self-conscious thoughts fueled by those around you. The seemingly constant belittlement of a therapeutic practice utilizing non-pharmaceutical interventions and thoroughly supported by research to help improve endless positive outcomes would send me reeling…
Did I make the wrong choice in pursuing the field of therapeutic recreation as a career?
Am I not as smart/worthy/important as the others I am working with?
Should I quit my job (that I ABSOLUTELY adore) and do something else that more people understand?
It was a constant internal struggle that left me exhausted and discouraged. I felt like I was sold this dream of a career, but never prepared for the harsh reality of being a Recreation Therapist in a world that doesn’t always see the value in leisure, recreation, and play.
I felt isolated, confused, lost, and victimized.
Making the Conscious Choice
I knew I couldn’t continue my career this way, so I had to make a choice.
Option number one quit my job and do something else to make a living. Even if I wasn’t enthusiastic or passionate about it. Or option number two, make the conscious choice to continue working as a Recreation Therapist and do whatever it took to resolve my internal struggle so I could show up and serve others from a place of confidence and strength.
I’m happy to report I went with option number two. I knew deep in my gut that SOMETHING had to change. And I had to be the one to change it. But how was I going to do it? Well, that was for me to figure out.
I KNEW that it was up to me to do the internal work to figure out why my whole day could be ruined by an off-hand comment of another interdisciplinary team member. Or why hearing “no” from an administrator about a new program proposal I believed in whole-heartedly would squash my enthusiasm.
Most importantly, I needed to figure out how I was going to overcome my very own self-deprecating thoughts so I could begin to show up as the EXCEPTIONAL Recreation Therapist that I knew I could be. I needed to figure out how to become, The Empowered Therapeutic Recreation Professional.
The Empowered Therapeutic Recreation Professional
I have decided to share what my journey looked like in this process of moving from victim mentality to empowerment. Essentially it followed four major themes.
- Understanding the process of empowerment.
- Diving deep into the research and increasing my knowledge base.
- Bringing awareness to my attitude, capabilities, and opportunity.
- Identifying my unique areas of strengths
I am so happy to share that I have taken these four core concepts that helped TREMENDOUSLY change my outlook on my career and turned them into an NCTRC CEU-approved online course for you all. The Empowered Therapeutic Recreation Professional is available to you now by following this link.
I hope this article was helpful along your journey to becoming your own version of The Empowered Therapeutic Recreation Professional.
I’d love to know your biggest takeaways in the comments below!