Essay On Therapeutic Recreation

For individuals with mental or physical disabilities, the overall goal of their therapeutic recreation is often to improve that individual’s health and quality of life. One’s self-esteem plays a key role in their quality of life as self-esteem is a key component of many socioemotional problems such as depression, anxiety and addiction; yet, therapeutic recreation specialists a have noted deficiencies in self-esteem among persons with disabilities (Weiss 21). The causes of this low self-esteem many reside from many different sources thus therapeutic recreation specialists should focus on using techniques and services that not only improve self-esteem but also teach the individual with disabilities how to adjust and cope with difficult circumstances

In the Tripartite Model there are three processes to develop self-esteem: being, becoming and acquiring (Weiss 22). In the being stage, the individual is taught to see themselves as an essence of the universe, part of humanity or an aspect of nature. The self-esteem arrived at through the ‘being’ stage is innate to humankind. The individual is taught the value of existence as they build self-esteem based upon their sense of being and living in the world (Weiss 22). The second stage, becoming, focuses on the development of qualities that are intrinsic to the individual and relates primarily to the development of one’s inner core (Weiss 22). The individual is taught to value themselves based upon their unique qualities and abilities. In the final stage, acquiring, the individual learns to value all of the other features that contribute to their self-esteem such as skills, accomplishments, positions, worldly goods, and appearance. The Tripartite Model seeks to build a full and complex sense of self-esteem for the individual as the model focuses on teaching the individual to have a more balanced self-esteem that is not solely based on their skills and

In the being stage, the therapeutic recreation specialist should unconditionally accept and welcome the client in order to build their innate sense of self. During the becoming stage the therapeutic recreation specialist should model behavior that is morally responsible and provide opportunities for clients to become more rational, honest, just and independent (Weiss 23). Essentially, in the being and becoming stage, the therapeutic recreation specialist should act as a model for the individual with disabilities and guide them towards understanding what the basis of their self-esteem should be. In the acquiring stage the therapeutic recreation specialist should act as a guide, helping the individual to understand the multifaceted nature of self-esteem and teaching them that they are responsible for the development of their own self-esteem. Throughout the different stages, the therapeutic recreation specialist must focus on creating an overall sense of self for the individual; the more rounded and balanced the individual’s self-esteem, the more likely they will be able to stand up to adversity and work through the problems that will arise as a result of their