Glossary
Recreational Therapist Terms & Vocabulary
15 essential recreational therapist terms with plain-English definitions: the vocabulary you’ll hear in training and on day one.
Key recreational therapist vocabulary
These 15 terms come up constantly in recreational therapist training, on the job and in interviews. Knowing them helps you follow instructions, document accurately and sound prepared.
- Activity analysis
- Breaking down an activity’s demands.
- Adaptive equipment
- Tools that make activities accessible.
- Assessment
- Evaluating needs and interests.
- Cognitive stimulation
- Activities that engage thinking.
- Community reintegration
- Returning to community life.
- CTRS
- Certified Therapeutic Recreation Specialist.
- Functional skills
- Skills for daily life.
- Goal
- A measurable outcome.
- Interdisciplinary team
- Healthcare professionals working together.
- Leisure education
- Teaching leisure skills.
- Progress note
- Documentation of progress.
- Quality of life
- Overall well-being.
- Skills for interacting.
- Therapeutic recreation
- Using recreation as treatment.
- Treatment plan
- Goals and interventions.
Practice these terms
Test yourself with the free Recreational Therapist practice test: it includes vocabulary questions built from this list. For a complete course, see Recreational Therapist training.
Browse terms from every career in our career glossary.