5 Reasons Why Recreation Therapy Has Gained Significant Attention Post-Covid Pandemic
| Recreation Therapy, also known as Therapeutic Recreation, is a field recognized for its mission to bring joy and personal therapeutic development through the design and implementation of recreational activities. This field has seen growing interest from international students following the Covid pandemic. Let’s explore the five reasons why this field has suddenly garnered so much attention: |
| Psychological and mental health needs: The Covid-19 pandemic has caused significant stress and anxiety within communities. Recreation Therapy plays a crucial role in providing recreational activities and mental recovery for individuals and groups, helping them achieve a sense of peace and balance in their daily lives. |
| Increased awareness and importance of mental health: The public and community have now recognized the importance of mental health and are seeking related services and professionals. Recreation Therapy meets this need by providing recreational activities and mental care, improving individuals’ quality of life and mental well-being. |
| Government support for physical health and disease prevention: Post-pandemic, awareness of maintaining health and disease prevention has increased, and governments in developed countries have introduced policies to enhance public health. Recreation Therapy focuses on promoting play, exercise, and stress-reducing activities to enhance health and reduce the risk of diseases related to unhealthy lifestyles. |
| Innovation and technology application: After the Covid-19 pandemic, the Recreation Therapy field has adapted and leveraged digital technologies to provide remote recreational and therapeutic activities (virtual reality therapy). This has opened up many new opportunities in this field and increased interest in Recreation Therapy. |
| The development of AI: With the development of AI, which has the potential to replace many jobs post-pandemic, the demand for jobs that AI cannot replace has significantly increased. Therefore, many international students have chosen to study Recreation Therapy as it trains professionals to create and implement interactive and recreational therapeutic activities—work that AI cannot replace.
Not only Recreation Therapy, but other “hot” fields in healthcare such as Nursing, General Medicine, Pharmacy, Psychology, etc., have also shown no signs of cooling down post-pandemic. However, when comparing the entry requirements and output demands of Recreation Therapy with two closely related fields—Nursing and Psychology—the differences are clear. For instance: The entry requirements (English proficiency, average GPA, scores in Math-Chemistry-Biology) for Nursing are typically higher and more competitive than for Recreation Therapy. Conversely, while the entry requirements are not much different, the output demands (degrees, total supervised practice hours, local professional certification) for Psychology are stricter than for Recreation Therapy (detailed comparison available here). Psychology, medicine, nursing, etc., are quite popular and sought-after fields in healthcare with high demand and attractive income levels. This leads to high competition in these fields, with many Vietnamese students who meet the entry requirements still unable to compete with international students from other countries. Meanwhile, Recreation Therapy belongs to this group but is less popular in Asia and developing countries, so the competition rate is lower than in other fields, and the acceptance rate for international students choosing this field is higher. Additionally, governments in developed countries like the U.S. and Canada are actively introducing policies to promote workforce development in this field. Therefore, understanding residency policies and choosing to study Recreation Therapy where these favorable policies apply could be the key to a quick path to residency. To help parents and students understand in detail about the Recreation Therapy field and the pathway to residency in Canada, NEEC has decided to organize a seminar on the topic “Recreation Therapy – The Shortest Path to Canadian Residency”. Time: 9:00 – 11:00 AM, Sunday, July 16, 2023 Venue: NEEC Office – 9th Floor – Yoco Building, 41 Nguyen Thi Minh Khai, Ben Nghe Ward, District 1, HCMC Registration form: Here
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