The Strengths-Based Approach-- How I Came to Know and Love It

Before I became a TR major, I had never heard of a strengths-based approach. All I really knew was the medical model, and the closest thing to a strengths-based approach that I knew of was the ICF (International Classification of Functioning, Disability, and Health). The reason for this is because, until the Fall of 2018, I was studying to be a physical therapist, not a recreational therapist.

Undergrad

I’ll try to keep this part short. In high school, I had no idea what I wanted to do in the future. It wasn’t something I thought about until my junior year when I began to look for and apply for colleges. I was focused on high school, getting good grades, and playing volleyball. Once I started actually thinking about what I wanted to do, I decided that I wanted to work with people who have disabilities and to have a positive impact on their lives. I applied to several schools except one to be a psychology major with intentions of continuing my education to become BCBA certified, like my dad. The one school that I did not apply to for psychology was Springfield College, and I applied for physical therapy. For me, this was a bit of “reach” school with the program I had applied to. They only accepted 40 students every year, so I tried to not get my hopes up. The reason I applied for PT in the first place was that my dad mentioned it to me, and had a connection I could use to get in some last minute shadowing hours. I remember checking the SC website on the day it was updated. “Status: Accepted” it read. I couldn’t believe it. I figured I had to go, since it’s such a great program and I, Lexi Pace, was accepted! I think it’s funny how the one school I applied to for something other than psychology is the one I ended up going to. I had never even been introduced to anything healthcare related until I got to Springfield College. Fast forward 3 years and a summer semester of PT grad school, and I decided it just wasn’t right for me. I was back to square one and decided to delve further into my passions and explore options that really catered to my interests. That’s when I found therapeutic recreation. The perfect match for my love of recreation and desire to give back to others. I found a graduate program actually, on the Springfield College website. I thought, “how amazing it would be to stay here at SC for another two years?!” And with that, I applied, was accepted, and began my TR journey in the Fall of 2019.

Thoughts About the Strengths-Based Approach

I love the way the strength-based approach molds and shapes each and every program that is created using it. It really makes each program about the participant, which ultimately is more important than the activities themselves, as mentioned in Lessons Learned by David Austin. As rec therapists, we want to create programs that are appropriately suited for our participants’ needs while allowing them to tap into an interest or passion of their own. Typically, people will gravitate toward activities that they enjoy and know that they’re good at. I think this is such a great place to start when brainstorming and planning an intervention of any kind because it puts the participant first, and is not monetarily biased or influenced. Of course, budgeting is very important in any field, but in order to truly improve the quality of life and wellbeing of your participants, you must put their needs at the top of the list. In rec therapy, the needs of participants will be met through the delivery of recreation as the service.

The strengths-based approach focuses on the participant’s strengths and not on their weaknesses. By doing this, the participant can be supported and empowered by their strengths to make improvements to overall wellbeing. I have really enjoyed learning about this approach and putting it into action with our school’s hands-on experiences like the service-learning project. When I was a PT major, we mostly operated on the medical model and sought to improve areas of weakness. This, of course, makes sense and is the nature of physical therapy as a field. However, I think this was one of the areas where I recognized that my passions didn’t align with the scope of the field. I wanted to help patients get back to independence, but I was taught to put their pathology or injury first to create a treatment or exercise plan. This process skips over the part where you see the person for who they are. I also really wanted to be able to develop meaningful relationships with each patient, but as a PT, I would likely be seeing several patients in one day, and wouldn’t really have time for that. Whereas, in rec therapy, I need to get to know the person deeper than the surface in order to create a meaningful and effective program for them. In doing this, I will discover their strengths whether the participant shares them with me or I figure them out on my own. The strengths-based approach forces you, in a good way, to see your participants for the amazing people that they are, helps you as a rec therapist develop great programs, and promotes positive change in the participant’s life and overall well being.

References:

Anderson, L., & Heyne, L. (2012). Therapeutic recreation practice: a strengths approach. State College, PA: Venture Publishing, Inc.

Austin, David R. (2016). Lessons learned: An open letter to recreational therapy students & practitioners. Sagamore Publishing, 2016.