Rec. Therapy and Training

My internship supervisor gave me a little discussion to read about the difference between recreation therapists (which is my current title at my job at the hospital, before I get my masters, then I will be called an art therapist) and art therapists. The discussion was basically that if rec. therapists think they are the same as art therapists, they will ask to be art therapists without the proper training. This got me thinking about two things: one, how much I love the title of rec. therapist; and two, the idea of training and schooling.

First, I love being a rec. therapist. I have a lot of fun. Although art can be anything and therapy can be just about anything, I enjoy that I don't have to bring up art materials all the time. I can bring up the materials to make no-sew pillows or other little projects. While this is a craft, I can see that these are transitional objects and that they can really give the client a sense of achievement. I can also bring up a white board and play "Wheel of Fortune" or Pictionary. In the past, these have been very beneficial to clients in challenging their mind and getting their thoughts off of whatever is going on in their life or the hospital. With the children, I have also gotten little tubs of water that are good for getting kids to get their hands wet and play a little bit. I also have books about drama techniques. Most of my seasoned coworkers come to me for tips and ideas because they know I'm full of them. I like feeling unrestrained by materials.

Second, the idea of schooling and training. Although I agree that some training and oversight is necessary, there are lots of people who just know things and are good at what they do. The beginnings of therapy started with Freud being interested in what was on the mind of middle and upper class women from Vienna. After that, to be a psychoanalyst, people had to be in analysis for 6 years and then they'd be able to take the techniques and apply them to their clients. However, now that there are standards, which can be a good and bad thing, people often learn about only certain types of theories or they learn things for a test and then cannot apply it to their clients, etc. This has happened to me and others. I am encouraged to take a test to get my LPC (Licensed Practicing Counselor) so that insurance can bill me. The LPC test is a lot of money, the book to study in a lot of money, and I won't be tested on much that I learned in school. Also, after taken some practice questions recently, the test just seems to want to trick people into answers. Basically, the people who made it want people to think with their ninja mind. And after this test, whose to say that any of it applies to what I'm doing at the hospital or where ever I am. Sometimes I'm glad that there are standards, however, that still doesn't mean that a therapist is good, that they know what they're doing, or anything like that. It means that they can jump through hoops and take some tests. Yet, there are people with natural gifts that Iwish I could hone in on and they don't have degrees due to whatever circumstances.

I'm glad I was sparked to think about these things by a woman being passive aggressive. I do enjoy my job and I enjoy school. I don't think those things are going to make me a professional. I think job experience and having morals and ethics will help me become a good therapist.