Back in June, I took up colouring. Yes, colouring—yes, I’m twenty-four, but interestingly, instead of making fun of me, my friends were intrigued and in the span of five days, three of them picked up pencil crayons or markers with me, and also began to enjoy the calming effects of going back to childhood, if you will, and colouring, purely for the purpose of fun.

This is the intent of therapeutic recreation: to de-stress by engaging the mind and body in another task that is meaningful and fun for the participant, but can have very positive impact on their psychological wellbeing. Therapeutic recreation facilitators, or recreation therapists, are often found in children’s hospitals (called Child Life Specialists/Therapists or “play therapists”), rehabilitation facilities, and seniors’ housing, personal care/nu