For those recovering from addiction, relearning how o focus leisure time is critical for recovery.
“What we choose to do in our free time is part of what makes us unique,” says Veronica Spinden, CTRS, MSRT, Allied Clinical Therapist at Penn Medicine Princeton House Behavioral Health’s inpatient site. “When leisure time has been occupied by substance use in the past, patients need to relearn who they want to be and how to safely structure that time in a way that’s meaningful moving forward.”
At the inpatient site, allied clinical therapists work in partnership with patients to help them consider their skills and interests, discover the activities they enjoy, and overcome barriers. Through recreation therapy several times a week, patients learn to:
- Use leisure to build coping skills
- Regain healthy social connections with others
- Separate the past from current interactions
- Set individual goals for the effective, structured use of leisure time
- Relearn how to have fun and laugh
Therapy sessions include a wide variety of guided interactive games, crafts, exercise groups, and leisure education. Inpatients also have access to two on-site gyms with activities like ping pong.
“These experiences may not always feel like therapy to patients, but they are finding themselves again and building skills that they can apply to their lives after discharge,” says Allied Clinical Therapist Jourdan Constants, CTRS, BSRT. “Our goals are to help them increase function physically, mentally, and spiritually while enhancing self-esteem and self-awareness.”
For more information about inpatient services, visit princetonhouse.org or call 609.497.3355.
Article as seen in the Summer 2020 issue of Princeton House Behavioral Health Today.
