WHAT'S BEHIND THE NAME CHANGE

TO SOUTHEAST RECREATIONAL THERAPY SYMPOSIUM

On March 2, 2007 the Board of Directors of the Southeast Therapeutic Recreation Symposium voted unanimously to approve changing the name of the organization and the symposium to the Southeast Recreational Therapy Symposium (SRTS). Since most therapeutic recreation specialists and recreational therapists are employed in the provision of recreational therapy treatment services it is appropriate that the focus of the organization should be recreational therapy treatment services. If the focus is to be recreational therapy treatment services then it is appropriate that the name of the organization and the symposium also reflect the focus on recreational therapy treatment services. The use of the term recreational therapy also has historical relevance since STRS traces its roots back to the Southern Regional Institutes on Recreation in Hospitals sponsored by the University of North Carolina which were the first regional, annual forums conducted throughout the fifties and sixties. During these Institutes, leaders in medicine, recreation and education debated the theory and practice of recreation as a therapy which led to the use of the term recreational therapy to describe the focus of the evolving profession prior to the use of the term therapeutic recreation. After 25 years of service to the profession as the Southeast Therapeutic Recreation Symposium, the Board of Directors expresses pride in entering the next decade as the Southeast Recreational Therapy Symposium (SRTS), with a focus on the future of recreational therapy treatment services and a respect for our historical roots. SRTS will continue to provide an excellent continuing education experience, at a reasonable cost, for those who provide recreational therapy treatment services.