Membership Categories & Fees
- Registered Professional - $300.00
Applicant must have a degree or diploma in recreation therapy, therapeutic recreation or recreation and leisure studies from a nationally or internationally accredited post-secondary institution which contains a specific set of course work as outlined below.
NOTE: For Recreation Therapists who have been practising for a substantial period of time (generally 5+ years), other health related degree titles may be considered, although extra Therapeutic Recreation specific course work may be required. For new graduates or those new to the profession, a degree or diploma as listed above is required.
See detailed explanation of professional criteria below.
All Professional Members must fulfill yearly Continuing Education Units. The current requirement is 15 Continuing Education Units per year.
- Student Membership - $50.00
Applicant must be a full time (3 or more courses) student who is enrolled in a degree or diploma program in Therapeutic Recreation, Recreation or related fields.
Please note that student membership does not automatically guarantee professional membership upon graduation. Student members will be required to meet all professional membership criteria in effect at the time of application for professional membership.
- Associate Membership - $50.00
Applicant must be either a retired professional member or live outside of the province of Alberta.
CTRA Membership Additional Fee:
50.00 for Professionals / 25.00 for Students
If you wish to also become a member in the Canadian Therapeutic Recreation Association, the additional fee can be added to your ATRA membership fee. We will remit the fees on your behalf and you will receive a separate membership package from CTRA. Please note, if you live in Alberta, you must be an ATRA member in order to have membership in the national association.
NOTE: New members who join after October 31 of each year will pay half the yearly fee.
Professional Membership Criteria
A profession is partially defined as having a commonly held body of knowledge. This body of knowledge becomes the basis for identifying those individuals who are qualified for some form of professional recognition. For professional membership and professional registration, the Alberta Therapeutic Recreation Association (ATRA) requires an applicant to have a degree or diploma which contains a minimum number of specific content courses.
ATRA makes no attempt to prescribe how content is packaged into courses. That remains the choice of the curriculum developers. ATRA does determine the general nature of content that is acceptable to meet the professional membership and registration criteria. To do this, it is necessary for ATRA to deal with titles of courses in their review process. Thus, the titles of courses remain critical in identifying the nature of course content. ATRA does not "read into" or read beyond the titles of courses. Course titles are assumed to reflect the true nature of the course content. Courses must be valued at three credits or higher, with three credits being equal to three lecture hours per week.
Currently, the criteria for professional membership and professional registration in the Alberta Therapeutic Recreation Association is:
A degree or diploma in recreation therapy, therapeutic recreation or recreation and leisure studies from a nationally or internationally accredited post-secondary institution. A degree or diploma in a related health field will be considered on an individual basis provided the course content criteria have been met.
Course Content Criteria:
- Three Therapeutic Recreation Courses; and
- Three General Recreation Courses; and
- Six supportive courses from three clinically related areas
Therapeutic Recreation Courses
A therapeutic recreation content course is a highly structured and university/college approved course which focuses on the theory and/or philosophy and/or content of the field. The course title must contain the words "Therapeutic Recreation" or "Recreation Therapy" or refer to Recreation and/or Leisure for Special Populations. While important to the overall preparation of the student, practicum or internship courses do not fulfill the requirement for therapeutic recreation content courses.
General Recreation Courses
General recreation course requirements refer to general, not specialty, recreation areas of study. General recreation courses must be theoretical and/or philosophical in nature. The course title must include the words Recreation, Leisure, Play or Leadership. While important to the overall preparation of the student, practicum or internship courses do not fulfil the requirement for general recreation content courses.
Supportive Courses/Related Fields of Study
In reviewing the client populations served by Therapeutic Recreation, the expressive art therapies involved in Therapeutic Recreation, the functional processes involved in Therapeutic Recreation and the clinical skills used in Therapeutic Recreation, the following areas have been determined to be related to Therapeutic Recreation:
- Psychology (General, Abnormal, Educational, Counseling)
- Sociology (Group Dynamics, Leadership, Volunteerism)
- Education (Special, Physical, Early Childhood)
- Therapies (Music, Art, Dance, Drama)
- Health (Health Promotion, Wellness, Health Trends, Community Health, Rehabilitation)
- Aging (Gerontology, Aging, Aging Disorders)
- Medical (Anatomy, Biology, Physiology, Medical Terminology, Pharmacology)
- Research (Statistics, Evaluation, Research Methods)
NOTE: New graduates as of May 1, 2011 will be required to demonstrate completion of a minimum of 320 hours of internship placement/practicum. A minimum of 250 hours of this placement must have a clinical component and be completed under the supervision of a recreation therapist who is registered with their provincial association.