Recreation Therapy
Recreation therapy (RT) is a health profession that was established at LA General Medical Center in 1964, which provides comprehensive, age appropriate and culturally sensitive treatment services, designed to optimize the use of the patient’s physical, social, and cognitive functional abilities, to facilitate the development and maintenance of a safe, healthy and satisfying social/leisure lifestyle, for individuals with mental, emotional, social, or physical limitations.
Recreation Therapy at LA General Medical Center
Recreation Therapists provide support services to the emergency room staff. They provide crisis intervention treatment activities to reduce symptoms and help the patients cope with their situation and illness. Using crisis intervention theory, the ideal point to begin Recreation Therapy Service is in the resolution phase of the crisis. As the patient crisis peaks in the emergency room, the resolution phase begins. While patients are still waiting for placement, this presents a window of opportunity to begin treatment sooner than has been traditionally provided. There is a wide range of functional behavior displayed in the resolution phase of crisis. Recreation Therapy offers a wide range of activities to meet these needs. Recreation therapy activities are intrinsically motivating when patients are allowed an element of choice. Allowing patients to make activity choices when they are in the emergency room restores dignity and a sense of control, which may have been lost by involuntary commitment.
Location and Contact:
Diagnostic Tower
2051 Marengo St.
Los Angeles, CA 90033
(323) 409-4959
Hours: 7:30am-4pm
RT’s evaluate/develop individualized treatment plans within 72 hours of admission including probable needs at discharge based on diagnosis, prognosis, degree of cognitive disability, and patient’s need in order to develop an individualized treatment plan. Process includes introduction/orientation to service, initial interview and diagnostic activity.
Location and Contact:
Inpatient Tower
2051 Marengo St.
Los Angeles, CA 90033
(323) 409-8694
Hours: 7:30am-4pm
RT program is a specialized service in order to improve the patient’s quality of life, this program focuses on providing those services and support needed to help severely and persistent psychiatrically disabled patients remain in the community. It is directed at helping that patient successfully maintain a place to live, meaningful relationships, and involvement in work and leisure activities. Through the provision of group and individual treatment and case management the RT promotes medication compliance, sobriety and a stabilization of mental health symptoms. These are essential ingredients for sustaining community tenure.
Location and Contact:
Clinic Tower
1100 N. State St.
Los Angeles, CA 90033
(323) 409-4952
Hours: 7:30am-4pm
RT’s provide services for the adult and adolescent population. Certified Recreation Therapists complete initial assessments/evaluations and individualized treatment plan for each patient. RT’s Provide individual and/or group therapeutic treatment sessions based on the patient’s needs, capabilities and functional level including adapted activities to enable maximum level of engagement based on patient’s level of function through life skills management, anger/stress management, social/leisure skill development, creative expression, reality orientation, community reintegration and leisure discharge planning to enable continuous participation in social/leisure activities. The recreation therapy department also provides clinical internship training program for recreation therapy interns/students that began in the Fall of 1965 as well as orientation sessions for medical staff and other allied health professionals.
Location and Contact:
Augustus F. Hawkins Mental Health Building
1720 E. 120th Street
Los Angeles, CA 90059
(424) 338-2425
Hours: 7:30am-4pm
