Participant Interview

On October 14, 2009 I conducted an interviewed a women named, Deborah. Deborah is a fifty year old widowed women with post polio syndrome. I received her contact information through a friend of mine who, is Deborah's in home nurse. I contacted Deborah through email and received a quick response, accepting my offer to interview her. I conducted the interview at her residence in Mesa. She was a extremely personable, and greeted me with cookies!
Being that Deborah's disability limits her walking, I wanted to focus more on less physical leisure activities.

Right off the bat, I noticed Deborah has a life full of love and care, but because of her disability, is reluctant in making new relationships. Deborah enjoys taking her two dogs for walked around her neighborhood on her wheelchair. Deborah also enjoys online video games as well as playing card games with her son. Deborah is a comparative person and hates loosing at Scrabble. During the interview, Deborah told me her least favorite leisure activity is watching TV. Deborah would rather participate in leisure activities outside rather then inside.

Deborah has a lot of strengths but her disability makes it difficult for her to achieve some of her goals. Working with Deborah, I will help her improve her social skills by getting her involved with support groups. I will also teach Deborah less physically strenuous exercises to help her achieve her weight loss goal. Deborah needs to gain more personal relationships so she can have greater support through her life. Deborah struggles from her disability daily, but with some help and dedication, Deborah can achieve great things.

Professional Interview

Beth A. Dietrich, CTRS

Phoenix VA Health care System

...I asked Beth what it was that she enjoyed most about her current occupation and she said, “The fact that I see people improve, that people begin to start liking their life, that people find meaning in their life and that people usually have fun when they're with me.” While Beth was describing her career to me, she spoke with a sense of pride and compassion as if she truly loves her career.

The VA works with all veterans enrolled with the VA system. Beth mainly works with veterans with mental health problems. Her clients range from eighteen years of age all the way up to World War II veterans. Beth explained to me her objectives as a Recreational Therapist was to create an assessment of each patient, create treatment plans, facilitate an intervention, document her clients progress and evaluate how the treatment is going. Beth told me that the VA offers internships. From a first impression, the VA hospital seemed like a wonderful and rewarding place to work.

Beth is a member of two different professional organizations. She is the president of the Arizona State Therapeutic Recreation Association (http://astra-tr.com) and a member of the American Therapeutic Recreation Association (http://www.atra-online.com).

After completing this interview I received a greater understanding in the profession of Therapeutic Recreation. I can truly see why people love their career as a Recreational Therapist. Having the ability and knowledge to help others is an amazing gift and Therapeutic Recreation fits perfectly in that package. Dr. Beth Dietrich is a wonderful person who has an abundance of care for her clients and I believe her clients share that compassion with her.

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I admire Beth very much. Beth has a passion and after this interview I know exactly what it is. She loves helping others. One thing I found interesting was the location we conducted the interview. We were not sitting in any private room but in the middle of the public area where may of her patients were. It really showed that she has nothing to hide from her patients.

I gained so much from this experience. This course is the first time I've been introduced to TR and seeing someone in the field, gave me a greater knowledge of what they do.

Let It Not Be Said That We Did Nothing

Hi, welcome to my blog. Let me take this time to introduce myself.
My name is Benjamin Nichols. Being born and raised in New York has its advantages and disadvantages. Unlike the desert, "east coasters" are rewarded with a wonderful gift...seasons! Though the humidity is atrocious and excessive snowfall makes for a dangerous commute, New York is a beautiful state to grow.

Just after turning fifteen, my family decided we had enough with the humidity and snowfall and choose to relocate to an area just opposite of that. Bring on the dry climate! Arizona, here we come!
While attending Highland High School in Gilbert I begin to take up several hobbies. Music composition, running, electronics and film production were a few of the activities that would keep me away from trouble (though trouble would seem to find its way to me). While being addicted to the art of music, I decided to start a band. One never realizes how bad of a musician they are until starting their first band. Wow, we were horrible! Towards the conclusion of high school (and several bands later) I realized the music industry was not my cup of tea.

Sine the age of sixteen, politics has existed greatly in my life. Some would say my political ideologies lean more radical, though I prefer the term practical. Voluntaryism, Anarcho-Capitalism or libertarianism are all words to best describe my political beliefs. I live my life fallowing the "nonaggression principle" that states, "all acts of aggression against the rights of others whether committed by individuals or by governments—are unjust." Civil disobedience and activism are two of the greatest tools to achieve political change.

Currently I'm working on a degree in communications and a minor in political science. After graduating, I plan on working in a field where I can help individuals who struggle with communication.

Hopefully you now have a better understanding of who I am. I hope you all come back and read my future posts.