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.