USM Co-Hosting Gulf Coast Symposium on Therapeutic Recreation April 13-14

Tue, 04/11/2023 - 02:36pm | By: David Tisdale

The University of Southern Mississippi (USM) Recreational Therapy Program will co-host the 2023 Gulf Coast Symposium on Therapeutic Recreation, along with the University of South Alabama, April 13-14 at the C.E. Roy Community Center, located at 300 East Fifth Street in downtown Hattiesburg.

The symposium returns to in-person this year after being suspended because of Covid-19 restrictions; it typically draws more than 150 participants, and this year’s event is expected to include a similar number of therapeutic recreation (TR) professionals from across the Southeast and beyond. It is also endorsed by the Mississippi Therapeutic Recreation Alliance, Alabama Recreation and Parks Association Therapeutic Recreation Committee, and the American Therapeutic Recreation Association (ATRA) as an effort to bring together TR clinicians, educators, and students to learn, network and discuss current professional issues.

The goals of the symposium and workshops include:

• Providing quality educational sessions to meet professional development requirements;

• Contributing to the knowledge and skills of professionals;

• Enhancing recreational practice by equipping professionals, students, and educators with innovative programs and treatment interventions;

• Enhancing evidence-based practice; and to

• Provide an atmosphere for networking for practitioners, students, and educators from Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, Tennessee., and surrounding areas.

For more information on the symposium, contact Dr. Rick Green, professor of recreational therapy in the USM College of Nursing and Health Professions’ School of Health Professions, at rick.green@usm.edu.