Article Critiques

Friends Article Critiques

"The Use Of Creative Writing Interventions In Substance Abuse Treatment"

I thought this was an interesting article, it wasn't very long but that doesn't mean it was necessarily bad. I don't usually equate writing outside of journals as therapeutic. Keeping a journal has been shown to be therapeutic but as for the creative literary field, it gets ignored. I can see though how creative writing would be a good way to cope with substance abuse, or with any illness for that matter, because of the freedom of expression in a healthy manner that is present in creative literature. 

"The Impact of Dance Interventions on Mood and Depression in Older Adults"

I am definitively a believer of the therapeutic effects of dance. I'm thoroughly glad that recreation therapy is acknowledging and taking advantage of the benefits dance has to offer. Dance can be especially therapeutic since it is both a form of exercise but also is an art. Dance therefore is an expressive outlet and a source of endorphins, and that is kind've really wonderful. My only worry is about injuries, sooner or later dancing will lead to an injury so maybe dancing isn't the best idea, or maybe we have to take extra care to make sure our patients are stretching and not over-working any of their joints.   

"Riding the Waves: Therapeutic Surfing to Improve Social Skills of Children With Autism"

I love all these great practice Ideas. Especially this one because I think it has a second benefit of inclusion. Usually surfing is thought of as a "cool" sport and children with autism are though of as "uncool" and usually "dweeby" which is a shame in and of itself that intelligence is bullied. Anyway by having children with Autism participate in a cool sport their teammates and peers will see them more like themselves instead of just a different kid who happens to be smart. I also really like the idea of using team sports as therapy especially for children who are likely to get left out. 

" A Pilot Study of Exclusivity of Athletic Identity Among Wheelchair Rugby Players"

As far as I could tell the results from this study don't tell us anything than people in wheelchairs are just like everyone else. The Article had the same findings as it would for any group of rugby athletes, and probably for any athlete at all. I suppose there was a chance that an athlete with a disability would benefit from sports more than the average person, or that it may boost their self-esteem more than an average person, but this study did not find that. This Study just told me that athletes in wheelchairs have the same benefits from being in a sport as any other person does. 

"Addressing Post Traumatic Stress Among Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans and Significant Others"

I always think it's cute when science studies how relationships effect rehabilitation. The article pointed out itself that it didn't have a big enough sample size to draw any reliable conclusions, which was disappointing. As far as recreation therapy goes though I think the theory is there. I think this points to a future where wholistic therapy not only includes every dimension of a persons health, but includes those other dimensions that are most important to the individual. People are vital to each and every individual, sometimes we include other people in a patient's therapy, but how often are those people already deeply connected with that individual? I believe in the future family will be included in more therapy than they currently are. And, I believe that including family in a patient's therapy will help them progress faster.