Innovative Models in Recreation Therapy: Integrating Experiential Learning & Global Cultural Competency

From a professional perspective, Where we have these traditional domestic clinical placements, what gaps do you see in kind of developing cultural competency, cultural humility, adaptability, and kind of overall resourcefulness as future CTRS?

Yeah, I sort of see these internships on a continuum.

And you could have a kid that grew up in their hometown and they do an internship that's two miles away, right? And maybe in long-term care, which is fine.

I had to do an internship close to my home in college just because of the financial aspect.

But you might be at a place where culturally it's pretty similar to you.

it is your hometown.

It might even be older adults that you knew that are in that nursing home.

But it's different and it's new and it's a great experience.

So we have that all the way to kids that might travel to Colorado or to Alaska.

I had a student that was in Alaska and they're in a completely different culture.

I'm talking to the internship supervisor and he's saying that the students have to get used to it being sunny pretty much almost 24-7.

In the winter months, it's dark.

If you get a job there, culturally you're dealing with darkness.

I think you could get that in the U.S. to some degree and it's somewhat on a continuum.

I did, you know, even though my internship was about 15 minutes from Kent State, it was in downtown Akron at St. Thomas Hospital, inner city psych unit.

So I had lots of folks with, you know, severe persistent mental illness that were homeless.

And that was a culture shock for me, even though it was 15 minutes away.

Yeah, for sure.

So I think it's on a continuum, but it's very hard to replace, I think, going abroad in a completely different culture.

As you know, as you're describing, like, you know, your experience and the safety aspects and locking things up and how do things work and the language barrier.

yeah

just completely different being thrown into a culture and having to adapt there's something unique and i can literally i feel like i can see my students growing from day one today you know three weeks later they're almost a different person that happens in front of your eyes in three weeks and i do think you see that in the internship but it's slower and it's not as dynamic i think the reasons of just being in a completely different culture and then the shock of that

Absolutely.

Completely agree.

Yeah.