Jan Bookwalter
Center for Families
Malvern, PA USA
"Be your own kind of beautiful."
Career Roadmap
Jan's work combines: Medicine, Environment & Nature, and Helping People
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Day In The Life
Skills &
Education
Advice for getting started
You can start working in the recreational therapy field after earning your bachelor's degree. However, there's a national certification to become a recreational therapist, the Certified Therapeutic Recreation Specialist credential, which I highly recommend pursuing if you want to work in this field. You can also get a clinical adventure therapist credential if you want to work as an adventure therapist specifically but you'll need a master's degree for that as well.
Here's the path I took:
High School
Bachelor's Degree
Recreational Therapy
Brigham Young University
Life & Career Milestones
My path in life has been direct
1.
I initially entered college unsure of my path but eventually discovered recreational therapy at Brigham Young University.
2.
After graduating, I worked in adolescent residential facilities and a hospital's psych unit, where my passion for mental health deepened.
3.
I left the workforce to raise my children and allowed my certification to lapse—a decision I wouldn’t recommend because it was tough to regain it later.
4.
Once my kids were older, I got re-certified, working in physical rehab before transitioning back to mental health.
5.
A leap of faith led me to a six-month temporary role in adventure therapy, which soon turned into my full-time dream job.
6.
Now, I combine my love of the outdoors with therapy, using activities like rock climbing to help teens build confidence and manage anxiety.