Recreational Therapy
Healing Through Play,
Movement & Fun
Recreational therapy is a vital part of healing at Youth Home. Our program helps youth build confidence, develop healthy coping skills, and reconnect with joy through a wide range of engaging activities. Healing is hard work, and we give our clients plenty of time to still be teens and do the activities they love — and maybe learn a few new ones!
Why It Matters
Our award-winning program complements traditional therapy
by promoting:
- Emotional regulation
- Social connection and communication
- Physical health and body awareness
- Positive identity development
- Moments of fun — where kids can just be kids
- Gross motor movement
- Spatial awareness
- Hand-eye coordination
- Balance
- Strength and more
Recreational therapy is especially powerful in supporting youth with depression, anxiety, PTSD, phobias, sleep or eating disorders, oppositional defiant disorder, and reactive attachment disorder. It’s not just about activities — it’s about helping young people reconnect with themselves, their bodies and others in ways that feel natural, safe, and empowering.
What It Looks Like
Youth participate in a wide variety of engaging, structured activities, guided by licensed recreational therapists and specialists. We also encourage and coordinate volunteer activities that allow us to give back to a community that gives so much to us.
- Art & music therapy
- Field trips to Museum of Discovery
- Ropes course
- African drumming
- Fitness groups
- Skating
- Basketball
- Gardening
- Skill-building & community engagement
- Cooking classes
- Journaling
- Social skills and etiquette
- Dating/relationship skills
- Life skills
- Sports camp & skill-building
- Disc golf
- Magic shoes
- Volleyball
- Drama and dance
- Movement & fitness
- Volunteer work (food bank, nursing homes, veteran support)
- Movies under the stars
- Yoga
- Family camp
- Nature walks
- Zumba
- Field sports
- Photography
Part of a Full Week of Healing
Recreational therapy is woven into everyday life at Youth Home — not as an add-on, but as a core part of the treatment experience. It lives alongside:
- School (M-F, 8:30-3:00 p.m.) with licensed educators
- Group and family therapy sessions
- Daily processing and trauma-informed support
- Individual therapy and crisis intervention
- Fun, structured downtime — including games, household chores, outdoor time, and movie nights
At Youth Home, healing doesn’t happen in isolation. It happens through connection, laughter, movement, and shared experience — all on a campus designed to support the whole person.
Program Leadership
Shelly Zellner
Virtual Tour
View our current “virtual tour” video, The Best TRICARE® & Medicaid Certified Residential Treatment Center for Youth!, to get a glimpse of our healing environment and mission.