A quick update from Advancement for Recreational Therapy UK CIC
Welcome to our newsletter update. We’re building momentum — here’s what’s happened this month.
Hello, and thank you for being here. Over the last month at ARTUK.UK more than 1,000 people have visited our website. That matters because recreational therapy is still unfamiliar to many people in the UK — and every visit signals growing public interest in clearer, more consistent therapeutic support in care and community settings. We’ve also seen newsletter subscriptions continuing to increase. If you’ve shared the website or encouraged someone to subscribe, thank you. This early growth helps us demonstrate that there is genuine demand for recognised, standardised recreational therapy roles and pathways in the UK, aligned with international standards — and that people want clarity on what this means in practice. A quick reminder: what is recreational therapy? Recreational therapy is a person-centred approach that uses meaningful, evidence-informed activity to support health, wellbeing, and quality of life. It starts with the person — what matters to them, what they want to continue, and what they would like to regain or learn — and then adapts around barriers such as illness, disability, distress, pain, fatigue, or changes in memory and communication. In countries where recreational therapy is recognised as a profession, it sits within clear standards and scopes of practice, with defined training routes and accountability. In the UK, we do not yet have that consistent national pathway — and that lack of clarity affects expectations, training, supervision, and the ability to measure what helps. Our work is about building the foundations for that future, alongside activities staff and care teams, not instead of them.
“Recognised roles and standards” matter
Research indicates that consistent recreation therapy significantly increases patient engagement levels, fostering a sense of agency and improved mental wellbeing across diverse settings. Engagement is built through purposeful, person-centred activity. A Recreational Therapist learns what matters to the person, adapts activities to suit their needs, and creates a supportive environment where they can participate comfortably — in one-to-one sessions or small groups. The focus is always on purposeful engagement — supporting connection, confidence, and day-to-day wellbeing through meaningful activity.
What we mean by “alongside activities staff”
We are clear that recreational therapy should work alongside activities staff and care teams, not replace them. Activities staff bring essential knowledge of people, routines, and what makes a setting feel human. Recognised recreational therapy roles add a clearer therapeutic pathway: shared language, improved training and supervision, and more consistent outcomes-focused practice. This is about strengthening the workforce and improving consistency — so therapeutic support is not left to chance, and staff are better supported to deliver it well.
How you can help this month..
Follow and engage with our social media.
We are active across social media. If you want to support this work, the simplest thing you can do is: follow our pages — and when you see a post, leave a quick comment or share it.
Even a short comment helps more than most people realise. It tells the platform that the content matters, and it helps more UK professionals find us.
Join Easyfundraising.
We’ve also partnered with Easyfundraising, which means you can help generate funds for our work when you shop online — at no extra cost to you.
Right now, there is a time-limited sign-up bonus available, so if you’ve been meaning to do it, this is the ideal moment. Every sign-up strengthens our ability to resource the advocacy and foundation-building work needed to move towards recognised recreational therapy roles and standards in the UK.
Sign up here: www.easyfundraising.org.uk/causes/advancement-of-recreational-therapy-artukuk
Thank you for being part of this early stage. If you know one colleague who would care about professional standards, workforce support, and consistent therapeutic practice across the UK, please consider forwarding this email to them.
With thanks, Kirsty Gibbons Advancement for Recreational Therapy UK CIC artuk.uk
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