As an employer, you want to hire the most qualified recreational therapy professional available.
The Certified Therapeutic Recreation Specialist® (CTRS) credential offered through the National Council for Therapeutic Recreation Certification® (NCTRC®) is the indicator of a qualified professional providing recreational therapy services. The CTRS credential is the exclusive credential for the therapeutic recreation profession.
NCTRC Certification indicates to employers and the public that the CTRS has met the specific educational and professional experience requirements, in addition to passing the NCTRC Certification Exam.
The CTRS credential has been developed and accredited based on nationally accepted standards for certifying agencies and the following established criteria:
In today’s employment settings where professional credentials and training are the benchmarks of quality, the CTRS designation is recognized as the highest level of certification within recreational therapy, providing value-added services that include:
It is documented that CTRSs increase both the effectiveness and efficiency of recreational therapy services in comparison to noncertified individuals, significantly contributing to the expected outcomes of the healthcare delivery system.
What do the certification credentials “CTRS®” and “Certified Therapeutic Recreation Specialist®” signify to employers and consumers of recreational therapy services?
These specialized designations inform consumers and employers that the CTRS has met the standards for professional practice, as identified by NCTRC. The credential also indicates that the individual has been authorized (licensed) by the National Council for Therapeutic Recreation Certification® (“NCTRC®”) to use these credentials.
NCTRC has worked hard to ensure that employers and agencies recognize the CTRS® and Certified Therapeutic Recreation Specialist® credentials. Unfortunately, NCTRC is now seeing an increase in unauthorized uses of these marks in job titles. When these credentials are used as job descriptions and titles, this directly infringes upon NCTRC’s trademarks. This is true even if the job is performed by an NCTRC certificant. It is impossible to distinguish between authorized uses of these credentials by certified personnel and unauthorized uses by agencies and employers in job titles for positions that are not necessarily held by NCTRC certificants.
Agencies and employers should not identify job positions as CTRS® and Certified Therapeutic Recreation Specialist®. In a nutshell, these designations are certification credentials, not job titles. Although certification by NCTRC may be a requirement for a recreational therapy position, the position’s title should never be the actual NCTRC credential.
Job Titles in Therapeutic Recreation
The title “Recreational Therapist” is identified in the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Outlook. Use of the “Recreational Therapist” job title, whenever possible, could also help to ensure that recreational
therapy is recognized as a separate and distinct field of practice.
Trademark Protection
In order to protect NCTRC’s valuable trademarks (and to protect consumers of RT services) every use of NCTRC’s certification marks “CTRS®” and “Certified Therapeutic Recreation Specialist®” must be authorized by NCTRC. All designated NCTRC trademarks are registered at the national level within the United States and Canada, as well as within all 50 U.S. states. Currently, NCTRC only approves the uses of these marks to indicate certification. Potentially confusing similar designations should also be avoided. NCTRC has observed potentially confusing similar designations used by non-certified individuals who wish to imply that they are certified by NCTRC. Such use may be confusing and harmful to consumers. Potentially confusing similar designation also risk diluting NCTRC’s valuable trademark rights.
If you have any questions about how to use your certification credential, please do not hesitate to contact NCTRC. Thank you for your assistance in protecting NCTRC’s valuable trademark rights.
National Council for Therapeutic Recreation Certification® (NCTRC) is pleased to provide verification of active Certified Therapeutic Recreation Specialists® (CTRSs) for certificants, students, consumers, employers, and practitioners of recreational therapy services.
Verification of certification may be necessary for a variety reasons, such as consumer assurance, for agency employment records, for a job application background check, or for regulatory or accreditation compliance.
NCTRC provides credential verification services to employers and healthcare agencies. These services are strongly encouraged by NCTRC to monitor personnel adherence to the standards of the Certified Therapeutic Recreation Specialist.
Review the Verification of Certification section of the NCTRC website for additional details and verification tools.
As the credentialing organization within the Therapeutic Recreation profession, the National Council for Therapeutic Recreation Certification (NCTRC) is committed to the safe and ethical provision of recreational therapy services to all consumers by CTRSs. NCTRC provides a wide range of professional programs and services to ensure both the value of the CTRS credential and protection of the consumer. We encourage employers to reach out to NCTRC with any questions about NCTRC and the CTRS credential.
