ATRA Name Change to ARTA to be Proposed

I recently learned that Dr. Frank Brasile will formally propose a name change for ATRA at the Annual Conference in Minnesota. The proposed name is the American Recreational Therapy Association (ARTA). Following the proposal there will be a period for consideration before an eletronic vote of the members is conducted. During this time articles will appear in the ATRA Newsletter on the topic of the name change.

Last year I conducted a "straw poll" of ATRA Past Presidents on a name change to the American Recreational Therapy Association (ARTA). Of the 18 who were still members, 13 responded "yes" for the name change to ARTA, 4 voted "no." One abstained. Thus approximately three-quarters or 75% of ATRA Past Presidents were in favor of changing the name of ATRA to ARTA.

Reasons for Change to ARTA
There are many reasons for the name change to ARTA that have been presented. Here are some:

1. The rationale is simple. To change the name of the American Therapeutic Recreation Association to the American Recreational Therapy Association makes the organization's name congruent with both the vision and mission of the organization. The Mission Statement reads: "The mission of the American Therapeutic Recreation Association is to serve as a member driven organization that collectively supports the recreational therapy profession. The Vision Statement reads: "The vision of the American Therapeutic Recreation Association is to be the premiere professional membership association representing recreational therapists, consumers and stakeholders."
2. Given that the mission, vision, budget and work priorities are dedicated to recreational therapy why wouldn't the name be changed to accurately reflect the focus of the organization?
3. With the current budget concerns changing the organization's name will provide more of a focus specific to recreational therapy that will help to focus future budget decisions and priorities for the organization.
4. The term "recreational therapy" offers a focus consistent with
the intent of the Medicare Project.
5. The designation of the profession as "recreational therapy" is
supported by the United States Department of Labor.
6. There exists a designation code for recreational therapy under
the classification of instructional programs (CIP codes).
7. The term, recreational therapy, is more consistent with a host
of environmental facets (i.e., the health care industry, health
accreditation, legislative language, sister allied health disciplines,etc.).
8. CMS and JC both use the term recreational therapy in the
regulations and standards of health care and treatment services.
9. The term recreational therapy reinforces the concept that the
Association cannot be all things to all people and therefore focus
should be congruent with the mission of the Association.
10. It can be argued that our lack of acknowledgement of the fact
that we are therapists has hurt us from many perspectives including
customer satisfaction, reimbursement, professional confidence, etc.
11. It is agreed by most that we need to make the change to RT. It's long overdue and the rationale is there.

Reasons Not to Change the Name
Of course, there are reasons some oppose a name change. Among these are:

1. The profession doesn't need controversy at this time.
2. Some believe we have "more important" issues that demand our attention.
3. Many younger professionals have only known the term, "therapeutic recreation," so they are hesitant to change to a term unfamiliar to them.
4. The term "therapeutic recreation" is very broad so it can take in recreational therapy.

I hope that there is wide discussion of the name change among ATRA members. I will plan to regularly have posts on the RT Blog regarding the proposed name change. Please do comment should you wish to express your view on the name change.