Interviews with Rec. Therapists

Nov. 2010

Meet Gisela Riess Ashley, CTRS/L

Gisela has a BS in Child/ Life Studies with a Hospitalized Child Option. She grew up with a kidney defect. She spent a great deal of her childhood in and out of the pediatric ward at Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center (DHMC). DHMC was like a second family for her. Gisela said that the “play lady,” was her favorite person there. The play lady now would be referred to as a the Activity Therapist, Recreational Therapist, or Child Life Specialist.

Gisela’s father passed away in 2005, so she decided to pursue her dream of working with the geriatric population in a healthcare setting and decided to get her master’s degree in Therapeutic Recreation. She has her M.S. from the University of New Hampshire.

Gisela has been working as a Recreational Therapist for little over 2 years now. She had also held her Certified Therapeutic Recreation Specialist (CTRS) for 2 years.

Gisela currently works in geriatrics for a skilled-nursing facility (SNF). They have a recreation program for the SNF. It includes social programs, creative arts, exercise programs, and cognitive and spiritual.

She is part of a team that is restructuring the facility so they can meet higher standards. The Therapeutic Recreation program is just getting off the ground there. Gisela is very excited with the process of making this happen. She is doing this amazing work along with her assistant director who is also a CTRS.

Gisela likes knowing that she makes a difference in the quality of life for the residents. She also likes doing TR with her clients and seeing the measurable outcomes. She is actually putting what she learned into practice and that is what it is all about for her!

Gisela is a member of the American Therapeutic Recreation Association (ATRA). She was a member of her local chapter branch of ATRA, but unfortunately it has dissolved. She is hopeful that there will be a new chapter in the future.

Gisela is licensed in the state of New Hampshire through the Department of Allied Health. Some of her professors were instrumental in getting licensure, which is something Gisela is very proud of.

Gisela works every day to gain the respect of other disciplines in her current facility. This is something she didn’t encounter in her first facility. She sets forth a professional demeanor and respect for others and sees a change occurring and respect increasing daily.

Gisela says that “We (in Therapeutic Recreation) are a viable profession and need to demand that same respect for what we do, just as Nursing, Social Services and other therapies.” She spends every day educating people about the power of Therapeutic Recreation.

She gets the make the difference in people’s lives unlike any other discipline the health industry, which she says, “is pretty awesome!”