Certified Recreational Therapist Jobs
Certified Recreational Therapist jobs are open across hospitals, rehabilitation centers, long-term care facilities, and community mental health organizations, from entry-level staff positions to clinical supervisors and program directors, with specializations in geriatric care, behavioral health, and pediatric rehabilitation. Find a role that fits below and apply directly.
Find JobsOverview
Showing 5 of 8+ Certified Recreational Therapist jobs
About Wolfson Children’s Hospital
Wolfson Children’s Hospital is the only children’s hospital in the region, and is ranked by U.S. News & World Report among the best children’s hospitals in the U.S. We’re a part of Baptist Health, which is recognized as a top place to work in health care and features several centers of excellence, including Baptist MD Anderson Cancer Center, Baptist Heart Hospital, Baptist Neurological Institute and Wolfson Children's Hospital.
Baptist Health is looking to add a Certified Therapeutic Recreation Specialist, CTRS to our Behavioral Health Unit This is a Full Time opportunity at our Baptist Downtown campus.
Certified Recreational Therapeutic Specialist, Job Responsibilities:
- Plans, organizes and directs activities for patients in collaboration with multidisciplinary team members within behavioral health inpatient settings
- Demonstrates core values when relating to others
- Delivers therapeutic group and individual activities
- Performs leisure activity assessments on all patients.
Experience Requirements:
- 1-2 years Recreation Therapy
- Behavioral Health
Education and Credential Requirements:
- Bachelor's degree
- Certified Recreation Therapist
This Certified Therapeutic Recreational Specialist (CTRS) will be located at our Baptist Downtown campus. If you are interested in this full time opportunity, please apply now.
Primary Location:
Downtown - Main BuildingAbout Wolfson Children’s Hospital
Wolfson Children’s Hospital is the only children’s hospital in the region, and is ranked by U.S. News & World Report among the best children’s hospitals in the U.S. We’re a part of Baptist Health, which is recognized as a top place to work in health care and features several centers of excellence, including Baptist MD Anderson Cancer Center, Baptist Heart Hospital, Baptist Neurological Institute and Wolfson Children's Hospital.
Baptist Health is looking to add a Certified Therapeutic Recreation Specialist, CTRS to our Behavioral Health Unit This is a Full Time opportunity at our Baptist Downtown campus.
Certified Recreational Therapeutic Specialist, Job Responsibilities:
- Plans, organizes and directs activities for patients in collaboration with multidisciplinary team members within behavioral health inpatient settings
- Demonstrates core values when relating to others
- Delivers therapeutic group and individual activities
- Performs leisure activity assessments on all patients.
Experience Requirements:
- 1-2 years Recreation Therapy
- Behavioral Health
Education and Credential Requirements:
- Bachelor's degree
- Certified Recreation Therapist
This Certified Therapeutic Recreational Specialist (CTRS) will be located at our Baptist Downtown campus. If you are interested in this full time opportunity, please apply now.
Primary Location:
Downtown - Main BuildingSee All 8 Certified Recreational Therapist Jobs
Find roles that match your experience and apply in just a few clicks.
Find JobsCertified Recreational Therapist Job Market
Who's Hiring
Top Industries Hiring
- Healthcare & Medical Services
What Employers Look For
The qualifications that appear most often in certified recreational therapist jobs.
- Active CTRS credential issued by the National Council for Therapeutic Recreation Certification
- Bachelor's or master's degree in recreational therapy or therapeutic recreation
- Experience developing individualized treatment plans and documenting progress in clinical records
- Proficiency with electronic health record systems used in clinical or long-term care settings
- Familiarity with assessment tools such as the Functional Independence Measure or CARF standards
- CPR and first aid certification, with BLS required for hospital and inpatient settings
Tips for Your Certified Recreational Therapist Job Search
Lead your resume with CTRS credentials
Hiring managers scan for the CTRS credential before reading anything else. Put it directly after your name in the header, then list your state licensure if required. Burying credentials in a summary paragraph costs you interviews.
Tailor your documentation skills to each setting
Acute care employers want experience with goal-oriented treatment plans tied to functional outcomes. Long-term care facilities prioritize MDS documentation. Match your resume's documentation language to the specific setting you're targeting, not a generic version.
Apply early to roles that fit
Migrate Mate lists certified recreational therapist openings from across the United States in one place, so you can find roles that match and apply directly to each listing.
Highlight population-specific program experience
Generalist language weakens your application. Name the exact populations you've served, whether older adults with dementia, veterans in inpatient psychiatric units, or children with developmental disabilities. Employers hire for their census, so specificity signals immediate fit.
Prepare for competency-based interview questions
Interviewers typically ask you to walk through a full treatment planning cycle for a real patient case, from assessment to discharge. Practice narrating an actual case from your clinical experience, including how you measured and documented progress against treatment goals.
Address licensure proactively in your cover letter
Several states require a separate recreational therapy license beyond the CTRS. If you're applying across state lines, confirm whether you hold or are eligible for the destination state's license and name it explicitly so screeners don't flag your application as incomplete.
Certified Recreational Therapist Jobs: Frequently Asked Questions
Which companies are hiring the most certified recreational therapists?
Hope Center, Eskenazi Health, and Heritage Oaks Hospital are hiring the most certified recreational therapists right now, with openings concentrated in Texas, California, and Michigan, based on current listings on Migrate Mate as of August 2026. Demand tends to be highest at large health systems, VA medical centers, and regional long-term care networks.
How do you become a certified recreational therapist?
You earn a bachelor's degree in recreational therapy or therapeutic recreation, which includes a supervised clinical internship of at least 560 hours. After graduating, you sit for the CTRS exam administered by the National Council for Therapeutic Recreation Certification. Once credentialed, you maintain the CTRS through continuing education units every five years, and some states also require a separate license to practice.
Can you get hired as a certified recreational therapist with little experience?
Entry-level positions do exist, particularly in long-term care facilities and community mental health centers, and employers in those settings often hire new graduates directly after internship completion. Your clinical internship hours are your most relevant experience, so frame them the way you would paid work, naming the population, setting, assessment tools, and treatment modalities you used rather than describing the internship in general terms.
What does the certified recreational therapist interview process look like?
Most hiring processes begin with a phone or video screen focused on your CTRS status and clinical background, followed by an in-person interview with the therapy department or a multidisciplinary panel. You'll typically be asked to describe a treatment planning case from assessment through discharge and to explain how you measure therapeutic outcomes. Some inpatient and rehabilitation employers also conduct a brief tour or shadow before making an offer.
Where can I find and apply to certified recreational therapist jobs?
You can find and apply to certified recreational therapist jobs on Migrate Mate, which lists current openings from across the United States in one place. Find roles that match your experience level, setting preference, and specialization, then apply directly to each listing.
See All 8 Certified Recreational Therapist Jobs
Find roles that match your experience and apply in just a few clicks.
Find Jobs