| Publications
The Diversional Therapy Association
of Australia National Council.
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the following documents, download
here.
National Definition of Practices (PDF)
(November 2007)
Guidelines
to Duty of Care for Diversional Therapists (PDF)
(January 2002)
The Australasian Journal of
Diversional Therapy
(Incorporating
Therapeutic Recreation and Leisure & Health
Professionals)
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DTAA
Journal Submission Guides 2006.pdf
The Australasian Journal of
Diversional Therapy is the official journal of the
Diversional Therapy Association of Australia. This is a
peer reviewed journal which publishes original work in
areas that contribute new knowledge and understanding
for improving practice in recreation and leisure
services within health and therapeutic contexts. It
welcomes in particular manuscripts and articles from
authors across the Asia Pacific region.
The purpose of the Journal is to
advance our profession through the attraction,
dissemination and discussion of high quality original
research, theory and better practice together with
stimulating opinion and review of issues across our
profession.
This journal is published annually.
Articles within the first edition include;
Margaret Randall
Abstract
Dementia Care Mapping (DCM) and its
relevance for diversional therapy are explored in this
paper. DCM is an observational tool framed by the
philosophy of a Person-Centred Approach and developed by
the Bradford Dementia Group (BDG) in the UK. It provides
both quantitative and qualitative data regarding the
well-being and lifestyle experienced by people with
dementia who reside in residential care or who attend
day care. DCM was introduced over a two-year period
within a Sydney-based aged care facility as a continuous
quality improvement tool and used to identify care
practices which either enhanced or detracted from
residents’ well-being. It was found that DCM raised an
awareness of the need to change certain practice.
Further, DCM promoted the value of leisure for people
with dementia, provided information for care plans, and
identified educational needs. As a result,
residents were supported and sustained on their journey
through the provision of meaningful and enjoyable
leisure opportunities.
Vanessa Ogborne
Abstract
The
role of palliative care in residential aged care has
been an area of great debate and recent discussion. With
the recent launch of the “Guidelines for a palliative
approach in residential aged care” (Commonwealth
Department of Health & Ageing, 2004), diversional
therapy, has been identified by the federal government
as having a notable role to play. As a member of a
multidisciplinary palliative care team, it is imperative
that diversional therapy practitioners now clearly
delineate the unique role and range of services they can
provide. In doing so, diversional therapists need to ask
themselves: Is their particular area of practice
required at this time of care? What degree of
involvement can they have? And what unique skills can
they bring to this team? This paper will explore the
potential therapeutic role leisure has in the dying
process. A variety of leisure options will be explored
as prospective diversional therapy interventions.
Catherine Meridith
Abstract
This paper is a literature review with discussion on
issues relating to boredom and the implications for
diversional therapists. The discussion highlights an
alternative perspective to the commonly held view that
boredom is the arch enemy of leisure and incorporates an
exploration of the catalyst for a literature review. The
paper define definitions of boredom, and the different
perspectives of boredom from the work of Watt and
Vodonavich (1999), Maggini (2000), Barbalet (1999),
Hunter and Csikszentmihalyi (2003) and Caldwell,
Darling, Payne and Dowdy (1999) and the factors most
likely to impact boredom and the leisure experience.
Leisure researchers and practitioners are challenged to
realise the potential contained within the experience of
boredom for diminishing as well as enhancing the ‘life’
in leisure, in particular for adolescents experiencing
chronic illness.
Beth Fogerty
Abstract
Most life celebrations and social events involve
alcohol, as often as Henry Lawson stated to ‘…feel the
way you want to feel without alcohol’. However, even
this apparently harmless use may start the path of
dependency and addiction.
As
alcohol and drug dependency becomes more recognized in
society, individuals are being challenged to seek
rehabilitation for their substance use. A standard model
used in drug and alcohol rehabilitation is the Stages of
Change Model by Prochaska and DiClemente (Addy, Ritter,
Lang, Swan, & Engelander, 2000). Diversional therapists
utilizing this approach can assist people in the pre
contemplative (not acknowledging a problem) and
contemplative (weighing up change) stages. Diversional
therapy can be particularly effective in motivating
clients to address their substance dependences. This
paper discusses how diversional therapy can successfully
augment a drug and alcohol rehabilitation program, by
providing programs that motivate clients to engage
further in the process of changing addictive behaviours.
Sheena Harvey
Abstract
The
following paper is based on the presentation of the same
title at the Diversional Therapy Association 7th
National Conference (2004). This paper highlights the
role of a Diversional Therapist (DT) in a Day Therapy
Centre (DTC). It discusses the main considerations
required by the DT for programming leisure in the
community. These considerations included knowing the
clients needs, knowing the appropriate interventions to
meet those needs and knowing the environment. The third
consideration is the most difficult because unlike
residential care, the community is constantly changing.
The community environment can be unsafe such as public
areas affected by vandalism or weather damage, but it is
necessary for the client to maintain contact with.
Careful assessment by the DT of both the client and
environment are crucial to the effectiveness and success
of a community leisure program in a DTC. It is essential
that clients remain confident, including being socially
confident, in the community. After all, that is where
they live, and where community based programs aim to
assist them to continue living for as long as possible.
Takako
Serizawa
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