NCTRC e-News

National Council for Therapeutic Recreation Certification
Protecting and Promoting Since 1981

A Message from the NCTRC Chair

Shaun Geise, CTRS, NCTRC Board of Directors

As we enter the final quarter of 2022, I wanted to reach out and introduce myself and update you to the happenings within NCTRC. I feel it extremely important to give my regards to the over 19,000 certificants and express my appreciation to each of you for all the tremendous effort you have provided to our field over the last 2+ years. It has not been easy to navigate our current professional practice environment, so each of you deserve praise for continued contributions to the success of the RT/TR field. Our field of practice could have been diminished in importance, but because of your efforts, recognition and value of our field continues to grow.

My journey to the role of Chair of the NCTRC Board of Directors has taken many twists and turns professionally. I graduated from a small school in Indiana, Indiana Institute of Technology, and have been a practitioner for the past 15+ years. I began in Rehabilitation and Transitional care, but life took me down other paths. I returned to practice in Adolescent/Adult Dual Diagnosis Psychiatry and then to an At-Risk Youth Group Home. I was provided an opportunity to enter Community-Based Recreation Therapy where my practice resides today and has been for the last 12+ years. I bring all those experiences, and what I have learned in each of them, with me to the Chair position. I truly strive to provide experiences and guidance that reflects each of our wonderful 19,000+ certificants.

In the previous 2+ years on the NCTRC Board of Directors, I have held the Treasurer and Vice-Chair roles under amazing Chair leadership. These experiences have prepared me to be the best Chair I can be, so to each of those individuals, I say a special Thank You for providing exceptional leadership and creating an environment that helped to nurture and guide me to this point.

NCTRC continues to be the leading organization for credentialing and marketing the CTRS^® credential within our field. With necessary modifications throughout the pandemic, NCTRC has not wavered in its timely response to you, our certificants. NCTRC strives to be responsive to all your certification questions. Please feel free to reach out with any questions or concerns via nctrc@nctrc.org or by calling directly at (845) 639-1439.

NCTRC has been hard at work in creating new and exciting opportunities to increase awareness of the CTRS credential. The NCTRC Facebook and online exposure has seen an explosion of new information. Please visit, view, like, and connect with us on Facebook to partner in our new platforms; there will be more to come in 2023.

NCTRC has recently announced the release of digital badges, a new way of recognizing and promoting your skills and knowledge as a Certified Therapeutic Recreation Specialist. In addition, NCTRC will be working with continuing education providers to develop micro-credentials, which are credentials that are associated with small bites of learning. These micro-credentials will have associated digital badges yet another way to advocate for yourself and the profession. As our world rolls into a greater virtual platform, NCTRC would like to promote opportunities for you, as a certificant, to share what you know and can do in your email signature and on your social media platforms. More information will be coming soon on these opportunities; NCTRC is excited to be a pioneer for digital badges and micro-credentials within our field.

NCTRC has recently completed the new Job Analysis and will be using a new exam content outline starting in January 2023. This information can be found on the NCTRC website at nctrc.org.

Please be aware of the continuing Social Responsibility Initiatives available through NCTRC in the merit-based Scholarship Program and need-based Hardship Fee Waiver Program. Information on both programs can be found under the Financial Assistance tab. Also, NCTRC is excited to announce the newly created Research Grant Program that will provide up to $5,000 in research grant funds to the top three qualifying proposals submitted for each submission window; information is available under the Research Grant Program tab. Please feel free to reach out to NCTRC to discuss each of these amazing opportunities.

The organization continues to be invested in working collaboratively with our international colleagues to promote the growth of the profession and protection of the consumer around the world. I am excited to observe how our profession continues to evolve in the future.

While NCTRC has several large projects underway, the focus on customer service remains at the top of the priority list. Whether it be by phone, email, professional conference, school webinar, or presentation, please do not hesitate to engage with the NCTRC staff wherever you meet them. For all their efforts, I say Thank You. Each of you are amazing and allow our applicants and certificants to succeed.

In closing, I would like to share that I am honored to serve on the NCTRC Board of Directors, especially as the Chair. To the current and past members of the Board of Directors, it has been my pleasure to serve with each of you. You have done a tremendous job of representing and considering the different facets of our profession while making thoughtful, data-driven decisions that protect the consumers of recreational therapy services. Without you, none of this amazing work would be possible.

Thank You to our current applicants and certificants for your continued support and dedication to NCTRC, the CTRS credential, and the field of therapeutic recreation. I have complete confidence in the CTRS credential moving forward and in each of you behind the credential.

And finally, I just want to remind you that if you are kind to yourself, you will be able to provide that kindness to others.

Shaun Geise, CTRS
Chair, NCTRC Board of Directors

Open New Doors with the NCTRC New Research Grant Program

NCTRC seeks to support opportunities to advance research in the field of recreational therapy. NCTRC would like to encourage individuals who hold active status as a CTRS or are currently enrolled in TR/RT coursework or academic programs to consider applying for a NCTRC Research Grant.

NCTRC has recently developed a new Research Grant Program with the intent to:

1) Provide opportunities for individuals pursuing a career in or already practicing recreational therapy to establish and maintain lines of research,

2) Promote the collaboration between higher education faculty and practitioners,

3) Support the provision of quality recreational therapy services, and

4) Promote the CTRS^® as the qualified provider of recreational therapy services.

Thank you for your continued support of NCTRC and the CTRS^® credential!