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Special Service Project: Young Adults

LEIS4598 - Therapeutic Recreation Internship

Jamie Parris

Dalhousie University

December 21st, 2018

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During my time at Arborstone, I had the opportunity to work with quite a diverse
population, which was one of the main reasons why I chose to intern here. Although Shannex has
a lot of homes throughout Nova Scotia and Ontario, Arborstone specifically accommodates a
young adult population with special needs (“Arborstone Enhanced Care,” n.d.). Throughout my
first few weeks, I knew that I wanted to bring something different to the organization, and I
wanted to give residents the opportunity to try something new. Selena and I discussed at length
some potential ideas that I could do for the young adult population. We finally decided on a
leisure sampling event, where residents could choose from a physical activity, meditation activity
or an art activity.
Currently, there is a gap in programming or sorts where after a certain time, typically
around 4 pm, there isn’t any programming available. This excludes the one evening shift a week
that the recreation programmers complete. This lack of programming often leads to stress,
depression and boredom, leading to other challenges such as behavioural issues. Residents then
start to exhibit behaviours that are inappropriate such as yelling for example, causing staff to
have to stop their work in order to deal with the situation. Selena and I had the opportunity to
speak to some of the residents who said that “there aren’t enough variety or challenging
programs” (L. MacDonald, personal communication, (November 22, 2018). Since I already knew
that I wanted to do a leisure sampling program, I thought that it would be beneficial to trial three
programs to see what the residents liked.
For my project, I decided to cover three different categories in order to show different
styles. The first program that I chose to do was a meditation themed event. For this portion, I did
a guided imagery reading for the residents with nature sounds in the background. The reading
that I chose was about walking through the forest on a nice day, emphasizing feeling the sun on
your skin and hearing the birds around you. Eventually after following a path, you came to a
beautiful clearing with a hammock which they lay on, all while taking in the sights and sounds of
nature. A study done by Bigham, McDannel, Luciano & Salgado-Lopez (2014), found that
participation in guided imagery reduced cognitive and emotional stress. In this study, the
researchers asked participants to rank their perceived stress level from 40 different stress
symptoms on a scale of 1 to 5, with 1 being “not at all” and 5 being “a lot”. Stress items were
divided into four categories; cognitive, emotional, physical and behavioural. The guided imagery
reading that was read to the participants was about walking along a beach on a warm day. After
the guided reading, the participants ranked their perceived stress level, with the results showing
that their cognitive and emotional stress levels were lower after their guided reading session.
Although their behavioural and physical symptoms of stress did not decline as much, this lead
researchers wanting to further investigate why cognitive and emotional stress is more flexible,
and if there are any possible methods to reduce physical and behavioural stress.
The second program that I did was a physical activity themed event. For this portion, I
led one Zumba song for the residents. The song was quick paced, giving residents the
opportunity to get their heart rates up through stretching, reaching and repetitive movements. A
study done by Helgadóttir, Forsell, Hallgren, Möller & Ekblom (2017), found that participation
in even light exercise can lower depression symptoms. In this study, the researchers had
participants who were diagnosed with depression enroll in exercise programs of light, moderate
and vigorous intensities for 12 weeks. Participants in this study were divided into four groups.
The first group was the “treatment as usual group” meaning participants were to follow their
current treatment regimen with no addition of any physical activity. The second group was the
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“light exercise group” with participants doing such activities as yoga. The third group was the
“moderate exercise group” with participants doing such activities as intermediate level aerobics
and the fourth group which was the “vigorous exercise group” with participants doing a more
strenuous level of aerobics. The participants were instructed to attend three 55-minute classes per
week for 12 weeks. At the end of the study, participants in the “light exercise group” showed
lower depression severity.
The third program that I did was an art themed event. For this portion, I did a clean
version of finger painting. I purchased 5x7 canvas, paint and Ziploc bags and had the residents
choose colors they wanted to use. I then put random splotches of paint on the canvas, put it in the
bag and had the residents move the paint around with their fingers, creating unique designs.
Once the paint is dry, the residents can remove the canvas from the bag and put their painting in
their room. A study done by Diliberto-Macaluso & Stubblefield (2015) found that by having
people paint when they are having a short-term negative state can improve their mood.
Participants in this study were tasked to watch two short film clips to induce an angry mood. The
first clip was from the move Crash, where an African American couple is pulled over and frisked
inappropriately. The second clip was from the movie Enough, where the husband is caught
cheating and feels no remorse and slapping the wife when she threatens to leave him. After
viewing the film, participants were instructed to rate their mood on an Affect Grid, which is a
self-reporting scale that measures mood and feelings, with a 1 being unpleasant feelings and 9
being pleasant feelings. Participants then were divided into 4 groups, with the first group
painting during their current mood; researchers called this “venting”, the second group painting
something that made them happy; researchers called this “positive distraction”, the third group
painted a still life and the final group was a non-art group who were instructed to do a word
search. The results show that distraction away from an angry mood lead to short term mood
improvement. In addition, positive distraction by having participants paint something that makes
them happy, had participants using a greater number of colors associated with a positive mood.
After my program, I received positive reviews from residents, with some inquiring when
they could do the guided reading and painting again. The only negative review I received was
because of where the program was held. As I mentioned in my bi-weekly journal, there is a
flooring project currently happening on the first floor, making space limited, but other than that,
all of the residents were pleased with the event. I think that the all of the events would be
beneficial to the young adult population, although it is probably more feasible to continue the
painting and guided imagery programs until Arborstone can secure a Zumba volunteer or
instructor. Both Selena and Sarah, who is the Music Therapist, have mentioned to me that they
have done guided imagery programs before that the residents really liked. Out of the three
programs, I think this one is the most beneficial because it can be done in a group setting, or it
can be done alone, providing the resident with a guided imagery recording.
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References

Arborstone Enhanced Care. (n.d). Retrieved from

https://www.shannex.com/locations/hrm/arborstone-enhanced-care/

Bigham, E., PhD., McDannel, L., Luciano, I., & Salgado-Lopez, G. (2014). Effect of a brief
guided imagery on stress. Biofeedback (Online), 42(1), 28-35.
doi:http://dx.doi.org.ezproxy.library.dal.ca/10.5298/1081-5937-42.1.07
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Diliberto-Macaluso, K. A., & Stubblefield, B. L. (2015). The use of painting for short-term mood
and arousal improvement. Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity, and the Arts, 9(3), 228–
234. https://doi-org.ezproxy.library.dal.ca/10.1037/a0039237

Helgadóttir, B., Forsell, Y., Hallgren, M., Möller, J., & Ekblom, Ö. (2017). Exercise for
depression: What are the long-term effects of different exercise intensities? European
Journal of Public Health, 27(suppl_3). doi:10.1093/eurpub/ckx187.168

[Mirror Universe]. (Published on Aug 5, 2013). Mawa Sillah (Zumba) [Video File]. Retrieved
from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9tUj38uO6xY