1. Assessing Strengths in TR/RT: Tools for Positive Change Part I
Dr. Lynn Anderson, CTRS, SUNY Cortland
Dr. Linda Heyne, CTRS, Ithaca College
2014 ATRA Webinar L1
October 1, 2014

2. Session Description
At the heart of therapeutic recreation practice is the art of building strengths in the individuals we serve.
Therapeutic recreation is historically grounded in the medical model of practice.
A sea change has occurred in health and human services which focuses on orienting services toward people’s individual strengths, assets, talents, and aspirations.
In order to systematically build strengths, we must systematically assess them.
These webinars (Part I and II) focus on some of the assessment tools and approaches that can be used to assess the internal and external strengths of our participants.
The session will help orient TR/RT toward strengths-based practice by giving them practical tools for positive change.

3. Webinar Outlines Webinar L1: Part I (today)
Webinar L2: Part II (October 8)
Introduction and brief overview of the strengths approach
A model and framework for assessment in strengths-based TR/RT practice
The ecological approach to strengths-based assessment
Tools for assessment of internal and external strengths: Leisure Domain
Tools for assessment of global outcomes of TR/RT services: Well-Being
Questions, discussion
Brief overview of the strengths approach and a framework for assessment from Part I
Tools for assessment of internal and external strengths: Psychological/Emotional Domain
Tools for assessment of internal and external strengths: Cognitive Domain
Tools for assessment of internal and external strengths: Social Domain
Tools for assessment of internal and external strengths: Physical Domain
Tools for assessment of internal and external strengths: Spiritual Domain
Questions, discussion

4. Session Objectives
Define the strengths approach in health, recreation, and human services and its impact on practice
Compare and contrast TR/RT assessment from a strengths versus a deficits approach and identify important differences
Identify internal and external strengths and at least six assessment tools to measure and describe them, using an ecological approach

5. Principles of a Strengths-Based Approach
Every individual, group, family, and community has strengths
Difficulties are also sources of opportunity and challenge
We do not know the upper limits of a participant’s capacity to
grow and change – never assume we do!
Collaboration (not expert domination) with participants
Every environment is full of resources
Context matters
Hopefulness matters
Strengths can be nurtured (thus, must be
assessed, planned, focused on, and evaluated)

6. Deficits versus Strengths Approach
Deficits Approach
Strengths Approach
Person is a “case” or a “diagnosis” 
Person is unique with talents and resources
Emphasis is on what is wrong, missing, or abnormal; emphasis is on problems
Emphasis is on strengths, resources, capabilities, aspirations, and adaptive processes
Participant is viewed as a problem needing to be fixed; intervention is problem focused
Participant is viewed as potential waiting to be developed; intervention is possibility focused
Professional is the expert concerning the individual’s life
Individuals, families, and communities are viewed as the experts
Expert professional interprets the person’s story to arrive at a diagnosis
The professional knows the person through the person’s story and interpretation of events
(Anderson & Heyne, 2012; Saleeby, 2006)

7. Deficits versus Strengths Approach
Deficits Approach  
Strengths Approach
The professional develops a treatment plan for the individual 
Aspirations of the individual, family, and community are the focus of the work to be done—the plan is developed in collaboration
A framework and vocabulary is developed to describe problems   
A framework and vocabulary is developed to describe strengths
Play, recreation, and leisure are viewed as superfluous experiences only tangentially related to improving a person’s health
Play, recreation, and leisure are viewed as integral to well-being, and are essential to recovery and rehabilitation
Absence of illness or dysfunction is the goal
Well-being, thriving, and high quality of life are the goals
Medical model is used  
Ecological model is used
(Anderson & Heyne, 2012; Saleeby, 2006)

8. Strengths – The Heart of TR Practice
A definition of strength:
The quality or state of being strong; vigor; power of resistance; vigor of action; a strong or valuable attribute; a source of power or encouragement; sustenance.
(Webster’s Dictionary)
Internal strengths
External strengths and resources

9. Internal Strengths Aspirations and goals Interests and preferences
Passions
Talents
Skills and competencies
Knowledge
Character strengths and virtues

10. External Strengths & Resources
Family support
Social support, friends
Community resources
Home resources
Opportunities for participation and contribution
(inclusive communities)
High expectations and positive attitudes

11. Internal and External Strengths
Internal Strengths
Interests and preferences
Attitudes and beliefs
Talents and abilities
Skills and competencies
Knowledge
Aspirations and goals
Character strengths/virtues
THE PERSON
External Strengths and Resources
Family support and involvement
Friendships and social support
Home resources
High expectations and positive attitudes
Community and environmental resources
Opportunities for participation and contribution (inclusive communities)
Recreation as a strength
THE ENVIRONMENT
Recreation as a context to build strengths

12. Strengths-Based Assessment
Focus is on internal and external strengths
Participant is potential waiting to be developed
A framework is used to assess and describe strengths
Understanding strengths leads to understanding how to plan
Ecological approach

13. Assessment in a Deficits Approach
Assessment in a Strengths Approach
Defines the diagnosis as the problem; questions are pursued related to problems, needs, deficits, and symptoms 
Defines a holistic portrait: what the participant wants, desires, aspires to, dreams of; participant’s talents, skills, and knowledge
Searches for the nature of the participant’s problems from the perspective of the professional; analytical
Gathers information from the standpoint of the participant’s view of the situation; ethnographic
Is interrogative in nature
Is conversational in nature
Focus is on diagnosis to determine level of function
Focus is on the here and now, leading to a discussion about the future and how the person has managed so far
Participant is viewed as lacking insight regarding the problem, illness, or diagnosis
Participant is viewed as a unique human being who will determine his or her own wants within the environment

14. Assessment in a Deficits Approach
Assessment in a Strengths Approach
Participant is a passive container for interventions as professionals direct decision-making    
The relationship with the participant is primary to the process, where joint decision-making is key
Places the participant in diagnostic or problem categories using generic, homogenous language
Strengths assessment is specific, unique and detailed, individualized to the participant
Emphasizes compliance and management of problems and needs, with formal services seen as the solution
Explores the rejuvenation and creation of natural helping networks and social supports
Controlled by the professional
Participant ownership
The professional dictates, “What I think you need to learn and work on”
The professional asks, “What can I learn from you about your life?”

15. Examples of how assessment shifts in the strengths approach
Assessment Focus- Deficits Approach
Assessment Focus - Strengths Approach
Problems 
Goals, dreams, aspirations, and strengths
Functional deficits
Functional abilities
Problems with leisure lifestyle
Leisure interests, preferences, talents, skills, knowledge, and goals
Leisure barriers
Leisure facilitators
Behavior problems
Social competence
Depression, anxiety, and other negative emotions
Positive emotions
Stressors
Relaxers and soothers (calming inducers)
Social isolation and loneliness
Social resources, social networks, and community mapping
Family deficits and problems
Family strengths, dreams, and goals; family traditions; shared family interests and activities

16. Rationale for Strengths-Based Assessment
To get to know the individual – what makes this person tick? What is meaningful to this person?
To begin to develop a positive relationship with the individual and her/his support system
To establish baseline
To measure outcomes
To provide the “right” services
To focus on solutions, not on problems

17. How does new research on brain functioning inform TR assessment practice?
Integration of psychology and neurology (fMRI, PET, QEEG…..)
Focus is power
The act of paying attention creates chemical and physical changes in the brain.
Expectation shapes reality
People’s preconceptions have a significant impact on what they perceive.
Attention density shapes identity
Repeated, purposeful, and focused attention can lead to long-lasting personal evolution.

18. Definition of Assessment
Assessment is a treasure hunt!
Therapeutic recreation assessment is the systematic process of learning about a person, his or her strengths, and his or her aspirations for recreation and well-being.
Through assessment, collaborative planning about the person’s future goals and dreams in relation to leisure becomes possible.

19. Principles in Strength-Based Assessment
is strengths-based and person-centered
is individualized, based on the participant’s world view
focuses on well-being and quality of life through leisure
is based on the aspirations and goals of the participant
uses multiple methods and seeks to understand multiple variables
always involves the participant and his or her circle of support
looks at the whole person in her or his environment (authentic and ecological)
Assessment is a treasure hunt!

20. Ecological Approach to Assessment
Participants viewed as part of their larger environments
Search for internal strengths and external strengths and resources in social and physical environments
Spend time getting to know not only the participant, but the participant’s home, school, work, community, and other contexts of his or her life
Understand how participants interact with the context of their lives
Learn what changes need to be made on the part of the participant or the environment to help him or
her reach goals and achieve well-being 20

21. Ecological Assessment21

22. Components of Strengths-Based Assessment
What is the participant’s current situation?
What are the participant’s internal and external strengths and resources?
 What will it take to reach the dream?
What are the participant’s goals, dreams, and aspirations?
Where does the participant want to be?
Development
of a Plan

23. What to Assess: Use Strengths-Based Models as an Assessment Framework

24. Other Models to Frame Assessment
Leisure & Well-Being Model
ICF

25. Domains for Assessment
Outcome for Participants
Leisure Domain
“I find enjoyment in my leisure experiences and they positively impact other areas of my life.”
Psychological/
Emotional Domain
“I feel happy and perceive I am in control of my life.”
Cognitive Domain
“I think in a focused way and learn eagerly.”
Social Domain
“I relate well to others and belong to valued social groups.”

26. Domains for Assessment
Outcome for Participants
Physical Domain
“I do and act in my daily life with vitality and no barriers.”
Spiritual Domain
“I live my life hopefully, in harmony with my values and beliefs.”
Overall Outcome: Well-Being
“I experience a state of successful, satisfying, and productive engagement with my life” (Hood & Carruthers, 2007).
Overall Outcome:
A Flourishing Life
Enhanced environmental resources and personal strengths that cultivate growth, adaptation, and inclusion

27. Domains for Assessment: Leisure
Outcome for Participants
“I find enjoyment in my leisure experiences and they positively impact other areas of my life.”

28. Leisure Diagnostic Battery
Assesses an individual's "leisure functioning”
Perceived freedom in leisure
Perceived Leisure Competence
Perceived Leisure Control
Leisure Needs
Depth of Involvement in Leisure
Playfulness Scale
Barriers to Leisure Involvement
Knowledge of Leisure Opportunities Test
Leisure Preference Inventory 28

29. Discover Your Passions Interview
Interview questions designed to ascertain what most interests and excites a participant in leisure
For example:
What lights you up?
When do you seem and feel most alive?
What helps you feel a sense of purpose?
When do you seem most focused and unaware of distractions?
What inspires you to talk or get excited?
When was a time you felt at peace with yourself?

30. Strength Discovery Assessment
Process for uncovering and identifying young people’s strengths and resources
Informal semi-structured interviews with participant, family member, and key support personnel – “strengths chats”

31. Strength Discovery Assessment
Interests and preferences
Values and traditions in one’s life
Skills, abilities, and competencies
Personal attributes (e.g., sense of humor, resilient)
Dreams/aspirations
Strategies in the past that have worked best at home, school, or in the community
Settings that are most comfortable
Family members, relatives, friends, and other informal key players valued by and/or in this young person’s life
Formal key players involved in his/her life
Priority needs and goals across transition domains

32. PEAT Pittsburgh Enjoyable Activities Test
A brief index that assesses the frequency of engagement in a spectrum of enjoyable activities that could be done alone or with others, in an array of locations, and are both active and inactive
Breathers and restorers
We are interested in how often in the last month you were able to spend time in activities that you enjoyed. Over the past month, how often have you been able to spend time doing the following?
Never ……. to ……………Every day
Pressman, S., et al. (2009). Association of enjoyable leisure activities with psychological and physical well-being. Psychosom Med., 71(7): 725–732

33. Recreation Inventory for Inclusive Participation
Part I: Appropriateness of recreation
activity/setting
Part II: Activity/discrepancy analysis
PART III: Specific activity requirements
(adaptations and teaching
procedures)

34. Recreation Inventory for Inclusive Participation
Leisure Skill Inventory
+/-
Inventory for Participant
with Disability
STEPS (Activity Analysis)
Teaching Procedure and Adaptations/Modifications 1. 2. 3. 4. 5.
etc.

35. Inclusivity Assessment Tool
Measures the physical and social aspects of inclusion at a recreation agency
Inclusion U Online training qualifies you as a “CIA” (Certified Inclusivity Assessor) to use the IAT

36. IAT Checklists, User Manual, and Tool Kit
60” circle

37. Leisure Resource Asset Mapping
Creates a visual map of the recreation resources available to a participant

38. Domains for Assessment: Overall Well-Being
Outcome for Participants
Well-Being
“I experience a state of successful, satisfying, and productive engagement with my life” (Hood & Carruthers, 2007).
A Flourishing Life
Enhanced environmental resources and personal strengths that cultivate growth, adaptation, and inclusion

39. Satisfaction with Life Scale
Measure of general life satisfaction 39

40. Subjective Happiness Scale
A single composite score for global subjective happiness
Available online and in pdf on Positive Psychology Lab website 40

41. WHO Quality of Life Scale
This questionnaire asks how you feel about your quality of life, health, or other areas of your life. Please keep in mind your standards, hopes, pleasures and concerns. We ask that you think about your life in the last two weeks.
Physical health
Psychological
Social relationships
Environment

42. The Well-Being Index (WBI)
18 statements based on the Flourishing through Leisure model
I relate well to others
I live my life hopefully
I have a sense of meaning and purpose
I find enjoyment in my leisure experiences 42

43. Resources
Anderson, L., & Heyne, L. (2012). Therapeutic recreation practice: A strengths approach. State College, PA: Venture Publishing, Inc.
Anderson, L., & Heyne, L. (2013). A strengths approach to assessment in therapeutic recreation: Tools for positive change. Therapeutic Recreation Journal, 46(2),
University of Pennsylvania Authentic Happiness website: 43

44. 2014 ATRA Webinar Session L2 October 8, 2014
NEXT WEEK! Assessing Strengths in TR/RT: Tools for Positive Change Part II
2014 ATRA Webinar Session L2
October 8, 2014

45. Questions? lynn.anderson@cortland.edu lheyne@ithaca.edu