Recreational Therapists
Plan, direct, or coordinate medically-approved recreation programs for patients in hospitals, nursing homes, or other institutions. Activities include sports, trips, dramatics, social activities, and crafts. May assess a patient condition and recommend appropriate recreational activity.
14,930 people do this job in the US. $61,960 a year.
of the working time. Estimate.
- 27%
- 17%
- 56%
Measured, from Anthropic's usage data (2025). Counts help on part of a task.
On the chosen pace and reliability. Estimate.
Share of the working time within reach, now to 2030
What each choice means: , , , , . Every pace starts from .
At this date and pace, models finish tasks up to 4.4 h long four times in five.
How far this has come
With GPT-4, measured in March 2023, 0% of this job's working time was within reach at . With Claude 3.7 Sonnet, measured in February 2025, 0%. With Claude Mythos Preview (early), measured in April 2026, 26%. Today's estimate: 27%.
A backcast: today's task data with the best model METR had measured by each date. It shows how fast the models have moved, not what anyone forecast at the time.
The tasks
Sorted by . 11 tasks from .
| Task | Kind | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Plan, organize, direct, and participate in treatment programs and activities to facilitate patients' rehabilitation, help them integrate into the community, and prevent further medical problems.Done daily by most who do it. | 25% | 2.1 h1.3 h to 3.3 h | Stays with people | |
| Instruct patient in activities and techniques, such as sports, dance, music, art, or relaxation techniques, designed to meet their specific physical or psychological needs.Done several times a day by most who do it. | 13% | 38 min25 min to 1.1 h | Stays with people | |
| Conduct therapy sessions to improve patients' mental and physical well-being.Done several times a day by most who do it. | 12% | 50 min25 min to 1.3 h | Stays with people | |
| Develop treatment plan to meet needs of patient, based on needs assessment, patient interests, and objectives of therapy.Done more than weekly by most who do it. | 10% | 1.3 h38 min to 2.1 h | 99%Half by now | |
| Obtain information from medical records, medical staff, family members and the patients, themselves, to assess patients' capabilities, needs and interests.Done more than weekly by most who do it. | 8% | 50 min25 min to 1.4 h | 100%Half by now | |
| Observe, analyze, and record patients' participation, reactions, and progress during treatment sessions, modifying treatment programs as needed.Done several times a day by most who do it. | 7% | 29 min13 min to 50 min | Stays with people | |
| Encourage clients with special needs and circumstances to acquire new skills and get involved in health-promoting leisure activities, such as sports, games, arts and crafts, and gardening.Done daily by most who do it. | 7% | 38 min17 min to 1.1 h | Stays with people | |
| Counsel and encourage patients to develop leisure activities.Done daily by most who do it. | 6% | 29 min17 min to 50 min | Stays with people | |
| Prepare and submit reports and charts to treatment team to reflect patients' reactions and evidence of progress or regression.Done more than weekly by most who do it. | 5% | 38 min17 min to 1.1 h | 100%Half by now | |
| Confer with members of treatment team to plan and evaluate therapy programs.Done daily by most who do it. | 4% | 33 min13 min to 1.1 h | Stays with people | |
| Develop discharge plans for patients.Done more than monthly by most who do it. | 4% | 1.1 h38 min to 1.7 h | 100%Half by now |
Within reach, per task: the share of the task's time whose instances are short enough for a model to finish at the chosen date, pace and reliability. Half by: the date half of that time comes within reach.
Jobs that share skills with this one
From O*NET's related occupations. Within reach now and by the end of 2028, long-run pace, four in five.
Where this job works
The industry groups that employ the most of it (BLS, May 2025).
- Psychiatric and Substance Abuse Hospitals3,290 people
- General Medical and Surgical Hospitals2,470 people
- State Government, excluding Schools and Hospitals1,610 people
- Nursing Care Facilities (Skilled Nursing Facilities)1,280 people
- Continuing Care Retirement Communities and Assisted Living Facilities for the Elderly1,160 people
Where the most of these jobs are
The metro areas with the most people in it (BLS, May 2025).