About us

Leisure Therapies is part of our Leisure & Creative Therapies service based at Royal Talbot Rehabilitation Centre.

What is leisure therapy?

Leisure is an essential part of our lives. When we're involved in satisfying leisure activities, we can gain a sense of freedom, control, creativity and achievement.

Leisure also gives us the chance to develop our skills, friendships, and self-confidence. It helps us enjoy new experiences, challenges and adventures, and to stay healthy.

Leisure therapy involves:

• Working with people to rebuild their leisure interests
  By looking at previous interests or exploring new interest we can help you see what is possible
• Looking at ways people can become involved (or re-involved) in their community
  Finding the places, groups, clubs or services where you can participate in your leisure interests
• Assisting people to maintain or develop social connections
  We can help you work out ways to keep in touch (or get in touch) with friends and others that share your interests.

Leisure as part of rehabilitation

Leisure provides a way to link the hospital's program to the individual patient's sense of self, personal biography and history.

Experiences that are meaningful in people's lives can be largely understood as leisure experiences:

• Creating a piece of art work
• Being moved by a film
• Renovating a car
• Witnessing your team's grand final victory or defeat
• Participating in personal or family celebrations

Leisure in a rehabilitation program provides a way to bring the individual patient's life more comprehensively into the process of recovery.

Leisure interests and experiences provide a way to integrate the rehabilitation process around the actual and potential engagement of the patient both in the hospital environment and the community.

A successful rehabilitation program recognises that a person who has acquired a disability must deal with social and emotional concerns in addition to physical issues. People who have acquired a permanent disability are confronted with a range of issues in all areas of their life.

Our services

We provide leisure therapy activities which:

• Ensure a smooth transition through the care process
• Help people adapt meaningfully to new circumstances resulting from injury or illness
• Help people establish an enjoyable and balanced lifestyle in their community

Our staff work as part of the treating team and play a critical role in assisting patients to address their various issues.

Patients are assisted to explore both their abilities and limitations, their strengths and vulnerabilities and to gain an understanding of their new circumstances in order to make the adjustments necessary to rebuild their lives.

By developing patients' recreation interests, their social networks and community links, they are able to identify factors affecting their motivation and self esteem. This is crucial to ensuring patients derive the optimum benefit from their rehabilitation.

Simply rehabilitating individuals to their fullest physical potential does not succeed without addressing their whole of life issues.

Our approach

We use a wide range of approaches including:

• Facilitating integration into the community, to ensure a smooth and successful transition and adaptation to new circumstances, promoting patients long term wellbeing
• Organising or conducting group activities (such as art, relaxation) which allow patients to take their focus away from medical imperatives and gain some relaxing time-out - an important motivator for long-term patients and essential support for them in dealing with their transition through the care process
• Organising leisure activities (on a one-on-one basis) that reinforce the skills and exercises learnt in therapy, providing a medium for their practical application and a new focus for individuals' goals (such as through sport, art, drama)

What are our leisure activities?

We offer the following leisure activities as part of our program:

• Outings and socialising
• Outdoors and adventure
• Craft and handiwork
• Home and gardening
• Art and self-expression
• Games and sports
• Health and wellbeing
• Personal development
• Lifelong learning
• Music and entertainment

Which activitity is best for you?

Just ask yourself:

• What really gets me going and excited?
• When do I seem and feel most alive?
• What helps me feel a sense of purpose?
• What do I want from my leisure activities? New friendships, new skills, relaxation, a sense of achievement?
• What do I want to do and when? How often?
• How much will it cost?
• Do I need transport?
• Are other friends interested?

We can assist you to choose the right activity for your needs.

Related services

• Art therapy

  Art therapy uses creative processes to improve people's physical, mental and emotional wellbeing.

• Horticultural therapy

  Horticultural therapy uses gardening to improve people's physical, mental and emotional wellbeing.

• Music therapy

  Music therapy uses music to help people who have been debilitated by illness, injury or trauma.

Referrals

You can access this service when you are staying in hospital. Ask a member of your care team to contact us.

Contact us

Leisure Therapy

Phone: 03 9490 7539

Email: Talbot.Leisure@austin.org.au

Location

Royal Talbot Rehabilitation Centre
1 Yarra Boulevard
Kew, Victoria 

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