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The following information is provided for employers and other
individuals seeking additional resources regarding the hiring
of CTRSs in healthcare and human services.
Verify
the certification status of a CTRS
Job Titles vs. Certification Trademarks
Why Hire a CTRS –
PDF file
Why Become a CTRS
– PDF file
CTRS at a
Glance
NCTRC has been continuously accredited
for the past 20 years by NCCA (The National Commission for
Certifying Agencies) which sets accreditation standards for
national certifying bodies. If you would like to know more
about the stringent national standards that the CTRS meets,
click here.
What do the certification credentials "CTRS®"
and "Certified Therapeutic Recreation Specialist®"
mean? They tell consumers and employers that you have met
the standards for professional practice, as identified by
NCTRC. They also indicate that you have been authorized (licensed)
by the National Council for Therapeutic Recreation Certification®
("NCTRC®") to use these credentials.
Many of you have worked hard to ensure that your employers
and agencies recognize the CTRS® and Certified Therapeutic
Recreation Specialist® credentials. Unfortunately, NCTRC
is now seeing an increase in unauthorized uses of these marks
in job titles. When these credentials are used as job descriptions
and titles, those uses infringe upon NCTRC's trademark. This
is true even if the job is performed by an NCTRC certificant.
It is impossible to distinguish between authorized uses of
these credentials by certified personnel and unauthorized
uses by agencies and employers in job titles for positions
that are not necessarily held by NCTRC certificants.
Agencies and employers should not be identifying job positions
as CTRS® and Certified Therapeutic Recreation Specialist®.
In a nutshell, these are certification credentials, not job
titles. Although certification by NCTRC may be a requirement
for a recreational therapy position, the position's title
should never be the NCTRC credential.
The title "Recreation Therapist" is identified in
the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Outlook. Use of
the "Recreation Therapist" job title, whenever possible,
could also help to ensure that recreation therapy is recognized
as a separate and distinct field of practice.
In order to protect NCTRC's valuable trademarks (and to protect
consumers of TR services) every use of NCTRC's certification
marks "CTRS®" and "Certified Therapeutic
Recreation Specialist®" must be authorized by NCTRC.
Currently, NCTRC only approves the uses of these marks to
indicate certification. Potentially confusing similar designations,
should also be avoided. We often see potentially confusing
similar designations used by non-certified individuals who
wish to imply that they are certified by NCTRC. Such use is
potentially harmful to consumers. Potentially confusing similar
designation also risk diluting NCTRC's valuable trademark
rights.
If you have any questions about how to use your certification
credential, please do not hesitate to contact NCTRC. Thank
you for your assistance in protecting NCTRC's valuable trademark
rights.
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