The Department of Recreation Therapy consists of Child Life, Recreation Therapy and Activity Therapy.

The mission of Child Life at Brenner Children’s Hospital and Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center is to provide emotional, cognitive and developmental support services to patients in order to decrease psychological and developmental distress and increase coping with health care experiences. Child who receive Child Life services have been found, through experimentally designed research, to do significantly better than children not receiving Child Life services on measures of emotional and coping effectiveness during procedures, overall coping and adjustment during the hospital stay, and post hospital adjustment and physical recovery. Children with special health needs have an added risk for mental health problems. These problems can be prevented by focusing on strengths rather than weaknesses of the child; encouraging normal life experiences; and increasing coping skills.

The Mission of Recreation/Activity Therapy at Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center is to provide quality treatment services and recreation opportunities for individuals with illnesses or disabling conditions. The primary purposes of treatment services are to restore, remediate or rehabilitate in order to improve functioning and independence, as well as reduce or eliminate the effects of illness or disability. Recreation opportunities are available to patients needs for self-expression, independence, stimulation, control, security, and creativity. The provision of Recreation/Activity services can assist in meeting these needs as well as provide individuals with other positive outcomes such as adjustment to medical procedures, fitness, relaxation, changes in lifestyle, release from stress and satisfying social interaction.

Child Life and Recreation/Activity Therapy services are provided in a caring, compassionate manner to patients and their families by state and nationally certified or certification eligible specialists/therapists/therapy assistants who uphold the Code of Ethics and Standards of Practice put forth by the Child Life Council and the American Therapeutic Recreation Association. By being creative and innovative, the staff attempt to provide services to patients and their families utilizing a family centered care approach which results in the patient and family having a more positive Healthcare experience. The staff continuously strives to provide the highest quality of services to the patients and families which it serves, to represent the profession as a role model to others in the work environment as well as the community and to convey respect and integrity to all people with which we come into contact.