The Ethical Dilemmma of Freedom in Therapeutic Recreation

Authors

  • Kenneth E. Mobily

Keywords:

Therapeutic Recreation, Freedom, Constraint, Ethics, Choice

Abstract

The purposes of the paper are to: describe the ethical dilemma over freedom in TR environments, discuss ways to expand freedom in TR environments and reconcile prescriptive and non-prescriptive approaches to client freedoms. Both freedom-from and freedom-to will be discussed. In effect, freedom is an ethical issue because of the clash between prescriptive intervention and its antithesis, a condition vlhere complete choice belongs to the patient. Facilitating freedom through leisure.education and limiting freedom because of the "ableness" principle, produces a dynamic tension between unfettered freedom and complete authority in TR situations. In the end, TR practitioners should allow the client as much freedom relative to leisure as the client's capacity allows.

Issue

Section

Regular Papers