Recreational Therapy Member Eric Butera

Eric Butera knows how important therapy is for veterans. There are many different areas of therapy. Some therapies specialize in physical recover, other in mental. Eric Butera is a follower and advocate of recreational therapy. Many of the positives Eric Butera sees in recreational therapy come from his own personal enjoyment for physical activity and playing sports.

Beginning in 2010, Eric Butera joined the Utah Recreation Therapy Association. For three years, Eric Butera has advocated, volunteered, and studied the field. He is also a three year member of the National Recreation and Parks Association. As a member of the NRPA, Eric Butera supports the preservation and conservation of parks for recreation.

Eric Butera strongly advocates for parks because in his personal time he mountain bikes, skis, camps, and hikes. He believes physical recreation is important in five different areas. Through recreational sports and recreational therapy, a person's well-being is promoted psychologically, physically, socially, spiritually, and cognitively. 

In his three year membership with the Utah Recreation Therapy Association, Eric Butera has worked with many disabled veterans who want to enjoy sports despite their missing limbs. Recreational therapy is important to Eric Butera because it builds self-confidence, self-esteem, and self-worth.

Recreational therapy is so important to Eric Butera that it drives his academic studies. While taking courses, he participated in a membership at the George E. Wahlen Veteran Medical Center. During the internship, Eric Butera was selected to participate with a rope course in Grass Valley, California. During the summer of 2012, at Kissler Ranch, Eric Butera received training towards small and large therapy groups. During the rope course, he concentrates on building self-confidence and the safety procedures with rope climbing. The whole purpose of the internship and the area of recreational activity is to build the self-confidence of veterans.