TR Connections - About Us

Therapeutic Recreation (TR) Connections was established in January 2011 by CEO and Principal Consultant Kristina Couron with the belief that recreation therapy can meaningfully improve the quality of life for older adults and those receiving specialized care. Inspired by Kristina’s vision, our mission continues to center around promoting access to purposeful recreational programming that uplifts individual and community wellness.

We partner with a wide range of treatment facilities across Utah—including long-term care, assisted living communities, transitional rehabilitation centers, adult day programs, and swing-bed medical units—bringing tailored therapeutic recreation services directly to the people who benefit most.

At TR Connections, we advocate for recreation therapy as an essential health service, helping individuals discover renewed strength, independence, and joy through meaningful engagement. Our techniques foster physical growth, emotional resilience, and cognitive stimulation while creating safe and expressive spaces for participants to build relationships and navigate life's challenges.

From building confidence and mobility to relieving stress and isolation, our programs are thoughtfully designed to promote self-expression, strengthen social connections, and enhance overall well-being—empowering each person to live life more fully, with purpose and dignity.

White and yellow flowers

General Information about Recreational Therapy

Therapeutic Recreation is defined by the American Therapeutic Recreation Association (ATRA) as a health care and human service discipline that delivers treatment services designed to restore, remediate and/or rehabilitate functional capabilities for persons with injuries, chronic illnesses and all types of disabling conditions (ATRA 1986).

Recreation therapists are standard treatment team members in rehabilitation services. Recreation therapy is listed as a rehabilitation therapy service in the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO) standards. In addition, recreation therapists are designated as treatment team members (based upon need) in the acute brain injury, the post-acute brain injury, and the inpatient rehabilitation standards of the Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities (CARF).

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) includes recreation therapy in the mix of treatment and rehabilitation services used to determine federal compliance in skilled nursing, rehabilitation (physical and psychiatric) and long-term care facilities. Therapeutic Recreation is specifically indicated as a Related Service under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act.
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According to the US Department of Labor, "The rapidly growing number of older adults is expected to spur job growth for recreational therapy professionals and paraprofessionals in assisted-living facilities, adult daycare programs, and other social assistance agencies. Continued growth also is expected in community residential care facilities, as was daycare programs for individuals with disabilities."