Therapeutic Board Games for People with Traumatic Brain Injury

*This course has been pre-approved by NCTRC for 5 clock hours.

This course will guide practitioners on the use of boards games as a treatment modality for people with traumatic brain injuries. Participants will learn the basics of brain injuries and the benefits of using board games with individuals who have had a TBI, proving that board games are not just for fun. Participants will learn to assess, plan, implement and evaluate different board games and measure outcomes for people with brain injuries. After completing the course, the participant will complete a 15 question quiz on which s/he must score 75% or higher to be awarded a certificate of completion and 5 clock hours. This course will remain available for completion for 365 calendar days.
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Course Objectives

  • Learn the basics of traumatic brain injury, including the physical mechanics, emotional challenges and diagnostic scales used to rate severity and recovery

  • Explain how board games are therapeutic and how they can be used as a treatment modality for people for people with brain injuries

  • Identify the therapeutic benefits of different boards games

  • Learn how to modify board games for individuals with TBI

  • Learn to assess, plan, implement and evaluate the use of board games

  • Explain how board games can be used to measure outcomes

Marinita D. Santos, MS, CTRS, RTC

Instructor Bio:

Marinita De La Pena Santos has been a CTRS since 2005. She started her education in Recreation Therapy in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada and completed both her undergrad and masters at California State University, East bay. She has a wide scope of experience in both inpatient and community settings. She has experience working with a variety of populations from mental health, traumatic brain injury, HIV/AIDS, intellectual disability and hospice. She currently works at a Veteran’s Affair hospital on an inpatient polytrauma unit. She has used therapeutic board games throughout her career to address goals related to improving or maintaining cognitive skills for people with traumatic brain injuries.

Marinita D. Santos, MS, CTRS, RTC

SMART Instructor