Therapeutic Activities

How Recreation Therapy Supports Healing at San Marcos Treatment Center

Therapeutic activities (also known as recreation therapy) include structured, hands-on experiences that complement formal treatment.

Every day, your child can apply coping skills, communicate in healthier ways and experience success in real time. Our approach connects treatment to real life, so your child makes steady progress toward their goals.

Highlights of our therapeutic activity programming include:

• Skilled specialists: Trained professionals lead many of our music, yoga and recreation groups, turning activities into opportunities for healing. They understand how to help kids and teens regulate emotions and connect with others in healthy ways.
• Camp-like setting: Our 65-acre campus gives your child space to engage in therapeutic activities while surrounded by nature. Trails, open fields and outdoor play areas create space for movement. This environment turns activity time into a natural extension of the recovery process.
• Built for growth: We design daily schedules around what’s appropriate for each stage of development so everyone can take part. Younger kids learn through play, movement and sensory experiences. Teens balance recreation with real-world experiences through activities such as ropes courses, sports, creative outlets and campus jobs.
• Positive reinforcement: At San Marcos, activities are essential to healing. Participation in creative expression, physical activities and skill-building exercises is part of treatment, not a privilege. When setbacks occur, staff respond with encouragement and opportunities to try again.

Therapeutic Activities That Support Healing

Our therapeutic activity model stems from decades of experience helping young people learn healthy ways to regulate their emotions. Schedules blend structure with flexibility, giving kids steady opportunities to practice what they’re learning in treatment.

Recreation therapies your child may engage in include:

Other Therapeutic Activities

Physical activity helps your child release energy and participate in healthy team-based activities:

• Ropes course
• Two gyms and an outdoor sports court
• Two swimming pools
• Healing trail
• Playgrounds, sand play and open fields

Creative and expressive outlets

These activities give your child new ways to see themselves as capable and creative:

• Art and music therapy groups
• Modeling clay, painting, crafts and journaling
• Dance, charades and team games

Mindfulness and emotion regulation

Quiet reflection and sensory awareness help calm minds:

• Yoga and wellness groups
• Mindful walks and quiet reading time
• Evening wind-down with books or calm activities

Skill-building for daily living

Everyday tasks teach older teens responsibilities that carry beyond treatment:

• General store where kids practice social and money skills
• Vocational options, such as food-handling certification and campus jobs
• Hygiene and independent-living routines supported by staff

Specialty activities

These offerings bring back familiar activities for children and teens:

• Late-night movies, themed parties and ice-cream socials
• Video games, card-based games, remote-control cars and building blocks
• Beauty and spa groups, music time and optional Christian worship service

Get Help Now

Call 800-251-0059 to schedule a confidential intake assessment. To make a referral, please call 800-848-9090 or use our online referral form.

Call Today

Call us at 800-251-0059 for more details on our programs and insurance options. To make a referral, please call 800-848-9090.