Re-Creation Therapy Services is a mobile, nature-based recreational therapy practice based in Anchorage, Alaska. We harness the healing power of nature to support physical, cognitive, emotional, and social well-being through an approach we call “Alaskan Style Therapy.”

Living in Anchorage gives us the unique opportunity to use Alaska’s extraordinary natural environment not simply as a backdrop for therapy, but as part of the therapeutic experience. Mountains, forests, trails, parks, and year-round outdoor opportunities become extensions of the therapeutic setting, allowing clients to work toward meaningful goals while moving, exploring, connecting, and recreating.

A Different Approach to Therapy

Traditional therapy often takes place in an office or clinical environment, where conversation may be a primary part of the therapeutic process. Recreational therapy takes a different, complementary approach: we work toward therapeutic goals through meaningful activity and real-world experiences.

Instead of only talking about confidence, coping skills, social connection, independence, or overcoming challenges, recreational therapy creates opportunities to actively practice and develop those skills. A trail can become a place to build perseverance. Learning a new outdoor skill can develop confidence. Recreation with others can provide opportunities to practice communication and social skills. Time in nature can create space for reflection, connection, movement, and emotional regulation.

This experiential approach can be particularly meaningful for people who enjoy being active, feel more comfortable outside of a traditional office environment, or simply want another way to engage in the therapeutic process. Recreational therapy can also complement counseling, occupational therapy, physical therapy, and other health and behavioral health services as part of a broader plan of care.

Alaskan Style Therapy

Through evidence-based recreational therapy interventions, we use outdoor experiences, nature-based activities, adaptive recreation, and meaningful leisure to help individuals build confidence, develop coping and life skills, improve overall wellness, increase independence, and reconnect with themselves, others, and the natural world.

Our Alaskan Style Therapy may include therapeutic hiking, mountain biking, snowshoeing, cross-country skiing, guided nature experiences, community integration, wellness activities, and adaptive outdoor recreation. Alaska’s changing seasons and incredible access to the outdoors give us opportunities to address individualized therapeutic goals in an environment that can feel very different from a traditional clinical setting.

Every service is individualized around each participant’s goals, abilities, interests, and therapeutic needs. The activity itself is not the therapy—it becomes a therapeutic tool when intentionally selected and facilitated by a Certified Therapeutic Recreation Specialist to work toward meaningful outcomes.

Re-Creation Therapy Services serves individuals with a variety of needs, including children and adolescents experiencing behavioral or emotional challenges, adults living with mental health conditions, individuals with disabilities, veterans, older adults, and people recovering from illness or injury. Our mission is to provide safe, individualized, engaging, and meaningful therapeutic experiences that empower people to achieve greater independence, improve their quality of life, and discover their potential.

At the heart of our approach is a simple belief: nature can be a powerful part of the healing process. Rather than seeing ourselves as the source of healing, we see our role as facilitators—helping people reconnect with themselves, with others, and with the natural world while working toward the goals that matter to them.

Alaska is more than the place we call home—it is one of our greatest therapeutic resources. By combining the science of recreational therapy with the extraordinary opportunities found in Alaska’s natural environment, Re-Creation Therapy Services offers a distinctly Alaskan Style of Therapy designed to help people reconnect, restore, and re-create their story.