91桃色

Healing Through Recreational Therapy

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Posted on August 11, 2023

Thomas Becnel

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#MyFirstJob is a series focused on recent graduates of the 91桃色.

After earning a bachelor鈥檚 degree in recreational therapy from the 91桃色, Livie Puranen started work with Trinity Health PACE.

PACE stands for Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly, but she still hasn鈥檛 seen any clients. Puranen is starting a new service at a new facility, which means months of planning and preparation.

鈥淲e鈥檙e having to build a recreation therapy program from scratch,鈥� she said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a little terrifying, but exciting.鈥�

It won鈥檛 be the first time Puranen has created something from nothing. While a student at South, she volunteered at the Mulherin Home in Mobile, which cares for people with developmental disabilities. She saw the opportunity for a group project that could challenge older residents with something different, something fun.

Her plan for drama therapy became a short film, 鈥淢urder at the Mulherin Mansion,鈥� which engaged the clients who appeared in it, the clients who watched it, and the clients who did both.

鈥淭hey loved it,鈥� Puranen said. 鈥淭hey went crazy for it. It鈥檚 a fun activity to play pretend. This group of people, they all had intellectual disabilities, and didn鈥檛 get much of a chance to express themselves. It turns out they had quite a lot to say.鈥�

Her film project was featured this year in a 鈥溾�� podcast for the College of Education and Professional Studies. Shelly Bates, a South instructor in Health, Kinesiology and Sport, thought Puranen鈥檚 work showed initiative and pluck.

鈥淭hat idea was kind of her own,鈥� Bates said. 鈥淪he wanted to do something creative for the clients, so she wrote the script, helped out with the costumes 鈥� she did everything. She鈥檚 very motivated to do things, try things, think outside the box.鈥�

The undergraduate degree program in recreational therapy offers students the chance to begin work right after graduation. Job satisfaction comes with improving the quality of life for elderly clients or those with mental and physical disabilities.  

鈥淚 think it鈥檚 the ability to become a motivator and give people meaning in their lives,鈥� Bates said. 鈥淪tudents wants to be in a care-giving profession where they have an opportunity to help others that is more creative.鈥�

Sisters Marching and Drumming

Puranen grew up in Prattville, Alabama, north of Montgomery. Her given name is Olivia. After graduating from high school, she enrolled at South, where her older sister, Lucy, is working on a doctorate in audiology.

Both sisters played the drums for the Jaguar Marching Band. Livie became a section leader. She enjoyed the hard work and commitment required by the music program.

鈥淵ou really have to be into it,鈥� she said. 鈥淵ou can鈥檛 hide behind anyone else. As a section leader, it鈥檚 not easy to lead your peers. Learning those skills was super helpful for me.鈥�

Puranen hopes to return for the Homecoming football game this fall for South鈥檚 60th Anniversary and play with the Alumni Band.

She had planned to study anthropology as an undergraduate, but became interested in other things. A random moment sent her in a new direction.

鈥淚 was in a freshman orientation class and we had a resume-building program,鈥� she said, laughing. 鈥淭here was a sample resume for a recreational therapist, and I thought, I鈥檇 really be into that. That鈥檚 right up my alley. So I changed my major.鈥�

At South, Puranen also found time to participate in the drama program at the Laidlaw Performing Arts Center. She appeared in a one-act play, 鈥淭he Wolves,鈥� which is about teenage girls on a high school soccer team.

鈥淭he play is pretty emotionally raw,鈥� she said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 about teenage girls going through what they鈥檙e going through.鈥�

She and Gray Armstrong, who earned a degree in Digital Film and Television Production at South, make independent films in their spare time. One of their projects is a horror movie called 鈥淢agnum Road.鈥�

When Puranen began volunteering at the Mulherin Home, she would ask clients what they did and what they liked. When they asked her the same question, she told them about making movies. They said that sounded like fun, which led to 鈥淢urder at the Mulherin Mansion.鈥�

During her residency at the West Florida Rehabilitation Institute, Puranen did a drumming exercise program. Clients used pool noodles as drum sticks to play along with popular tunes.

鈥淚t was almost like seated Zumba,鈥� she said. 鈥淲e were working with stroke patients and people with brain injuries. And it was fun, something they could do as a group.鈥�

In her spare time, Puranen enjoys music and crafts such as making quilts. She also restores vintage Barbie dolls, which is now in vogue, thanks to the new 鈥淏arbie鈥� movie.

鈥淚t鈥檚 exploded recently,鈥� she said. 鈥淎s you can imagine.鈥�

Puranen was hired by Trinity Health PACE for its rehabilitation center in Pensacola, Florida, just before graduation in May, which was a load off her mind. Instead of jumping right into a program, though, she鈥檚 had to work on creating one.

鈥淚t鈥檚 definitely a big challenge,鈥� she said. 鈥淲e鈥檙e also trying something really different. We鈥檙e focusing more on the functional and clinical approach of using recreation to address goals that come from the deficits that these participants have.鈥�

Puranen appreciates having time to develop a master strategy, but can鈥檛 wait to turn plans and schedules into programs and therapy.

鈥淩ight now, we鈥檙e just an empty building,鈥� she said. 鈥淚鈥檓 so ready to have people come in and be able to do things with them. They鈥檙e the people who make me love what I do.鈥�

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