Explore the rankings
Healthcare · Updated Aug 2026

Recreational Therapists

Plan, direct, or coordinate medically-approved recreation programs for patients in hospitals, nursing homes, or other institutions. Activities include sports, trips, dramatics, social activities, and crafts. May assess a patient condition and recommend appropriate recreational activity.

JVS 2.0.0-phase4b
AI Exposure
66/100
High

How much of this occupation’s work can be materially affected by current AI systems.

Replacement Risk
59/100
Moderate

How likely exposure is to translate into reduced human demand.

Includes provisional estimates for AI adoption pressure and labour-market resilience. How this is measured

Evidence quality
Confidence82/100
Task coverage87%

Confidence reflects task coverage, mapping and capability-evidence quality, and how much of the score rests on provisional inputs.

Task-level evidence

What is driving the score?

Occupation scores are built from the task mix—not a single prediction about a job title.

JVS 2.0.0-phase4b
TaskImportanceAI impactExposure
Instruct patient in activities and techniques, such as sports, dance, music, art, or relaxation techniques, designed to meet their specific physical or psychological needs.High
69
Plan, organize, direct, and participate in treatment programs and activities to facilitate patients' rehabilitation, help them integrate into the community, and prevent further medical problems.High
71
Observe, analyze, and record patients' participation, reactions, and progress during treatment sessions, modifying treatment programs as needed.High
65
Conduct therapy sessions to improve patients' mental and physical well-being.High
62
Counsel and encourage patients to develop leisure activities.High
63
Confer with members of treatment team to plan and evaluate therapy programs.High
71
Obtain information from medical records, medical staff, family members and the patients, themselves, to assess patients' capabilities, needs and interests.High
68
Develop treatment plan to meet needs of patient, based on needs assessment, patient interests, and objectives of therapy.High
72
Encourage clients with special needs and circumstances to acquire new skills and get involved in health-promoting leisure activities, such as sports, games, arts and crafts, and gardening.High
53
Most exposed

Where AI can do more

Routine, digitized, and highly repeatable tasks face the greatest pressure.

  1. Develop treatment plan to meet needs of patient, based on needs assessment, patient interests, and objectives of therapy.72
  2. Plan, organize, direct, and participate in treatment programs and activities to facilitate patients' rehabilitation, help them integrate into the community, and prevent further medical problems.71
  3. Confer with members of treatment team to plan and evaluate therapy programs.71
  4. Instruct patient in activities and techniques, such as sports, dance, music, art, or relaxation techniques, designed to meet their specific physical or psychological needs.69
Hardest to automate

Where people still matter

These tasks score lowest on automation feasibility—physical presence, judgement, accountability and real-world variability all resist end-to-end automation.

  1. Confer with members of treatment team to plan and evaluate therapy programs.01
  2. Encourage clients with special needs and circumstances to acquire new skills and get involved in health-promoting leisure activities, such as sports, games, arts and crafts, and gardening.02
  3. Conduct therapy sessions to improve patients' mental and physical well-being.03
  4. Counsel and encourage patients to develop leisure activities.04
  5. Observe, analyze, and record patients' participation, reactions, and progress during treatment sessions, modifying treatment programs as needed.05
Where else this work leads

Related occupations

Occupations O*NET links to this one. Relatedness reflects shared work, not a claim that these roles are safer.

See all rankings →
Beyond AI capability

Adoption and labour-market outlook

Structural factors are kept separate from raw capability so you can see what actually resists automation. Adoption pressure and labour-market resilience are still provisional models—25% of this occupation’s replacement-risk weight rests on them.

Human dependency45
Physical dependency42
Adoption pressure45
Labour-market resilience66
Methodology & sources

O*NET 30.3 occupational data interpreted through the JobsVsAI capability, automation and structural-constraint models.

Confidence82/100
CalculatedAug 21, 2026
Read methodology →