Recreational Therapists are on the front lines of combating one of today’s most pressing public health concerns: loneliness and social isolation. Advance Your Practice invites dynamic speakers, program leaders, and subject matter experts to share research, practical tools, and innovative programs that foster connection, belonging, and engagement. While this event is designed for a recreational therapy audience, we welcome speaker proposals from allied professionals whose work intersects with recreational therapy and the summit's themes.

We welcome presentations that are pre-recorded (30–60 minutes in length), as well as interest in being part of live panels or invited keynote addresses. 

Summit Themes: 

• Assessment & Evidence: tools to evaluate loneliness and isolation, research on outcomes of recreational therapy interventions.
• Intervention & Practice: Innovative recreational therapy programs addressing social connection and belonging.
• Systems, Policy & Advocacy: Social prescribing and recreational therapy's role in public health, policy responses to the loneliness epidemic.

Priority Session Topics:

• Assessment and evaluation tools for loneliness, isolation, and connection
• Social prescribing and RT's integration into public health
• Evidence-based programs and case studies demonstrating impact
• Technology and virtual engagement strategies in RT practice
• Addressing loneliness in aging adults, veterans, and other disproportionately affected populations
• Advocacy insights, COVID-era lessons, and responses to the U.S. Surgeon General's advisory on loneliness