Sienna Caspar

Dr. Sienna Caspar (she/her) is a Professor in the Therapeutic Recreation program within the Faculty of Health Sciences at the University of Lethbridge, where she has proudly taught for more than a decade. Her research focuses on organizational behaviour, empowerment, interprofessional teamwork and collaboration, quality of care, and quality of work life in dementia care settings.

Dr. Caspar is a Certified Therapeutic Recreation Specialist (CTRS) and dementia care specialist. Prior to joining the University of Lethbridge, she spent more than 20 years working as a clinician and consultant in long-term care homes across Canada and the United States. In 2008, she earned a Master of Arts in Gerontology from Simon Fraser University, where her thesis examined the relationship between staff empowerment and the provision of person-centred care in long-term care settings. She continued to explore this area of inquiry at the University of British Columbia, completing a PhD in the Interdisciplinary Studies Graduate Program.

In addition to her academic work, Dr. Caspar serves as Executive Director of the Centre of Excellence for Therapeutic Recreation in Continuing Care, an organization dedicated to advancing evidence-informed therapeutic recreation practice in continuing care environments.

Experience:

18 years in long-term care – Focus on horticulture, art, group fitness, group drum facilitation, sensory stimulation, music making, reduction of social isolation, cognitive stimulation, and social engagement. Disabilities: Alzheimer’s Disease, Frontotemporal Dementia, Lewy Body Dementia, Vascular Dementia, Parkinson’s Disease, stroke/cerebral vascular accident (CVA), multiple sclerosis (MS), traumatic brain injury (TBI).

10 years consultant and trainer – Dementia care specialist; consultant in best practice in TR in long-term care settings; national trainer for the American Therapeutic Recreation Association's Dementia Practice Guideline for the non-pharmacological treatment of disturbing behaviours.

9 years teaching with specialization in distance learning - Utilizes best-practice in developing on-line courses:

• Highly interactive on-line learning environment
• Records lectures to enable students to still feel like they are “in the classroom” with the instructor
• Offers creative group learning activities in the on-line platform
• Ensures students have direct and meaningful interaction with the instructor
• Creates learning opportunities for a variety of different learning styles