Amy, I also work in a state hospital and have been developing my program single handedly for the past year. The recreation therapists are greatly offended by just about everything I say and claim to be art therapists as well. I work with a few in particular who call themselves "Creative Arts Therapists" despite the fact this is now a licensed profession in my state, and they have no license.
The problem becomes much more difficult when you consider I work with patients (many borderline) who want to know what the difference between my program and the other "therapists". As much as I explain that I am a psychotherapist and licensed, they tell me the other therapist tell them the same thing.
The third thing that also concerns me are the interns who work with these other therapists. Imagine doing several hundred hours of internship with someone who wasn't qualified to sign off on it.
And yes.. the pay...another very difficult thing to understand why other professions who may not even be licensed, get substantially higher pay then we do.
In my hospital in order to get a promotion I have to pass a recreation test, which I did... but, this is not where my education is.
I wish we could organize ourselves and share what we know. If you want to talk.... we can.