So, what do I mean exactly by work/life balance? In an article titled “Work-Life Factors and Job Satisfaction among Music Therapy Educators: A National Survey” in Music Therapy Perspectives 2018 Volume 36, they state, “work-life factors are individual, organizational, and societal factors that influence work-life success and balance. Job characteristics such as wages, hours, and working conditions are considered work-life factors, as are personal characteristics like work ethic or sense of competence.
Read MoreChronic sleep deprivation (both short sleep and disturbed sleep) is a common factor in 20% of serious car accidents, and in every common cause of death including heart disease, cancer, diabetes, hypertension, alzheimer’s and immune dysfunction. Chronic sleep deprivation increases your risk by up to 45% for these common diseases. It is also a better predictor of developing type 2 diabetes than lack of physical activity. Inadequate sleep impairs brain functioning (memory, attention, decision-making, hand-eye coordination, calculation accuracy, logical reasoning and creativity.
Read MoreIt is becoming increasingly common that music therapists work with clients who are from other countries and cultural backgrounds. Music can play an important role in the culture of every client, so when preparing client-preferred music it’s important to be intentional about honoring different styles, genres, and languages of music that are client preferred in order to connect with your client and be most effective in therapy. This can be daunting at times, since you may not be able to speak the language, you don’t share the same background, or perhaps western instruments are not even capable of producing the same sounds and notes. This is where we have to get creative!
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