Our work stresses, thoughts and worries need a container to live in so that when it's time, we can pick them up. Make a small routine of "setting it aside" as you transition home each and every day. It is as important as checking your email but a small and even non-time consuming ritual can create healthy boundaries for your work in your life that will prove deeply rewarding in time.
Music therapists are prone to several mental health risk factors: as a helping professional, we are prone to compassion fatigue and burnout while doubling as professional musicians puts us at an increased risk of depression, anxiety and high rates of stress. New years are new beginnings and perhaps this is the year that you prioritize your mental health.
Read MoreYou can still experience the reassurance of fire as its logs crackle and pop, the beauty of snow sparkling in the sun, and the filling warmth of hot chocolate on cold nights. The world is cold, the winter is dark, but you are not without joy. You are not without peace.
Read MoreIn designing our practice today I sought to create an experience that is simple that you can do everyday, multiple times a day, whenever and wherever you are. We are going to combine breath and affirmations in this experience together. To start I will guide you through a brief breath exercise to ground your body and mind and then lead you in 3 affirmations. We will repeat the affirmations 7 times because research supports the idea that to remember something we must repeat it at least 7 times. I’ll say the affirmations out loud and you are invited to repeat them with me outloud or in your mind. Let’s get started……..
Read MoreToday I’ll be using art, breathing, and music to help ground and regulate your system. To prepare for our intervention together, you’ll need to grab a few simple supplies; although, you can still participate without the art. I’ll encourage you to gather a piece of paper and something to draw with.
Read MoreHello and welcome back to Music Therapy and Beyond. I’m Elizabeth and today we are going to be talking about wellness. You haven’t heard from me in a while. Last time I was talking to all the grown-ups who listen to our podcast, but today I’m talking to the kids. I want to share one of my favorite things to do when I’m feeling a little overwhelmed after a long, long day. Before we begin, let me tell you a little about our exercise……
Read MoreSo, 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 MoreThe idea of trauma stewardship is that we take the time to deeply reflect on our own life
experiences as well as our current environment, both personal and work, to identify where
we may not be taking care of ourselves or others effectively because of the trauma we are
bearing witness to.
We cannot be fully present with others in their pain and suffering if we are not taking care
of ourselves. We have to put our own oxygen mask on first!
Chronic 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 More"As music therapists, our bodies are our main tool for work. We depend on our voices, and our hands and often the line is blurred between “used” and “abused” to put it bluntly. It is so important to be mindful of how we may be causing harm to our voices, hands, backs, and every area of our body in the ways that we use them. I’m going to share 5 ways to tend to your body everyday and I strongly urge you to prioritize these wellness practices as an essential part of your music therapy practice. Just as you maintain your instruments, you must maintain yourself."
Read MoreWelcome back to the conversation today. We are talking about wellness. I think a good place to start is by sharing our background with wellness. How did it look? Did our families talk about wellness and did we even know what it was or what it meant?
Read MoreToday, we are going to talk about wellness. Some of the questions that came up when preparing this episode were: What is the difference between wellness, well-being and self-care? Do all of these terms fit together in some holistic package? Or are they all bringing something different to the table? Today, I am going to dive into what Wellness is, what these terms really mean, and how it all fits together in Music Therapy.
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