Professional nourishment

The importance of self-care and work–life balance in preventing burnout in health-care professionals is well acknowledged. I recently attended a meeting where prevalence rates of burnout, depression and suicide rates in physicians were presented. I do not remember the exact statistics but the numbers were staggering. Knowing that burnout negatively affects health-care professionals’ decision-making and patient safety (Hall, Johnson, Watt, Tsipa, & O’Connor, 2016), high rates of burnout in physicians should alarm all of us. Within the field of music therapy, there have been several descriptive studies on the prevalence of and contributing factors to burnout in music therapists. In this issue, Lori Gooding presents an integrative review of studies that have examined burnout amongst music therapists (p. 426). When compared to findings of a systematic review of burnout in counselors, music therapists appear at higher risk for burnout than mental health counselors, especially in terms of emotional exhaustion (Gooding, 2019). Some of the self-care and preventative strategies identified in several of the studies included in Gooding’s review are attending conferences and building a network of peers.

As I was attending the European Music Therapy Conference (EMTC) in Aalborg, Denmark, in June, I frequently reflected on the issue of therapist burnout. For me, attending an inspiring conference offers an important antidote to job-related stress and fatigue. Whenever I return from a conference, I feel energized and invigorated. Conferences often plant seeds for new and creative ideas, fuel passions, bring new knowledge, help forg new collaborations, contribute to critical reflections, and offer important networking opportunities. It is also a great time for catching up with colleagues and friends. The opportunities for expanding my professional network and nourishing existing relationships is a key reason for attending conferences. However, I also realize that conference attendance can be cost-prohibitive for many music therapists. The EMTC conference was an amazing conference full of stimulating sessions and a fantastic social program – who will ever forget the ax throwing competition during the Robber’s Banquet or the Sheep are the Champions conference song? Even though the conference was well attended by music therapists from across the globe, I could not help but wonder how many music therapists cannot afford attending an international conference like this. How many music therapists cannot afford attending national conferences either? Of course, I realize that conference attendance is only one of many strategies for preventing burnout in music therapists but, in an ideal world, I wish every music therapist could attend at least one conference per year.

I hope that for those of you who have not been able to attend a conference in recent years, reading the Nordic Journal of Music Therapy and other music therapy journals can bring much-needed professional nourishment and help you feel connected to the larger international music therapy community. In this issue, we have contributions by music therapists from Germany, the United Kingdom, Australia, the Republic of Korea, and the United States. Two articles focus on violence and conflict. The article by Andreas Wölfl (p. 363) presents the results of an evaluation study of a music therapy project model for violence prevention in schools. The study by Vivienne M. Colegrove and colleagues (p. 405) examined whether a music therapy intervention focused on nonverbal communication and emotional regulation can positively impact nonverbal conflict interaction between teens and their parents. Sang Eun Lee and colleagues’ study (p. 441) employed fMRI to examine the neural underpinnings of unpleasant emotional processing during modified guided imagery and music. Finally, through the presentation of two case studies, Alexander J. Street and colleagues (p. 382) describe adaptations and considerations needed for successful home-based delivery of neurological music therapy protocols. I hope that all of you will consider submitting your work to our journal and contribute to the nourishment and enrichment of music therapists worldwide.