Jill Maglio, PhD, OTR/L: OT in Holistic Circus Therapy
In this post, we will earn from Jill Maglio, PhD, OTR/L. Dr. Jill Maglio is an occupational therapist with over 15 years of experience using circus as an educational, therapeutic, and community-building tool. She has collaborated with service recipients and governmental and non-governmental organizations to improve occupational participation for individuals and communities worldwide. Jill has trained professionals in Australia, Europe, Asia, Central America, and the USA in the methodology she has developed. Jill has collected evidence, tested methods, and created programs for political and environmental refugees underpinned by occupational science and social circus research. Most recently, Jill has been awarded a PhD from Latrobe University for her contribution to the occupational therapy profession, looking at how occupational therapists use circus in their practice areas to create change in the individual, community, and social-political contexts.
Q & A with Jill:
Please tell us a little about yourself and a few of your favorite occupations.
My name is Jill. I am an occupational therapist. I am inspired by creative arts and activism to help create more equitable and healthy communities.
What motivated you to contribute to this podcast series?
Occupational therapy is a very diverse, essential, and not well-understood profession. I think it's useful for more people to understand that the activities we do and how we spend our time are our own unique medicine. I want to contribute to that.
Please describe the UncommonOT work that you do and the setting in which you work, the population you serve and the needs that you address.
I work with Holistic Circus Therapy / CircusAid. We are a social enterprise that uses circus as an individual and community health service. We serve people with diverse learning abilities, special needs, political and environmental refugees, occupational therapists, and students wanting to include evidence-based circus into their practices. The needs we address depend on the client. When working with people with learning differences and special needs in school-based environments, we work specifically to address IEP goals. When working with political and environmental refugees we are addressing occupational deprivation, trauma, life skills acquisition, and community health of marginalized populations, and people displaced by socio-political conflict. When working with health professionals, universities and students, we are addressing the need for professional development, personal capacity building, higher education in emerging practice areas and community health and industry standards (where the OT profession is moving towards)
What inspired you or drew you to this type of OT work?
Initially, my journey with circus and occupational therapy began when learned fire dancing as an undergraduate student in California. Fire dancing gave me purpose and made me feel joyful, present, and challenged. It resulted in me taking care of myself physically, supporting myself financially, and being part of an international community of people with shared interests and values. Fire dancing was my introduction to the circus world that continued to positively impact all areas of my life. This experience I would later learn in my Masters of Occupational Therapy Practice course was called meaningful occupational engagement. As I started learning more about performance capacities, I saw many apparent connections between circus and occupational therapy, and these connections were reinforced through fieldwork experiences, self-directed research, and personal exploration of how circus and occupational therapy could improve individual capacities. Seven years into my professional role as an occupational therapist, I started researching plant medicines and shamanism, which transformed my priorities in a way that is almost inexplicable with words. I became distanced from individuality and the value I placed on individual performance capacities. I also began to adopt a strong yet simplistic belief that life is meaningless, so why not make it more comfortable for those struggling more than I am? My new perspective pivoted my work towards political and environmental refugees and wanting them to experience the joy of participation in circus without any expectation of functional capacity, accomplishment or ability. While organizing circus projects for displaced persons, I developed an increased interest in community development in which I came to rediscover meaningful occupational engagement through volunteer work and collaboration, working together with others who share a vision of a more equitable existence and using one's privilege to improve the conditions and access to resources for those who are marginalized.
Please describe a typical day or OT session at your uncommon setting? What OT skills do you utilize?
It depends, of course, on the population. There is always some type of circus activity involved, juggling, hula hooping, and clowning game or task. The OT skills include assessment, intervention, evaluation, client centered facilitation, task grading, collaboration, empowerment and capacity building.
Can you talk about some recent highs (successes) and lows (challenges) of your current role?
A recent high has been finishing my PhD and being able to contribute to the Occ Therapy profession in an evidenced-based way that will support other OTs wanting to use circus in their practice as well as contribute to more community development and equity and global health progress.
How do you continue to learn in order to stay on top of things within your role?
I learn from the people I work with, especially the displaced populations I have worked with. They have taught me so much about resilience. I engage in my own professional development and seek out opportunities where I feel like a novice. I think that is important for self-growth and humility.
Can you share a little bit about salary and compensation in this setting? How do OT or the services you provide get funded?
I run a Social Enterprise. Holistic Circus Therapy (HCT) LLC, is an occupational therapy private practice that provides direct client servcies, professional development trainings, online courses, fieldwork opportunities and team-building workshops that utilize circus as an educational, community building and therapeutic medium. 100% of profits received from HCT’s services fund CircusAid projects. CircusAid is the social development branch of our integrated business model that provides free services grounded in evidence-based practices developed from occupational therapy and social circus expertise and research. CircusAid projects help people displaced by war and natural disasters attain transferable life skills to promote greater success in unstable physical and political environments. HCT is funded by the people who utilize our services including Education Boards, Circus organisations, universities, community centers, disability service provides and individuals who want to become trained and certified by HCT
Any career advice for our followers and listeners on how to get started on this path?
Send me an email. I offer a variety of online and in-person training, fieldwork, and volunteer opportunities.
What’s a common myth or misconception about your job/role you’d like to call out or demystify?
OT's main job in schools is to improve handwriting.
How do we find you , follow you, be in touch with you and promote your unique work?
Email: jill@holisticcircustherapy.com
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dr-jill-maglio-phd-otr-l-4367823b/
Instagram: @circusaid
Our CircusAid website: https://www.circusaid.com/
CEU AOTA Approved Provider courses for professional development training https://www.holisticcircustherapy.com/certified-courses
Listeners can receive a 20% discount on our training by sending me a message with the code: transitions
And, here are some references on circus, social circus, and OT-informed circus
Agans, J. P., Davis, J. L., Vazou, S., & Jarus, T. (2019). Self-determination through circus arts: exploring youth development in a novel activity context. Journal of Youth Development, 14(3), 110.
Bolton, Reginald, (2004). Why Circus Works. Phd Thesis for the degree of doctor of philosophy, Murdoch University, Perth.
Coulston, F., Cameron, K. L., Sellick, K., Cavallaro, M., Spittle, A., & Toovey, R. (2023). Circus Activities as a Health Intervention for Children, Youth, and Adolescents: A Scoping Review. Journal of Clinical Medicine, 12(5), 2046. https://doi.org/10.3390/jcm12052046
Fernandez, Y., Ziviani, J., Cuskelly, M., Colquhoun, R., & Jones, F. (2018). Participation in community leisure programs: experiences and perspectives of children with developmental difficulties and their parents. Leisure Sciences, 40(3), 110-130.
Heller, C., & Taglialatela, L. A. (2018). Circus Arts Therapy® fitness and play therapy program shows positive clinical results. International Journal of Play Therapy, 27(2), 69.
Loiselle, F., Rochette, A., Tetreault, S., Lafortune, M., Bastien, J. (2019). Social circus program (cirque du soleil) promoting social participation of young people living with physical disabilities in transition to adulthood: a qualitative pilot study. Developmental neurorehabilitation, 22, 250-259. https://dx.doi.org/10.1080/17518423.2018.1474502
Maglio, J., McKinstry, C. (2008). Occupational therapy and circus: potential partners in enhancing the health and well-being of today's youth. Australian Occupational Therapy Journal, 55, 287-90. https://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1440-1630.2007.00713.x
Neave, N., Johnson, A., Whelan, K., & McKenzie, K. (2020). The psychological benefits of circus skills training (CST) in schoolchildren. Theatre, Dance and Performance Training, 11(4), 488-497.
Ratcliff E, Farnworth L, & Lentin P. (2002). Journey to wholeness: the experience of engaging in physical occupation for women survivors of childhood abuse. Journal of Occupational Science, 9(2), 65–71.
Spiegel, J. B., Breilh, M.-C., Campan, a, A., Marcuse, J., & Yassi, A. (2015). Social circus and health equity: Exploring the national social circus program in Ecuador. Arts & Health: International Journal for Research, Policy & Practice, 7(1),65–74. https://doi-org.ez.library.latrobe.edu.au/10.1080/17533015.2014.932292
Thompson, B. A. D., Broome, K. (2021). Social circus for people with disabilities: a video analysis through the lens of the MOHO. Occupational Therapy International, 2021, 6628482.
OTR Combines OT with Circus Arts to Reach Communities Throughout the World
Taking OT to Refugees: The Rewards & Challenges
As always, I welcome any feedback & ideas from all of you or if you are interested in being a guest on future episodes, please do not hesitate to contact Patricia Motus at transitionsot@gmail.com or DM via Instagram @transitionsot
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