Life Balance Model (LBM)

The Life Balance Model (LBM) is a Model of Practice for occupational therapists.  The main idea for this model focuses on clients being able to maintain and possess a healthy, meaningful, and sustainable activities within each of their life circumstances.  To do so, the client must be able to meet basic needs that are necessary for physical safety and biological health, have rewarding and self-affirming relationships with other individuals, have challenges within their daily routines that allow them to feel competent and able, and create a personal identify that is meaningful to them.  These four standards within the LBM together allow the client to feel satisfied and comfortable in their lives if they can address each of them.  This model could be used for all ages beginning with children all the way to elderly clients.  

If an OT were to use the LBM, he/she would measure the client's satisfaction throughout their meetings by using questionnaires or interviews to assess how the client feels about their ability to meet each of these standards.  If the client reported low satisfaction, the OT would know that adjustments needed to be made within the client's activities to assist them with meeting the goals.  If the client reported high satisfaction, the OT would educate the client on ways to maintain these standards within their daily activities and interactions so that the model would continue to be effective.  Three key terms within the LBM are congruence, equivalence, and activity configurations.  Congruence refers to the harmony of activities within the client's life.  It is the actual time vs. the desired time spent on an activity to meet skill dimension of satisfaction with the time management necessary to achieve goals.  Equivalence is the equality of value and worth within the activities chosen by the client to complete.  It's also the time spent on activities that meet each of the four LBM standards.  Lastly, activity configurations is the means for meeting important needs differentiating life balance form other positive constructs within life.