As stated before, dance movement therapy is “a relational process in which client/s and therapist engage in an empathic creative process using body movement and dance to assist integration of emotional, cognitive, physical, social and spiritual aspects of self.” (ADMP 2013)
It is a fairly young profession compared to the life span of the planet. It has been growing in the United States for over forty years and in the UK, the pioneers of the profession started developing their practice during the late 1960s-1970s.
The practice of dance movement therapy is not limited to these two countries but is practiced in over thirty-three countries such as Australia, Spain and Israel to name a few. The histories and methods used will focus on the United Kingdom and United States due to most published research and writings originate from both these places. Also their histories are similar and tend to intertwine. Despite the fact the profession is practiced in nations that have cultural differences, dance movement therapists have core values and beliefs which are:
-The human being is a body mind unity and dance/movement is its manifestation.
-Gesture, posture and movement express the person and allow for self knowledge and psychotherapeutical change.
-Acknowledgement of the therapeutical effects of the creative process.
-Dance and movement are utilized as a way to the unconscious and as a facilitator of different aspects of health and well being.
-There is a differentiation between the work done with an artist or dance teacher and that by a therapist. For them, dance is at the service of promoting health and change.
-Dance therapists establish contact, plan treatment and evaluate it in terms of integrated
knowledge of movement, dance and psychotherapy.
These six statements set the basis for the dance movement therapist's practice and professional development.
A TEDTalk by Natalia Duong on Dance as Therapy.
Natalia Duong is a performance artist.
Creativity is of great importance to dance movement therapists because they are interested in the creative process of the individual asking for help, who likely is not involved in any creative arts profession. Originality and spontaneity are themes that dance movement therapists encourage when working with patients and clients. The profession works primarily with the nonverbal; the danced expression of the client with the therapist's movement and verbal input. The work of art made in a session is not seen as something to expose to public. Dance movement therapy does not look at the movements made as performance to be shared. It does not require nor demand any formal or technical training in dance for the client to be able to benefit from this type of therapy.
Improvisation plays heavily in the field of dance movement therapy and is the basis for a lot of the methods used to aid clients. It encourages the participants/mover to detach from typical reactions so that new psychophysical forms may emerge and be explored.
Dance movement therapy strives to enable the individual to try out new possibilities, delve in to paths of who they might be. It promotes discovering new meanings and experiences of self. The sessions are spaces that contain a therapeutic relationship where the patient can embark on a journey of introspection and integration. The basic emotional, kinesthetic and symbolic aspects of movement are what is key in dance movement therapy. Not the aesthetic or technique looked for in traditional dance settings.
Kinesthetic Empathy is also a concept that is prevalent in dance movement therapy. It is a form of knowledge, of contact and shared construction that may take many forms. Movement explorations are designed by capturing themes or issues displayed by the patient’s body language - stance, gesture, posture, attitude and speech.
Dance movement therapists must have gone through his/her own therapy, supervision and continuous training in the ares of psychology. They must be able to dance, be knowledgable of movement techniques and to continue developing professionally through research on the field of dance and psychology.
How does one become a dance movement therapist?
One cannot simply read thousands upon thousands of pages of research into the field to call one's self a dance movement therapist. In order to be officially recognized, one must undertake a course of study, usually at the postgraduate level, to become a licensed dance movement therapist. There are institutions that offer undergraduate programs in the field but one must still obtain a master's degree in order to become licensed as clinical internships are required.This was not always so as there had to be a starting point for this middle aged profession.
In the United States of America, the people who are most recognized as the pioneers of the field are
Marian Chace
Blanche Evan
Liljan Espenak
Mary Whitehouse
Trudi Schoop
Alma Hawkins
In the United Kingdom, the people recognized as the pioneers are
Helen Payne (major pioneer)
Leah Bartal
Lynne Crane
Sarah Holden,
Fran Lavendel,
Jeannette Mac Donald,
Bonnie Meekums,
Kedzie Penfield
Marie Ware
