What is Dance Movement Therapy?
“Dance/movement therapy is the psychotherapeutic use of movement to promote emotional, social, cognitive, and physical integration of the individual.”
— The American Dance Therapy Association
Emphasizing the movement part of the title allows for accessibility regardless of ability. The way we move is a daily measure of how we feel, how we express ourselves, and how we relate to others. Movement includes our breath, eye contact, postures, gestures, our inhale and our exhale, our digestion and play. Consider how you incorporate movement on a daily basis.
When we find a healthy relationship amongst these movement entities, we can create a safe space for our nervous system to heal.
Benefits of Dance-Movement Therapy
Self As Instrument
Dance Movement Therapy teaches that the mind and the body are one (Levy, 2005), therefore clients can learn what their emotional needs are from using “self as instrument”.
Mind-body Connection
“Dance/movement therapy has the ability to connect an individual to the world around them in ways that traditional forms of therapy cannot. Through the use of rhythm, sound, and movement, individuals begin to reconnect in ways previously unimaginable.” (Hornthal, E., n.d.)
Empowerment
How we navigate the world in our body's language can come from multiple parts of the self. Sometimes, these parts can even oppose each other based on differences in values across time period, culture, religion, gender, etc. Our bodies expand and contract based on when we feel empowered, and disempowered. Inevitably, our psyche also receives these messages. To move, think, feel and act as one is to feel aligned with oneself, regardless of external pressures.
Boundaries
Dance/movement therapy unlocks the preverbal intuition and form of relating. Teaching each other how to attune to needs without words, and with the body's knowledge.
A Direct Route
Sometimes words are not enough. Have you ever felt your body's temperature, tension and eye contact change in response to an emotion? To know what we want to say, we first must feel our way through these physiological cues. Typically we release tension through words. Why not also release through where our emotions live, directly from the body?
Listen to your body
The movements we make when we express ourselves are all choices. Building new neural pathways through movement expands both functional and expressive movement opportunities. Consider what this could do for those who feel “stuck" in life. Thinking your way through problem-solving isn't always the answer. Listening to the body can be a more direct resource for change. (Bradley, 2009)
References:
Levy, F. J., (2005). “The Shoulders on which We Stand.” p. 1-13. Dance movement therapy: a healing art (2 nd rev. ed.). Reston, VA: National Dance Association an association of the American Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation, and Dance. Mettler, B. The language of movement. December 6-8, 1985. Retrieved from http://iwhome.com/mettler/lofm.htm
Dancing Through Dementia: The Benefits of Dance/Movement Therapy by Erica Hornthal MA, LCPC, BC-DMT
What To Expect
In other forms of therapy, the only option is to use the mind. In dance/movement therapy, you have the option to use mind, body and/or spirit. You will then figure out how these are interrelated to better understand yourself. Learning about yourself is always applicable.
We want to offer options in functional and expressive movement for the expansion of self. You do not have to be a dancer or a movement professional of any kind to do dance/movement therapy. You just have to be yourself. We will offer choice, whether it be expressing yourself through traditional talk therapy, with the added component of movement - or other styles of self-expression you feel fit.