What is Dance Movement Therapies?

Dance and /or movement therapy uses expressive movement as a therapeutic tool for both personal expression and psychological or emotional healing. Practitioners work with people with physical disabilities, addition issues, sexual abuse histories, eating disorders, and other concerns.

Further detail on Dance Movement Therapies:

Dance therapy, or dance movement therapy is the psychotherapeutic use of movement (and dance) for emotional, cognitive, social, behavioural and physical conditions. It is a form of expressive therapy. Certified dance therapists hold a masters level of training.

Dance therapy is founded on the premise that the body and mind are an interrelated continuum (refer bodymind), that the state of the body may affect mental and emotional wellbeing in manifold ways. In contrast to artistic dance, which is usually concerned with the aesthetic appearance of movement, dance therapy explores the nature all movement. Through observing and altering the kinesthetic movements of a client, dance movement therapists diagnose and help solve various psychological problems. As any conscious person can move on some level, this therapy can work with any population.

Even standing still, sitting down, or moving hands in protest is considered an expression of movement in dance therapy. There are several different forms of application of dance therapy, including authentic movement, group work, individual clients, and individual forms generated by the therapist themselves.

Marion Chace is considered the principal founder of what is now dance therapy.

Other pioneers of dance movement therapy include Blanche Evans, Trudi Schoop, Lilian Espenak and Alma Hawkins. They all have different approaches to dance movement therapy and ways of working. For example Mary Winehouse uses authentic movement as part of her technique.

LMA or Laban Movement Analysis is also part of dance movement therapy as it used to categorise movements into efforts, which can be used as an insight to the patient's mental state.