Dance-Movement Therapy Paper

Dance-Movement Therapy takes the emotional and expressive aspects of dance to provide a therapeutic experience to the clients. The American Dance Therapy Association defines dance/movement therapy as the “psychotherapeutic use of movement to further the emotional, cognitive, physical and social integration of the individual” (ADTA, 2015). It is a form of Expressive Art Therapies. In Dance-Movement Therapy, the body movements are understood as behaviors and are taken as the base for assessment of the individual as well as for building interventions around it. This therapeutic form of dance can be administered in individual or group settings. It can be used with clients reporting medical, physical, psychological, social or emotional issues. Since

But it is only around the starting of 20th century that it found its way to become a therapeutic approach. It started in USA with Marian Chace, a dancer, choreographer and performer. She opened a dance school in Washington DC where she started noticing the effect dance and movement was having on her students. They reported increased well being which made the medical doctors also took notice. They started sending their patients to her academy. When psychiatrists too became of aware of the benefits the mentally ill patients were receiving ate her academy, they appointed her at the St. Elizabeth’s Hospital in Washington DC. In 1966, Marian Chace and other DMT pioneers, founded the American Dance Therapy Association with Marian Chace as the first president of the association. This is now known as the First Wave in the history of DMT.

Second Wave started around the 1970s during which DMT started gaining popularity. Psychotherapists started applying the benefits of dance and movement. DMT now, came to be recognized as a form of psychotherapy. Today, the ADTA works to promote the highest standards of education and practice in the field. It is the licensing and certification body for individuals who wish to become Dance Therapists. It has its own research journal namely, American Journal of Dance Therapy. The association started with only 73 members and now has 955 professional

Each stage gives ample time for the therapist and client to create a nurturing and therapeutic environment. The goals and activities of each stage vary with each client. In the preparation stage, the client is made to get comfortable with the space around him as well as his body. He/she is asked to move with his/her eyes closed. This stage is critical for forming a therapeutic and trusting alliance between the therapist and the client. In the second stage, incubation, the therapist verbally asks the client to go into their sub-conscious by asking them to form mental images. It helps the client in forming an internal environment which is relaxing and which also helps the client move in a symbolic manner. The illumination stage brings the client more close to his/her own self. The client is made to observe his/her subconscious motivations and resolve them. Self-reflection is a significant aspect of this stage. The last stage of evaluation helps the client to verbalize the insights and importance of the therapy session. It is also a preparation to end the therapy