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 (creative arts) 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 of 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.
Marion Chace is considered the principal founder of what is now dance therapy in the United States. In the UK, the profession has been renamed Dance Movement Psychotherapy in order to reflect the psychotherapeutic nature of the work (see Meekums 2002 for a discussion).
Laban Movement Analysis (LMA) 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 and emotional state.
Dance / Movement Therapy
Recent Dance / Movement Therapy Articles
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