How is dance/movement therapy connected to the field of counseling?
Who can benefit from dance/movement therapy? Do you have to be a dancer to work with a dance/movement therapist?
How do dance/movement therapists connect with children with autism?
What sort of training does a dance/movement therapist have? What’s the difference between a registered dance/movement therapist (R-DMT) and a board certified dance/movement therapist (BC-DMT?)
Find out the answers from the ever articulate Christina Devereaux, MA, BC-DMT, NCC, spokesperson for the American Dance Therapy Association. Recently interviewed by Kristé Bouvier on the Designer Health Net Talk Show, Christina provides insight into these questions and more in a six minute segment of a 60 minute show dedicated to dance in general.
There are two ways to listen:
Click on this for a direct link to listen to the MP3.
OR
Go to the Designer Health Net Talk Show site itself and listen to the past episode on “dance.”
Christina Devereaux’ interview starts at approximately 16 minutes into the program and ends at about 22 minutes in.
Should her answers inspire your own questions, feel free to respond to my blog and ask them here. I’m happy to provide whatever information I can or point you in the direction you need to go to find your answers.
Hi Lora!
Thank you so much for this wonderful and informative blog.I am into Indian classical dance and love each moment I spend dancing.I totally understand the effect of music and movement on our mind,body and soul.I came across this concept of dance therapy while praying one day…..and have been exploring the concept since then.Would you be able to suggest and advise on how to move ahead in this field in Houston as I don’t come from a background in dance or counselling…but both have been my interests at a personal level.
Thank you so much
Pooja
Hi Pooja. I’m so glad that you have found this blog helpful in some way. Your story is one that echoes the stories of every dance/movement therapist I’ve ever met – it seems we have all been personally moved by the power of dance in our own lives to heal, evoke joy & peace, to feel balanced, alive…. Even though the profession is nearly 60 years old and DMT has been on the cutting edge of Western mindbody medicine for decades, our field is still largely unknown to the general public. That makes each and every one of us still pioneers in the 21st century! So many dancers, it seems, are inspired by their own experiences to think they are “creating” a “new” thing… just to find out that there is an actual organized, highly trained, board-certified assembly of professionals that have been practicing it and researching the application of dance and expressive movement as therapy for decades! Welcome to the fold!
Houston, huh? Well, first, I would contact the Texas Chapter of the American Dance Therapy Association. There are at least 6 DMTs in Houston that I know of – really great DMTs. Mary Whiting is the President of the Texas Chapter. Her email address is mary@healthynewliving.net. I recommend contacting her to see if there is a mailing list of some sort for trainings, workshops, etc where you could learn more locally.
There is no graduate school in TX. If you are interested in pursuing education in DMT without moving, you will need to consider the alternate route, most likely. This is where you get a Master’s degree in a mental health field (psychology, counseling, etc) and then take DMT courses through approved institutions – most of them are satellite. Check out Kinections.com for info on alternate route. Actually, Kinections is starting a new course this fall that is intro to DMT that provides lecture via video conference twice a month with one weekend a month of experientials locally. Check out Kinections.com to learn about it (auditions/interviews must be done this month so if you’re interested, act now!)
The last thing I would suggest is perhaps going to the ADTA National Conference in Minnesota in October. I realize it would be a jaunt from TX, but what a wonderful way to immerse yourself in the profession for 3 days and discover if it is what your soul has been looking for all along. You’ll either respond with a fiery, hearty “YES! I MUST LEARN THIS AND DO THIS!” or you’ll realize that it isn’t what you expected and you can put your energies into finding other ways to incorporate dance into your life/career. I think that is great info to find out for a few hundred dollars.
Please feel free to contact me again if you have further questions. Best of luck to you. And check out American Dance Therapy Association on Facebook and the public forum on the ADTA website for further resources! http://www.adta.org/Default.aspx?pageId=346195
All the best to you- keep dancing!
Lora