More and more press is being devoted to people who are benefitting from the inherently healing power of dance.
Recently, the Orange County Register reported on a former Laker girl who offers dance classes to cancer survivors.
Another online article highlights the work of a social worker using dance and movement in her work with a boy with Asperger’s syndrome.
It is always inspiring to read about people’s lives being positively affected by dance, whether it is through Zumba® Fitness or in classes taught by former dancers who know from their own personal experiences how healing and cathartic it can be. Dance IS inherently healing.
The pioneers of the profession of dance/movement therapy were also exploring the use of dance as therapy in the 1940s and 1950s, planting the seeds of the modern profession of dance/movement therapy with their respective groundbreaking work with World War II veterans, psychiatric patients and clients seeking deeper self-understanding.
Dance/movement therapy has come a long way as a profession since the American Dance Therapy Association was established in 1966. We have accumulated nearly four decades of published scholarship and dance/movement therapy professionals practice in over 30 countries. In fact, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the number of dance/movement therapists in this country is estimated to increase by 15 percent by 2018. (Source: International Business Times.)
To all the dancers, teachers and therapists impacting people’s lives through dance, I invite you to consider undertaking the training to become a board certified dance/movement therapist (BC-DMT.)
With graduate level training, your skills can benefit from the knowledge that dance/movement therapy scholars, researchers and practitioners have cultivated over 60 years.
Under the tutelage of renown clinicians, you can learn to hone your compassionate instincts into the refined nonverbal and verbal skills of a trained therapist, one who understands thoroughly the nuances of how to best employ dance and movement to facilitate healing.
Dance does heal. Yes! Absolutely! It is therapeutic, cathartic, empowering! Dance has been a healing force in communities since time immemorial.
The practice of true clinical dance/movement therapy (DMT), however, is a complex and nuanced one, involving graduate level understanding of all of the following:
psychological theory
human development
multicultural perspectives
group process
behavioral research
psychopathology, psychodiagnosis and assessment skills
dance/movement therapy theory
expressive & communicative aspects of verbal & non-verbal behavior
movement observation and analysis
human anatomy, kinesiology, and basic neuroscience
and clinical applications of DMT with individuals, families & groups
(Source: ADTA.org)
Even though DMT has been an organized profession since 1966, many people exploring the therapeutic use of dance today feel they are creating something “original” and pioneering a new path.
One truth is these paths were actually pioneered decades ago…
AND, yet, another truth is that, in fact, we are ALL STILL pioneers.
Dance/movement therapists belong to a community of trailblazers that have been on the cutting edge of mind/body medicine since the mid 20th century. However, in a population of over seven billion people, it is hard to hear the voices of less than two thousand dance/movement therapists dispersed around the globe.
But, the number of voices is multiplying. Adding to the chorus, amplified by the power of the internet, are an even greater number of voices proclaiming throughout the world that dance and movement is helping them cope – with cancer, with Parkinson’s disease, with depression, with autism, with Life. If you are a person who is helping others express their emotions through dance or cope through dance… we need you and you need us.
I remember reading once that, by flying in a V formation, geese can fly 71% farther than if they were flying individually. This happens because each flap of the birds’ wings creates an uplift for the birds that follow.
Your flock awaits.
I invite you to learn more about the profession of dance/movement therapy and consider it as a career option. For those of you who already have a Master’s degree in a mental health related field, you can pursue board certification via alternate route training or pursue a PhD in dance/movement therapy. For those of you in the midst of your undergraduate schooling, you might want to take a closer look at these graduate schools offering Master’s degrees in dance/movement therapy. (Note that if relocation to one of the seven graduate programs is not possible for you, alternate route training is also an option.)
Together, let’s grow the research, the scholarship, and practice of dance/movement therapy so that all might understand its efficacy and have access to the healing inherent in dance.
Don’t forget that there are also serious ethical considerations around the appropriate use of touch and the clinical considerations based upon knowledge of movement observation, bodily sense, and other DMT training techniques that would inform a practioner when dealing with trauma with the goal of preventing re-traumatization if movement is not used correctly or without this awareness. Just because you can use great words, doesn’t make you a trained psychotherapist. The same goes for movement, dance and yoga.
Well said!
Dance Movement Therapy is a powerful and important means to deepen one’s connection to one’s self and to others. I hope that people interested in Dance Movement Therapy will seek training in this wonderful form of therapy that has amazing articles and research. People who become dance movement therapists often have many kinds of training, but integrate those trainings through the lens of the people within moving bodies that express their uniqueness, and their abilities to engage in connectedness. There is the benefit of a strong collegial association, professional standards, and ethics for practice. As a member, myself, I encourage people to experience dance movement therapy as it is by experiencing it that one might discern if that is a career that suits them. I hope that interested people follow their passion and find a way to study dance movement therapy and become dance movement therapists.
Lora, it’s so like your generous nature to include links to dance/movement therapy programs. This is a comprehensive overview of our field. I’ve thought a lot about this, too, and think it has to do with the inherently healing nature of dance. And, as we know, it’s harder than it looks to bring actual psychotherapy into the dance, as Elissa White said.
I just came across your blog posting as I am struggling with how to respond to an article entitled “dance therapy heals the soul’ written about a Journey dance class that my friend offers. This article had an accompanying photo on the front page of their “Living and Being” magazine with the same title. Your blog is so well written and covers it all. I think I shall just forward it to the journal. Thanks.
Nada, I would be honored to have my post forwarded. I am not familiar with Journey dance class but this sort of press for non dance/movement therapy is all too common. I am glad to know that you are choosing to respond in some way. Education and outreach are our greatest tools. Best to you!
Thank you very much for your comment on my blog. Dance therapy truly is a wonderful thing and can benefit so many people in many different ways. In reply to your request, I would gladly inform my young readers of dance/movement therapy and that it is a profession that requires not only a lot of training and experience but a master’s degree as well. I agree that this profession is not very well known, especially with young dancers, and that more people should be aware of dance therapy and its benefits. I volunteer often with a certified dance therapist and I really hope that one day I can also make a difference in the lives of others with dance therapy.
You, and all other dance therapists, are very inspiring not only to me, but to many young dancers as well. I truly appreciate all that dance therapists do to help make a difference in the lives of others with the joy of dance.
Each voice matters in this world. Thank you for adding yours to the chorus! That’s wonderful that you volunteer with a dance/movement therapist (a BC-DMT, I’m guessing?). Thanks for doing your part to inform the young dancers about DMT. Please do feel free to reach out to me if you ever have questions and http://www.adta.org is a great place to send dancers who have questions about the profession. Best to you!
Lora, Thank you so much for such a wonderful blog. Your words very gracefully introduce the depth of dance/movement therapy. The reason why dance/movement therapy is so healing is because we are all universally connected through movement. It is very common for dancers or movement lovers to think they “made it up” because the stirring is inherent in them. What is needed is EDUCATION about history, methods, research, assessment, depth, and the unique combination and application of dance and psychotherapy. Your post does it so well.
Professional and board certified dance therapists adhere to a code of ethics and honor patient confidentiality. We do not commonly take photos and post our patients in articles or newspapers! Many examples in the news of the healing benefits of dance are provided by people not bound by professional standards. And this is where the link to your blog needs to be posted to help readers take the information a step further.
In my private practice in the past, I often had clients who found my pamphlets/business cards outside a dance studio that held NIA classes and other classes such as “Sweat your prayers” or “Rhythms.” Their comments to me were that they found the healing power of movement/dance and wanted to actually explore more deeply in a safer place with boundaries and a personal guide. The classes triggered their realization that they could benefit from deeper work. I believe COLLABORATION is needed with dance and exercise teachers so the public can benefit from a fuller or deeper experience of healing through dance/movement therapy.
Thank YOU for your feedback. I appreciate so much that you read my words and found them meaningful. You bring up excellent points and I love that you emphasize COLLABORATION. Although one day I hope the world will have as many DMTs as it does verbal psychotherapists (or maybe even MORE!) — that day is not in the near future. Til then, most people affiliated with dance will be instructors and teachers and that is with whom the public will most likely get their first experience of the healing power of dance. We must outreach and educate the dance world so that those who need this work find us. I love that you put your business cards and pamphlets outside those classes. Brilliant.
I am also a licensed Zumba instructor and am presenting on the Zumba through the DMT lens again this year at the ADTA conference. Your outreach as you described is a wonderful example of how to make connections. I will share your idea and credit you for it at the conference! 🙂
Lora, your blog is encouraging for people like me who have Parkinson’s. I am excited that I found it and I admire you for your time and devotion to help others.
Two months ago, I started a blog titled “lifebeganwithparkinson” and currently, I am on a journey to find the truth about man’s ability to heal. I personally can testify that dance and music are indeed therapeutic.
Before my recent move to another state, I attended line dance classes twice a week at the local senior center. Sometimes, I felt too tired to go but I went anyway. Once the music started, I felt rejuvenated and the forty five minute class seemed ten minutes long.
Multi-tasking is difficult for me so, listening to music while following instructions, moving my feet, turning around etc. was challenging, but I learned to accept my limitations. I had fun and found that my problems with balance, flexibility, lack of energy, gait and overall mood swings improved.
I’m hoping to find a similar class in my area. I can feel a decline in my physical, emotional and overall well being since I am no longer dancing.
If you have a chance, please visit my blog http://lifebeganwithparkinson.wordpress.com
I welcome your comments and advice. Thank you and God bless.
Thank YOU for reading my post and for sharing a bit of your journey here for myself and others to read. I am glad for you that you found on your own the positive benefits of dancing as it relates to your illness. The body of research for the use of dance as a rehabilitative intervention for Parkinson’s is growing and being explored not just by dance/movement therapists but also physical therapists and occupational therapists. I personally have witnessed a patient with PD emerge from a near paralytic state and move joyously to the rhythm of the music in connection with the other group members. I get teary-eyed just remembering that magical moment. There is much to be learned in this area. Much to be applied.
I hope you are able to find a dance class or even a dance/movement therapy experience in your new locale. If you need assistance in that search, please let me know and I’ll do what I can to find resources for you.
Healing is a journey – of the mind the body and the spirit. I wish you the best on yours and I look forward to reading your blog and being a witness to your journey. Blessings.
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[…] the moving body are aware of these therapeutic qualities. Lora Wilson-Mau, BC-DMT, extended an invitation to those making the world a better place through dance, including all dancers, teachers and therapists, to consider undertaking the training to become a […]