What is dance movement therapy?

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Dance movement therapy is founded on the premises that thoughts, feelings and one's experiences are expresses by the body's movement. It is a relational therapeutic process that integrates one's emotional, cognitive, physical and socials aspects. 

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Dance movement therapy  incorporates elements from psychotherapeutic approaches, psychology, sensorimotor and developmental movement, movement analysis and neurology. The elements of dance (body awareness, rhythm, time, space, gesture, posture, and dynamics) are applied as a framework for exploration, discovery, learning, and change. Dance movement therapy is based on movement behavior as it is expressed in the therapeutic relational process. In individual and group therapy, expressive, communicative, and adaptive behaviors are taken into account. Body movement, as an essential component of dance, simultaneously provides the means of evaluation and the mode of intervention.

 

Dance movement therapists use dance and movement in a therapeutic context. The goal of dance movement therapy is not to teach dance technique. Preferably, dance movement therapists apply elements of dance and movement to facilitate a process that aligns with the needs and treatment plans of the clients they work with. Dance and movement therapy is applied as a complementary and supportive intervention, and can also serve as a tool for diagnosis. Dance and movement therapists work equally well in networks with multidisciplinary professional teams in the academic, medical and mental health fields.
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A dance movement therapist has a graduate level of university education, in addition to an internship supervised by professionals in the field of dance movement therapy. For more information on training in Canada, head to the Education section.​​​

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