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Development Of Dance And Movement Therapy

By Karen Carter


Movement/Dance therapy refers to the therapeutic use of dance and movement for the purpose of supporting emotional, motor, and intellectual functions of the body. The term movement/dance therapy is often abbreviated as DMT and is commonly used in the United States and Australia. In the United Kingdom, this therapeutic treatment is referred by the name dance movement psychotherapy. The abbreviated form used in the United Kingdom is DMP.

DMT is categorized under expressive therapy. It aims to find the correlation between emotion and movement. Movement therapy has been in existence for a very long time. Since early human history, it has been used in healing rituals for issues such as death, sickness, birth, and fertility. The idea that dance was not simply an expressive art began to exist in the US and Europe between the years of 1840 and 1930.

Even though dance has traditionally been used for healing for thousands of years back, it is in the 1950s that it got established as a profession and therapy. American Dance Therapy Association founder, Chance Marian had a big role to play in this establishment. DMT has historically had two waves of development throughout. The first wave owes its development to Chance whilst the second wave interested American therapists a great deal.

The belief that the body and mind are in constant interaction is the basis for the theory of DMT. The dualist mind body premise is what the unconscious and conscious movements people make are based. For that reason, therapists partly base their relationships with clients on body language among other non-verbal cues. Each participant receives a sense of wholeness from DMT session by exploiting the unity among the body, spirit, and mind.

The process entails four stages that must be completed. One must achieve the smaller objectives entailed in each stage. The bigger purpose of DMT is comprised of these smaller goals. Each individual has different goals and stages are customized for each person. Stages progress from one to the other. Where necessary, stages are revisited every now and then.

The four stages involved in this therapeutic method are, preparation, illumination, evaluation, and incubation. The preparation stage also goes by the name warm-up stage. It involves preparing a safe and adequate space without distractions or obstacles. The stage also involves participants forming supportive relationships with witnesses. Comfort is needed for the participants to move while closing their eyes.

The incubation stage involves the leader prompting participants to go into subconscious. The prompt is given verbally. The subconscious is an internal environment of relaxation and serenity that the participant needs in order to exploit their emotions. Incubation is followed by the illumination process, which is integrated through dialogue. The witness offers dialogue to the conscious awareness to allow for self-reflection.

As the participant self-reflects, they are able to uncover and resolve motivations in their subconscious. Too much self-awareness has both negative and positive effects. The evaluation process concludes the session with discussions about the insights revealed and their significance.




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