A Brief Treatment on
Topic of Dance Therapy
Somatic Psychology and Dance/Movement Therapy constitute a rapidly emerging field based on body-mind-spirit integration in
greater field of psychotherapy. This brief treatment of
field is designed to serve as a cursory introduction to
application of Dance/Movement Therapy (D/MT) as a treatment tool.
“Dance Therapy is a form of psychotherapy, differentiated from traditional psychotherapy in that it utilizes psychomotor expression as its major mode of intervention. Its basic premise is that body movement reflects inner emotional states, and that changes in movement behavior can lead to changes in
psyche, thus promoting health and growth…to regain a sense of wholeness by experiencing
fundamental unity of body, mind, and spirit is
ultimate goal of dance therapy” (Levy, xi p.1)
One assumption that Dance/Movement Therapists make is that “all movement is reflective of both intrapsychic dynamics and one’s socially evolved mode of relating. Dance Therapy, therefore, deals with personality as it is made manifest in
movement behavior, and attempts to make changes on this level” Schmais, p. 26). “The Dance Therapist is able to recognize what [the client’s] limitations are in order to develop, through movement, a broader movement repertoire to better cope with everyday life. The premise is that a wide repertoire of movement and response is a sign of health, because one is then able to alternate means of dealing with stress” (p.27).
From my clinical experience I have come to believe that
body contains inherent wisdom and health. A person can realize this wisdom, this potential, when
body, psyche and spirit are connected. As
body contains our memories, we have
ability to access and heal these memories through movement sequencing. I maintain
perspective that when painful memories are repressed, they promote mental illness. Illness can be seen as a detachment or splitting-off from one’s physical self to avoid certain sensations or emotions. This split creates a body-psyche separation and can manifest in a variety of clinical disorders (such as depression, eating disorders, addiction, and dissociative identity disorders, among others). D/MT is a powerful tool for body/psyche integration.
Christine Caldwell, author and founder of
Somatic Psychology department at Naropa University, states “any recovery is incomplete until we reinhabit and enjoy being in our bodies” (p.9). Recovery involves “not just
absence of disease, but a gutsy, full-bodied, vibrant celebration of life, an actual experience of pleasure in
events of life, a rejoicing in being here that makes us all poets and dancers, lovers and painters, humanitarians of
highest order (p.9)” I endeavor to empower my clients with this experience.