Help to heal /
Dance movement therapy centres around the notion that the body and mind are interconnected, and that body movement reflects the state of a person's inner-self. Dance therapists seek to heal mental issues by encouraging
dance-like movement in a controlled, relaxing environment. It is thought to reveal and address conflicts that exist in both the conscious and unconscious.
History
Dance therapy can be traced back to the 1930s and dance teacher Marian Chace. She encouraged her students to express their emotions through dancing. Local Doctors, seeing the benefits of the approach started sending patients to her classes. This would eventually led to the setting up of the
American Dance Therapy Association in 1966, of which Chace was the association's first president. Since then dance movement therapy has spread to countries all over the world and is used in a variety of forms.
Approach
Dance therapy belongs to the
Creative Arts therapy family. Practitioners believe mental problems can cause physical problems such as tension and restricted movement. Equally, the body state has the potential to bring about negative effects mentally such as frustration or anger. Dance movement is therefore encouraged to relieve both mental and physical problems with therapists seeking to find harmony between the body and mind.
How can it help?
Like all aspects of
expressive psychotherapy, this kind of therapy is well-suited to people who have difficulty in expressing certain emotions. This may include people who have experienced traumatic events that they can't easily talk about. Those suffering from serious illness may also benefit from dance therapy.
Dance Therapy resources
Association for Dance Movement Therapy UK
The United Kingdom Society for Play and Creative Arts Therapies
