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Dance/Movement and Mind-Body Therapies

Written by Jessica Goodin Tuesday, 14 June 2011 13:58

Currently, two dance therapists, Sean Favretto and I, work at the day program.  Dance/movement therapy is an Expressive Arts Therapy which uses movement and the body to promote emotional, mental, physical, and social well-being.  DMT is founded on the knowledge that movement is a primary and foundational means of communication and self-expression.  Early humans used movement and dance to communicate, worship, and celebrate before verbal language was ever developed.  Before infants learn to speak, they communicate their needs non-verbally through movement.  Even when verbal language develops and we grown from a child into an adult, we never lose this capacity to understand each other through movement. 

Dance/movement therapists are psychotherapists who have completed a three-year graduate program, including two internships and a thesis project.  There are only a handful of accredited dance therapy programs and students travel from all over the country to attend.  Students who are not able to move near a program sometimes participate in an alternative Route training under the supervision of an approve school.  My own training was at Columbia College Chicago where I earned my Masters of Arts in Dance/Movement Therapy and Counseling.  This program, along with most accredited programs, is a 60 credit hour program that goes above and beyond the requirements of standard Counseling graduate degrees to include material in dance therapy theory and techniques.  Dance therapists have two levels of certification.  Upon graduation, dance therapists receive DMT-R (Dance Movement Therapist Registered) certification and after two years of clinical work and supervision can apply for BC-DMT (Board Certified) status.

The McClendon Center Day Program offers several mind-body and movement-based groups each week, including DMT groups for specific treatment tracks and choice groups: Dance-Making, Morning Stretch, Meditation, and Tai Chi.  In addition, movement and dance are used to open and energize the Morning Showcase group each Friday.  Dance Therapy groups, which are programmed for specific treatment tracks or choice groups are designed to promote the growth and well-being as well as targeting specific goals of the group members.  Dance-Making group is held on Wednesdays and begins with warm-up and improvised movement.  In Art for the Stage, consumers can be part of the performance without dancing in front of the crowd by contributing visual elements that enhance the performance.  Once the choreography and artwork are complete, the dance is performed for the entire Day Program during Morning Showcase and the group receives feedback and questions from the group.  Morning Stretch is used to increase grounding and range of motion, explore tension and relaxation, increase energy level, and increase somatic awareness.  In Meditation and Action, meditation techniques are taught and practiced to reduce stress and increase mindfulness.  Tai Chi is another mind-body group that is offered each week, and offers the opportunity to explore healing, meditation, and self-defense.

Some Day Program consumers shared their thoughts about what it is like to participate in Mind-Body and Dance Therapy groups.  Hattie J. smiled as she explained "it wakes me up and makes me alert".  Dennis L. described his movement experience as "peaceful, quiet, joyful, loving, caring, pleasant" and that "the instructors are very good."  Reflecting on their shared experience moving together in a Dance Therapy group, Jackie J. and Ronnie C. collaborated to write this response: "For several sessions we danced and collaborated together.  We chatted, each had a response to our enthused way of making a merry day of dance".  I feel extremely fortunate and thankful to all the consumers at the Day Program who brighten each of my workdays with their dances.