Aspects of Theory and Practice in Dance Movement Psychotherapy in the UK: Similarities and Differences from Music Therapy (original) (raw)
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Noble, C. & Day, E. (Eds.) Counselling and Psychotherapy Works: Contributions from the Field. London: Oxford University Press., 2015
This chapter introduces dance movement therapy (DMT) as a specialized form of counselling and psychotherapy and a discipline within the field of creative arts therapy. The fundamental premise of DMT is that the relationship between body and mind is integral to human experience. Therapeutic change is considered to occur in the integration of these dimensions through expressive movement and dance. Diverse theoretical influences on DMT are outlined in the chapter including the ideas of Australia’s first dance movement therapist Hanny Exiner. Non-verbal strategies that are the hallmark of the therapeutic relationship in DMT are described. The healing potential of dance that has been recognised since ancient times is introduced briefly, along with more recent scientific findings that inform the field. An overview of the evidence about DMT that indicates support for the modality as effective treatment for a range of physical and psychological issues is presented. The chapter concludes with three case examples of current practice. Publication expected mid-2015
Dance Movement Therapy in the UK: A Field Emerging from Dance Education
European Physical Education Review, 2001
Dance Movement Therapy (DMT) in the UK is derived from dance education, as well as other associated fields. Although DMT is growing in terms of numbers of practitioners and client populations, only very limited information is available concerning the theoretical bases and principles underlying the practice of DMT, as well as the backgrounds of therapists. A nationwide study was therefore undertaken at the University of Manchester, UK (1994–8), which aimed at describing the field of DMT, as well as other Arts Therapies (ATS), as fully as possible. A questionnaire was constructed, based on preliminary ‘in-depth’ interviews with leading arts therapists, five of whom were dance movement therapists, and distributed to all registered members of the ATS associations: 41 dance movement therapists returned completed questionnaires. Results showed the occurrence of high professional qualifications among practitioners as well as a range of backgrounds, including education. A number of theoreti...
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American Journal of Dance Therapy, 2016
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Editorial: The State of the Art in Creative Arts Therapies
Frontiers in Psychology
Editorial on the Research Topic The State of the Art in Creative Arts Therapies Creative Arts Therapies is an umbrella term for healthcare professions that use the creative and expressive process of art making to improve and enhance the psychological and social well-being of individuals of all ages and health conditions. Creative arts therapies use the relationship between the client and therapist and among clients in group or dyadic therapy in the context of the creative-expressive process as a dynamic and vital force for growth and change. The creative-expressive process engages physiological sensations, emotions, and cognition; facilitates verbal and non-verbal symbolization, narration, and expression of conscious or unconscious conflicts and meaning-making through internal and external dialogue and communication between oneself and others. The major objective of this Research Topic was to introduce, collect, discuss, and disseminate new clinical practices, scientific evidence, methodologies, theoretical concepts, and notions about Creative Arts Therapies. By publishing this open-access articles under this Research Topic we hope not only to distribute updated knowledge among the many clinicians in this field, but also to inform and convey the importance and significant therapeutic impact of this field, to scientists and clinicians from other psychological disciplines. Creative arts therapists work in a variety of settings such as hospitals, educational institutions, community mental health facilities, prisons, hospices, and private practices, and include a variety of Professional specializations. Contributors to this Research Topic included experts in dance-movement therapy (DMT), drama-therapy and psychodrama, film therapy, music therapy, and art therapy. The topics of their studies vary from theoretical concepts and underlying mechanisms through methodology and up to evidence-based clinical studies and their review or meta-analysis. In the following paragraphs we summarized the 36 different contributions to this Research Topic, based on their artistic modality. DANCE-MOVEMENT THERAPY Seven articles contributed to the modality of dance-movement therapy. Payne and Brooks, wrote a theoretical article "Different Strokes for Different Folks: The BodyMind Approach as a Learning Tool for Patients with Medically Unexplained Symptoms to Self-Manage" in which, based on research and their DMT practice with patients with medically unexplained symptoms, they proposed a new approach to treat this population: The BodyMind Approach. A description of the theoretical underpinnings and philosophy of the proposed alternative to current interventions is presented as well as a description of the suggested intervention which incorporates creative arts therapies and adult learning techniques for self-management practices.
Dance movement psychotherapy: history, theory, methodology, tools Anastasia Nikolitsa
Body, Movement and Dance in Psychotherapy, 2019
Dance movement psychotherapy: history, theory, methodology, tools by Anastasia Nikolitsa is the first handbook of dance movement psychotherapy (DMP) written in Greek language. It will be of great interest to Greek trainees studying (DMP) in their mother tongue, as well as Greek-speaking colleagues of this journal. The book is also aiming at familiarizing other professionals of mental health care, educators, social workers, professionals in the field of dance, physical education teachers, with DMP. In that way, it succeeds in responding to the necessity for an introductory handbook of history, theory, methodology and tools of DMP written in Greek language. According to the author, 'it is a scientific guide containing all the theoretical material of DMP in a book, that contribute to the recognition of the profession, and appropriate to whom might be interested to get familiar with theoretical principles and techniques' (p. 18). The author creates an introductory handbook of DMP written in a personal style, revealing her way of relating to the material she is presenting, while she acquaints us with her standpoint of working psychotherapeutically with the body. She is honouring the women pioneers of the profession, by using female gender throughout the book, when referring to the dance movement therapist. Along with her professional studies in dance and DMP, the author is trained in body psychotherapy, recovery therapy for PTSD & trauma, and the comprehensive resource model. She has received a rich and diverse theoretical and experiential knowledge of the psychotherapeutic work with the body, along with her studies in dance. From her miscellaneous professional background, the author has chosen to bring in the theories that have a personal connotation to her perspective of the psychotherapeutic work. The author sustains the view that 'Reich's organismic and ontological vision on mental health has a lot to offer to the practice of DMP, opening a wide field of interrelations' (p. 39). Current developments in the field of DMP accentuate the importance of further researching the common ground between DMP and body psychotherapy. Both disciplines as embodied and enactive psychotherapies, are recognizing body and movement, as agents of psychotherapeutic change, revealing at the same time, the person's intra as well as interrelational problems (Payne, Warnecke, Karkou, & Westland, 2016). The book consists of five chapters and content-wise is divided into three parts. Some chapters of the book will serve as a theoretical point of reference to trainees or as a tool for further personal and professional development to
Examining arts psychotherapies practice elements: Early findings from the Horizons Project
2016
Background: Arts Psychotherapies (art, music, drama and dance/movement) have been integral to mental health care services for several decades, however consensus and transparency about the clinical process is still being established. This study investigates practice with a team of six arts psychotherapists working with severe mental illnesses in London, inpatient and community services. The study examines what in-session practice elements are used, whether there is consensus about what the practice elements are and why the arts therapists use them. Method: The methods employed in the first phase of the project are interview-based with thematic analysis; repertory grid technique and nominal group techniques are used to analyse the data with the aim of triangulating results to establish greater validity. Results: The results showed that there is scope for developing a shared language about in-session practice elements within a mental health context. However the research examining the timing and reasons for employing those practice elements is still being undertaken. In this study the first results from an extract of the interviews illustrates a complex relationship between theory and practice. Conclusion: From the findings so far it would appear that within this specific context it is possible to see that there are ways of categorising the therapist's actions that become comparable across the arts psychotherapies. From the therapist's personal descriptions of his or her own practice, there also appears to be a close correlation between arts psychotherapies in a mental health community and inpatient context. Additionally, evidence-based practice models such as mentalisation-based therapies appear to have a close correlation.
Dance Movement Psychotherapy DMP in Acute Adult Psychiatry a Mixed Methods Study
Durham University, 2020
Dance Movement Psychotherapy (DMP) in Acute Adult Psychiatry: A Mixed Methods study Mary Coaten This study explores the therapeutic mechanisms of Dance Movement Psychotherapy (DMP) in an in-patient setting for acute adult psychiatry through the qualitative dynamics of movement and the symbolic and metaphoric processes expressed during DMP sessions. Previous research has focussed on efficacy of DMP in relation to psychosis spectrum disorders, but there is little research on the mechanisms of DMP or the specific role of the moving body. The practitioner-researcher delivered weekly group DMP sessions of 90 minutes over ten weeks on two single gender in-patient wards in an NHS hospital. The dynamics of movement were evaluated using two aspects of Kestenberg Movement Profile (KMP), a movement notation instrument, related to complexity of relationships and ability to cope with the environment. The exploration of symbolic and metaphoric processes drew on self-reported questionnaires, case vignettes and psychotherapy process notes. Participants in the sessions echoed previous work in demonstrating an altered sense of space and time. Movement analysis, however, complemented previous work by indicating a specific imbalance in engaging with the future and the past. The study revealed several gender differences in the use of space and sense of self. Both men and women's movement in the space lacked structure, a lack compensated through the movements of the practitioner-researcher. Participants expressed their sense of self differently by gender, such that men engaged more with one another as a group and women focussed more on the individual bodily self. Symbolic and metaphoric communications indicated a relationship between an altered sense of space and time, and the movement dynamics present that acted in synchronicity with the symbols and metaphors. The study draws out several implications for practice and practitioners of DMP including how to tailor intervention to help re-balance the altered sense of space and time with potential impacts on improved sense of agency.
The Evidence Base for Dance/Movement Therapy in Mental Health Moving the Body of Knowledge
Creative Arts in Counseling and Mental Health
Dance/movement therapy will be understood according to the definition put forth by the American Dance Therapy Association (ADTA) as "the psychotherapeutic use of movement to further the emotional, cognitive, physical, and social integration of the individual" (ADTA, n.d.). Studies published in the United Kingdom and other countries may refer to dance/movement psychotherapy (DMP), which is defined similarly as "a relational process in which client/s and therapist engage in an empathic creative process using body movement and dance to assist integration of emotional, cognitive, physical, social and spiritual aspects of self" (Association for Dance/Movement Psychotherapy UK, 2013), and some earlier studies may refer to dance therapy or movement therapy. For this review, if the intervention under study was delivered by a therapist with professional education and training in the theories and clinical methods of DMT, and if the intervention was described sufficiently to determine that it fits the definitions here, it was considered DMT. It may be useful here to briefly describe the clinical discipline of DMT. The work is informed by theories of embodiment, human development, creativity, and movement studies as well as a full spectrum of psychotherapy and counseling theoretical approaches. These are manifest in DMT practice according to the training and education of the therapist, the assessed needs of the individual patient or client, and the prevailing theoretical paradigm of the treatment facility. In 1974, Schmais articulated the following premise for the work of DMT: "Significant changes occur on the movement level that can effect total functioning" (Schmais, 1974, p. 10). This seminal and potent theoretical proposition continues to inform practice and drive scholarship on the mechanisms for change in DMT. Elsewhere in this volume, the specific application of DMT in the context of the RECOVERY Model is described (see Chapter 11). In addition, as summarized by Goodill and Dulicai (2007), the literature records a broad scope of practice including work with infants and their parents, young children, school-age children, those with learning differences and autism spectrum disorders, teens at risk, those with substance abuse disorders, anxiety disorders, eating disorders, and psychiatric diagnoses. Clinical reports of DMT also describe work with those who have experienced domestic violence, homelessness, physical and sexual abuse, and war-related trauma. In addition, as noted above, dance/movement therapists address psychosocial aspects of medical conditions such as cancer, other chronic illnesses, pain-related and musculoskeletal problems, and in palliative care applications (Goodill & Dulicai, 2007, p. 124). The World Health Organization's (WHO) definitions of health and mental health are aptly broad with overall health described as "a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being, and not merely the absence of disease" (WHO, 2015a) and mental health as "a state of well-being in which every individual realizes his or her own potential, can cope with the normal stresses of life, can work productively and fruitfully, and is able to make a contribution to her or his community" (WHO, 2015b). The American Psychiatric Association's (APA) DSM IV states "there is much 'physical' in 'mental' disorders and much 'mental' in 'physical' disorders," and that the distinction is "a reductionistic anachronism of the mind/body dualism" (APA, 1994, p. xxi). Dance/movement therapy, as a mental health specialty discipline, is a mind-body integrated approach that is consistent with these holistic and biopsychosocial perspectives. Consequently, studies on the psychosocial
Kim and Jenny address the aft-mooted distinction between dance therapy and other dance modalities, and the appropriateness of these for people with intellectual disabilities. The article begins with a review of literature about dance programs for people with intellectual disabilities, especially writings that address this distinction. The authors then outline the complementary relationship they recognise between dance therapy, creative dance (recreational and educational), community dance and disability performance arts, based on their experience in all of these fields. The article finishes with a description of the factors the authors believe determine the appropriate choice of dance modality for any particular client or group of people with intellectual disabilities.