What is Dance Movement Therapy and How Can it Help?

Original Post Here

Dance has been a part of the human experience for centuries. Whether it be traditional folk dancing, recreational dancing, or formal training people dance around the globe daily. If you have ever known a child who began taking dance lessons you may have noticed a change in their confidence and/or outgoing behaviors. Having taught dance for several years I often noticed radical changes in children I taught. It is no wonder that dance and movement have been intentionally applied to bring about therapeutic change.

Dance Movement Therapy or DMT is defined as “the psychotherapeutic use of movement to further the emotional, cognitive, physical and social integration of the individual” (American Dance Therapy Association, 2013). Jeong, Hong, Lee, Park, Kim, and Suh (2005) show that DMT has been a recognized form of therapy since the 1950s. Prior to this musical movement or dance was used to affect change in feelings for centuries (Jeong et al., 2005). DMT is a form of therapy that requires special training and certification/registration to be appropriately used.

A picture from Kinections with Director Danielle Frankel, my DMT instructor/mentor.
http://www.kinections.com/

In their study of the effectiveness of DMT with depressed youth Jeong et al. found that DMT was useful with a wide variety of populations and issues. According to Jeong et al. (2005) “DMT aids recovery from the psychosocial and psychophysical effects of physical trauma and diseases such as cancer, heart disease, neurological impairments, systemic lupus erythematous, chronic pain, and after surgery.” (p.1713). DMT was found to help in these situations by: Redefining and strengthening body image; clarifying ego boundaries; providing an outlet for relief of physical tension, anxiety, and aggression; reducing cognitive and kinesthetic disorientation; increasing the capacity for communication, pleasure, fun, and spontaneity; and support for therapeutic medical goals. (Jeong et al., 2005 p.1713)

Given the many applications for this treatment type further study is implicated. In Texas there are few providers of DMT. An increase in available options for DMT could benefit many.
Stacia Barrett, LMSW

References

American Dance Therapy Association (nd). About dance movement therapy. Retrieved from http://www.adta.org/About_DMT
Jeong, Y., Hong, S., Lee, M. S., Park, M., Kim, Y., & Suh, C. (2005). Dance movement therapy improves emotional responses and modulates neurohormones in adolescents with mild depression. International Journal of Neuroscience, 115(12), 1712-1713. doi:10.1080/00207450590958574