1. History
     First wave    Second wave  

2. Principles

3. The therapy process

4. Dance styles used

5. Research
     Proposed mechanisms    Studies    Benefits    Adverse effects  

6. Locations

7. Organizations
     American Dance Therapy Association    Association for Dance Movement Psychotherapy, United Kingdom  

8. Allied professions

9. Therapist qualifications

10. Education

11. See also

12. References

13. Further reading

14. External links

History

https://adta.org/our-mission/

The American Dance Therapy Association was founded in 1966 as an organization to support the emerging profession of dance/movement therapy and is the only U.S. organization dedicated to the profession of dance/movement therapy.

Dance has been used therapeutically for thousands of years. It has been used as a healing ritual in the influence of fertility, birth, sickness, and death since early human history. Over the period from 1840 to 1930, a new philosophy of dance developed in Europe and the United States, defined by the idea that movement could have an effect on the mover vis-a-vis that dance was not simply an expressive art.^[6] There is a general opinion that Dance/movement as active imagination was originated by Jung in 1916,^[7] developed in the 1960s by dance therapy pioneer Mary Whitehouse. Tina Keller-Jenny and other therapists started practicing the therapy in 1940.^[8] The actual establishment of dance as a therapy and as a profession occurred in the 1950s, beginning with future American Dance Therapy Association founder Marian Chace.^[9]

First wave

Marian Chace spearheaded the movement of dance in the medical community as a form of therapy. She is considered the principal founder of what is now dance therapy in the United States.^[10] In 1942, through her work, dance was first introduced to western medicine. Chace was originally a dancer, choreographer, and performer. After opening her own dance school in Washington, D.C., Chace began to realize the effects dance and movement had on her students.^[11] The reported feelings of wellbeing from her students began to attract the attention of the medical community, and some local doctors began sending patients to her classes. She was soon asked to work at St. Elizabeth’s Hospital in Washington, D.C. once psychiatrists too realized the benefits their patients were receiving from attending Chace’s dance classes.^[12] In 1966 Chace became the first president of the American Dance Therapy Association, an organization which she and several other DMT pioneers founded.^[11] According to the ADTA, dance is "the psychotherapeutic use of movement as a process which furthers the emotional, social, cognitive, and physical integration of the individual."

Second wave

The second wave of Dance Movement Therapy came around the 1970s to the 1980s and it sparked much interest from American therapists. During this time, therapists began to experiment with the psychotherapeutic applications of dance and movement. As a result of the therapists' experiments, DMT was then categorized as a form of psychotherapy. It was from this second wave that today’s Dance Movement Therapy evolved.^[11]

Principles

The theory of DMT is based mainly upon the belief that body and mind interact. Both conscious and unconscious movement of the person, based on the dualist mind body premise, affects total functioning, and also reflects the individual’s personality. Therefore, the therapist-client relationship is partly based on non-verbal cues such as body language. Movement is believed to have a symbolic function and as such can aid in understanding the self. Movement improvisation allows the client to experiment with new ways of being and DMT provides a manner or channel in which the client can consciously understand early relationships with negative stimuli through non-verbal mediation by the therapist.^[11]

Through the unity of the body, mind, and spirit, DMT provides a sense of wholeness to all individuals. The body refers to the "discharging of energy through muscular-skeletal responses to stimuli received by the brain." The mind refers to "mental activities...such as memory, imagery, perception, attention, evaluation, reasoning and decision making." The spirit refers to the "subjectively experienced state of feeling in engaging in or empathically observing dancing."^[13]

Dance therapy works to improve the social skills, as well as relational dynamics among the clients that choose to participate in it to better improve their quality of life. Through this form of therapy clients will gain a deeper sense of self-awareness through a meditative process that involves movement, motion, and realization of one's body. Dance therapy is different from other forms of rehabilitative treatments because it allows creative expression and is more holistic, meaning it treats the full person: mind, body, and spirit.^[14]

The therapy process

The therapy process has four stages, which occur during DMT and can be a creative time for both the therapist and patient(s). Each stage contains a smaller set of goals which correlate to the larger purpose of DMT. The stages and goals of DMT vary with each individual. Although the stages are progressive, the stages are usually revisited several times throughout the entire DMT process. The four stages are:

Preparation: the warm-up stage, a safe space is established without obstacles nor distractions, a supportive relationship with a witness is formed, comfort for participants to be familiar with moving with their eyes closed.

Incubation: leader verbally prompts participant to go into subconscious, open-ended imagery used to create an internal environment that is catered to the participant, relaxed atmosphere, symbolic movements.

Illumination: process which is integrated through conscious awareness via dialogue with witness, self-reflection in which the participant uncovers and resolves subconscious motivations, increased self awareness, can have positive and negative effects.

Evaluation: discuss insights and significance of the process, prepare to end therapy^[14]

Dance styles used

A variety of approaches to dance and movement are used in DMT depending on the needs to the client. These may include codified dance forms (such as partner dances, Modern Dance, ballet, folk and circle dances etc.), creative movement, improvisation and choreographic process, as well as somatic practices, Movement Analysis, Authentic Movement and body psychotherapy.^[15] The practitioner may use any approach to movement and dance which they are familiar with adapted to the frame of DMT.

Research

Proposed mechanisms

Various hypothesis have been proposed for mechanisms by which dance therapy may benefit participants. There is a social component to dance therapy, which can be valuable for psychological functioning through human interaction. Another possible mechanism is the music that is used during the session, which may be able to reduce pain, decrease anxiety, and increase relaxation. Since dance requires learning and involves becoming active and discovering capacities for movement, there is also the physical training that could provide benefits as well. Dancing may be considered more uplifting and enjoyable than other types of exercise. Dance therapy can also involve nonverbal communication, "which enables participants to express their feelings without words. This might be helpful when normal communication is absent or has broken down (eg, for patients with dementia)."^[16]

Studies

A Cochrane review entitled Dance therapy for schizophrenia in 2013^[17] concluded:

A review by the Cochrane Collaboration entitled Dance/movement therapy for cancer patients was updated in January 2015^[18] to say:

The most recent Cochrane review for DMT was in February 2015 entitled Is dance movement therapy an effective treatment for depression? A review of the evidence.^[19] The findings stated:

Overall, there is no evidence for or against DMT as a treatment for depression. There is some evidence to suggest DMT is more effective than standard care for adults, but this was not clinically significant. DMT is no more effective than standard care for young people.

Evidence from just one study of low methodological quality suggested that drop-out rates from the DMT group were not significant, and there is no reliable effect in either direction for quality of life or self esteem. A large positive effect was observed for social functioning, but since this was from one study of low methodological quality the result is imprecise."}}

One review of the effect of DMT on Parkinson's disease noted that there have been few studies in this area. DMT appears to meet most requirements for exercise programs for patient's with Parkinson's. Benefits in gait function, balance, and quality of life were found in short-term studies, though further studies need to be done to see if any of these benefits are seen long-term.^[20]

The latest Cochrane review entitled Dance Movement Therapy for Dementia published in 2017 concluded that there we no high quality trials to assess the effect of DMT on behavioural, social, cognitive and emotional symptoms in people with dementia.^[21]

Benefits

Research has found that using dance movements as a form of therapy activates several brain functions at once: kinesthetic, rational, musical, and emotional. This type of movement requires mental, physical, and emotional strength to work simultaneously.^[22] In one research study{{specify|date=November 2017}}, senior citizens were placed in a 21-year study to see if any physical or cognitive recreational activity influenced mental acuity. Researchers monitored rates of dementia in the elderly participants. The study included cognitive activities such as reading books, doing crossword puzzles, and playing musical instruments and physical activities such as golf, walking for exercise, and dancing. Results showed that almost none of the physical activities appeared to offer any defense against dementia. The activity with the highest percentage of protection against dementia was dancing frequently (76%). It was the greatest risk reduction of any activity studied, cognitive or physical. This is because dance therapy combines multiple areas of the brain to work together at once rather than just stimulating one area at a time.

Dance therapy is found to have beneficial results on children who have been abused. Research has found that this therapy is a useful form of support and intervention for these children.^[23]{{primary source inline|date=November 2017}} Through a case study with a sexually abused female, the researcher stated that the individual felt a sense of empowerment after the dance therapy sessions and reported greater success in school. The individual also felt a stronger sense of self-confidence and a higher view of self-esteem.{{primary source inline|date=November 2017}} The study states that using dance therapy would be a beneficial experience in a multi-disciplinary treatment for abused and neglected children.

Another researcher studied the effects of dance therapy with children at risk of abuse and their relationship with their mothers. During this study, mothers and their children were surveyed on their relationship prior to the session, asking questions regarding their communication, physical touch, and sense of security felt by the child. After the dance therapy session, the participants were surveyed again with the same measure. The results reported a stronger bond between mother and child.^[24] The participants reported a stronger sense of belonging in the pair and felt more openness in terms of communication. Through dance therapy practices, these mother and daughter pairs were able to develop a starting point in rebuilding their relationship.

The effects of dance intervention were also found to be therapeutic to psychiatric participants and those who are emotional disturbed. In one research study, psychiatric patients were randomly assigned to one of three conditions: a dance group in a traditional dance circle, a group that just listened to the music, and another group that rode stationary bikes without music but same time duration as the dance circle. While all three conditions lessened or stabilized the condition of the patients, the results found that the dance group benefitted the most from the dance intervention.^[25]{{primary source inline|date=November 2017}} The dance circle group reported less depression and more vitality than the other groups. This study shows that not just physical activity or listening to music is enough; the combining of the two into dance is the most beneficial for achieving a positive impact.

Another research study completed with children in psychiatry also showed a positive relationship with this type of therapy. The ending result was a newfound cohesion among children who were previously labeled disorderly and misbehaved.^[26]{{primary source inline|date=November 2017}} The participants reported an increase in self-confidence and a positive body image after the dance intervention. The children had stronger communication and social skills, such as team work, after the dance intervention.

Adverse effects

Most trials studying dance therapy did not specifically comment on whether or not adverse effects occurred, though one noted a broken finger, thought to be related to dancing.^[16]

Locations

DMT is practiced in a large variety of locations. Such locations include:^[9]

• Physical medicine
• Rehabilitation centers
• Medical settings
• Education settings
• Nursing Homes
• Day care facilities
• Disease prevention centers
• Health promotion programs
• Hospitals
• Mental health settings

Organizations

Organizations such as the American Dance Therapy Association were created in order to uphold high standards in the field of DMT. Such organizations help connect individuals to therapists and DMT.^[27]

American Dance Therapy Association

Association for Dance Movement Psychotherapy, United Kingdom

The Association for Dance Movement Psychotherapy, United Kingdom (ADMP UK) was one of the first organizations established to regulate the field of dance therapy. ADMP UK accredits therapists and oversees that all regulations are followed.^[28]

Allied professions

Allied professions are areas that a person could do, special studies, short courses, or eventually become trained in the area of DMT.^[29]

• Dance
• Physical education
• Occupational therapy
• Physiotherapy
• Psychology
• Art therapy

Therapist qualifications

Education

Typically becoming a dance therapist requires a graduate degree of at least a Master's level. There is no specific undergraduate degree, however many practitioners hold undergraduate degrees fields in, or related to, psychology or dance.^[30]

All master's degrees in the UK and the USA require clinical placements, personal therapy and supervision, as well as experiential and theoretical learning, and typically require between 2 and 3 years to complete. Upon completion of a Masters graduates are eligible to register as Dance Movement Therapists/Psychotherapists with their professional associations. In the UK graduates may also register with the UK Council of Psychotherapists(UKCP).

It is also possible to register as a Dance Movement Therapist/Psychotherapist without a DMT/DMP Masters. This usually requires equilvilant psychotherapeutic training and substantial experience of applying dance into therapeutic settings.

See also

• Expressive therapy
• Process art
• Rudolf Laban

References

Further reading

• Meekums, B. (2002). Dance Movement Therapy: a Creative Psychotherapeutic Approach. London: Sage.
• Chodorow, J. (1991). Dance Therapy and Depth Psychology. London.
• Lewis, P. (1984; 1986). Theoretical Approaches in Dance Movement Therapy. Vols I & II, USA: Kendall/Hunt.
• Payne, H. (ed). (2006). Dance Movement Therapy: Theory, Research and Practice (2nd edn). Tavistock / Routledge.
• Siegel, E. (1984). Dance Movement Therapy: Mirror of Ourselves: The Psychoanalytic Approach. New York: Human Science Press.
• Stanton-Jones, K. (1992). An Introduction to Dance Movement Therapy in Psychiatry. London: Tavistock/Routledge.
• North, M. (1990). Personality Assessment Through Movement. Northcote House.
• Payne, H.L. (2000). Creative Movement and Dance in Groupwork. Oxon: Speechmark.
• {{cite journal | author = McCormack D | year = 2003 | title = An event of geographical ethics in spaces of affect | url = | journal = Transactions of the Institute of British Geographers | volume = 28 | issue = 4| pages = 488–507 | doi=10.1111/j.0020-2754.2003.00106.x}}

External links

• The Association for Dance Movement Therapy in UK
• American Dance Therapy Association
• Coalition of Creative Arts Therapy Associations

• Emanuele Taglietti
• Emanuele Torrasi
• Emanuel Faria Braga
• Emanuel (film)
• Emanuel Fortes
• Emanuel Fortune
• Emanuel Fritz
• Emanuel García
• Emanuel Ghazazian
• Emanuel Gigliotti
• Emanuel Gil-Av
• Emanuel Godinho de Eredia
• Emanuel Godinho de Erédia
• Emanuel Goldenweiser
• Emanuel Guevara
• Emanuel Gularte
• Emanuel Gyasi
• Emanuel Hana Shaleta
• Emanuel Hecht
• Emanuel, Hereditary Prince of Salm-Salm
• Emanuel Howe
• Emanuel Iñiguez
• Emanuel, James
• Emanuel Jaques
• Emanuel Jones