What is Dance/Movement therapy?
What is Dance/ Movement Therapy (DMT)?
DMT is a research-based allied health professional. DMT provides an agency for people to express themselves through music, movement and props. DMT offers the benefits of physical, emotional social and cognitive support. Moreover, DMT is an approach that encourages people to use movement communication to express themselves.
Who will benefit from DMT?
Different populations including the elderly, adults and children with developmental, medical, social, physical and psychological concerns will benefit from engaging in DMT.
How would a DMT session look like?
Dance/movement therapists approach individual, couple, family and group sessions by observing and assessing both their clients and their movements, using verbal and nonverbal communication to create and establish the implement interventions that will address the emotional, social, physical, and cognitive integration of an individual. Additionally, an individual's movements can serve various purposes, such as functional, communicative developmental expression, and emotional release. Therefore, Dance/movement therapists actively observe, assess and intervene by looking at movement, through these lenses, as it emerges in the therapeutic relationship in the therapeutic session.
Goals and objectives of DMT
Common goals and objectives of DMT include:
· Assess patient needs.
· Communicate emotions.
· Organize thoughts and actions.
· Develop interpersonal skills.
· Integrate physical and emotional selves.
· Promote body awareness.
· Support healing.
What are the DMT methods?
DMT utilizes various dance therapy methods according to the participant’s needs to address goals. For example, mirroring movement, building dance repertoire, rhythmic movement, story-telling and symbol of movements, movement and breath. People do not need dance experience to participate in the DMT session, since movement is an express language when humans are in utero. In a DMT session, music, movement and props will be used to meet client’s needs.
References:
American Dance Therapy Association. https://adta.memberclicks.net/what-is-dancemovement-therapy
Dance Movement Therapy Association of Australia https://dtaa.org.au/therapy/
台灣舞蹈治療研究協會 http://tdta.org/
Zilius, M. N. (2010). Dance/Movement Therapy in Pediatrics: An Overview. Alternative and Complementary Therapies, 16(2), 87–92. https://doi.org/10.1089/act.2010.16202
