The use of dance and movement as a therapeutic tool is as old as dance itself. It was at a time when dancing, religion, music, and medicine were inseparable. It provided a critical means of expression, community building, commune with nature and embodied spirituality. In the modern world, the use of dance and movement in this way has been separated from daily life causing a significant disconnect between the mind-body-spirit connection. This coupled with the stress of modern living and turbulent events of the 21st century, many experience an increase in anxiety and depression as communities move further away from natural environments and holistic forms of healing that have been known for centuries to provide a sense of wholeness. Dance/Movement Therapy (DMT) is a form of psychotherapy using creative movement, functional movement, dance and verbal processing to explore feelings by using your body to shape, contain and reclaim our feelings. Depending on your level of comfort, we may or may not move in earlier sessions. These initial sessions may seem more like traditional verbal therapy. You will determine when you feel safe enough to begin exploring in this embodied way.
The roots of dance/movement therapy are derived from the practices of tribal and marginalized populations. With this in mind, I put an emphasis on reclaiming the use of dance and movement in modern psychotherapy to provide more holistic and culturally congruent services to members of the African Diaspora which includes the African-American, Afro-Caribbean and African communities.
Based on the empirically supported premise that the body, mind and spirit are interconnected, the American Dance Therapy Association defines dance/movement therapy as the psychotherapeutic use of movement to further the emotional, cognitive, physical and social integration of the individual. Dance movement therapy is focused on movement behavior as it emerges in the therapeutic relationship. To learn more visit The American Dance Therapy Association www.adta.org
