We have probably all experienced how getting some physical activity can get our endorphins pumping and make us feel more upbeat. What if you could channel the power of movement to target your specific mental needs? The good news is–you can! Dance therapy is an effective method or co-method of treating issues ranging from self-esteem to drug abuse.
What is dance therapy?
Dance therapy is a type of creative arts therapy based on the interconnectedness of the body and mind. Used as therapy, dance is a way to express and experience yourself through movement. Since this form of communication is so immediate and direct, it is an effective therapy medium.
The American Dance Therapy Association defines the practice as “the psychotherapeutic use of movement as a process that furthers the emotional, cognitive, social, and physical integration of the individual.” Group and individual treatments are possible and dance therapy is effective for individuals who struggle with expression, communication, and/or adaptive behaviors.
Dance therapy is holistic–it addresses the whole individual, both psychological and physical. Many people in nursing homes who have limited mobility or little occasion for physical engagement receive great bodily health and mental wellbeing benefits from dance therapy.
The history of Dance Therapy
The benefits of movement based therapeutic practices have been studied for a long time. Jazz-age dancer Marian Chace is frequently credited with the roots of dance therapy. After ending her Washington D.C.-based career as a modern dancer, Chace began teaching students. Her students were more interested in dance as expression, an interest she began to cultivate.
Her students spoke of their greater sense of wellbeing after dance classes, during which the movement worked to clear their minds, freeing them from mental burdens. This piqued the interest of local doctors who began to send some of their patients who were suffering from psychiatric illnesses to Chace’s dance classes. Chace started studying at the Washington School of Psychiatry, eventually joining the staff of a local hospital. The hospital, St. Elizabeth’s, became a leading research center for dance therapy in the 1950s.
Chace served as the first president of the American Dance Therapy Association (ADTA) in 1966. The ADTA rigorously promotes high standards within the practice, holding registered therapists to strict ethical, research, and clinical practice standards. Dance therapy was even included in President Carter’s 1977 Commission on Mental Health! More recently, in 1996, dance therapy coverage was included as an element of the partial hospitalization program in Medicare facilities.
What can you expect from a dance therapy session?
Dance therapists work a little differently from therapists in other fields because they focus on the language of the body rather than verbal expression. But just like other types of therapy, a dance therapist helps you learn about your behavioral patterns to help you heal and grow.
Your first dance therapy session won’t be like a Zumba class or Jazzercise, because the key to success is the therapeutic relationship that is built between the patient and the therapist, who is attuned to relationship building through watching the patient’s movement. A dance therapist’s training helps her understand your body’s communication to best serve you. There is an extensive range of dance therapy techniques to best suit each individual’s specific needs and comfort levels. After all, the most important part of a therapy session is a feeling of being in a “safe space.” You may be encouraged to try expressive, improvised dancing, and you may be surprised at how subtle most of the movements in dance therapy really are.
As a registered dance therapist I can help you deal with whatever issues you may be having through movement, if you have questions, you can contact me through this website or if you are ready to start your healing journey you can book an appointment.
