Wednesday, August 31, 2016

The Origin And Development Of Movement Therapy

By Karen Carter


Movement/dance therapy is the therapeutic employment of dance and movement in supporting motor, intellectual, and emotional functions of the human body. The abbreviation DMT is often used for dance therapy. The use of the word dance therapy is common in Australia and the US while people in United Kingdom use the term dance movement psychotherapy. Dance movement psychotherapy is usually abbreviated as DMP.

DMT is categorized under expressive therapy. It aims to find the correlation between emotion and movement. Movement therapy has been in existence for a very long time. Since early human history, it has been used in healing rituals for issues such as death, sickness, birth, and fertility. The idea that dance was not simply an expressive art began to exist in the US and Europe between the years of 1840 and 1930.

Even though dance has traditionally been used for healing for thousands of years back, it is in the 1950s that it got established as a profession and therapy. American Dance Therapy Association founder, Chance Marian had a big role to play in this establishment. DMT has historically had two waves of development throughout. The first wave owes its development to Chance whilst the second wave interested American therapists a great deal.

The theory of DMT bases on the belief that there is constant interaction between the mind and the body. Conscious and unconscious movements people make base on the dualist premise of mind body. Those movements reflect personality and affect total functioning in people. As such, the relationship between clients and therapists are in a small part based on body language and other non-verbal cues. A sense of wholeness is offered to every individual by DMT by exploring the unity of the spirit, body, and mind.

The process entails four stages that must be completed. One must achieve the smaller objectives entailed in each stage. The bigger purpose of DMT is comprised of these smaller goals. Each individual has different goals and stages are customized for each person. Stages progress from one to the other. Where necessary, stages are revisited every now and then.

The four stages of DMT are, preparation, incubation, illumination, and evaluation. The preparation stage can also be called the warm-up stage. It involves preparation of safe and sufficient space that does not have any obstacles or distractions. The client also creates a supportive relationship with a witness. Participants need to be comfort to be able to move while their eyes are shut.

The leader prompts participants to venture into the subconscious during the incubation stage. Verbal contact is used to make the prompt. The subconscious offers a good environment to allow for the exploitation of emotions. The stage of illumination follows after incubation. Illumination stage is introduced in dialogue. The witness offers dialogue to conscious awareness to let self-reflection to begin.

As the participant self-reflects, they are able to uncover and resolve motivations in their subconscious. Too much self-awareness has both negative and positive effects. The evaluation process concludes the session with discussions about the insights revealed and their significance.




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