Dance/ movement Therapy

Dance is viewed as an entertainment to most people in the world. With television shows such as “So you think you can dance” playing, we can hardly blame them. What we are not aware of is that dance is now being used as a therapy for many people. This may come as a surprise to many people, but it is a fact that dance is now a cure for many.

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 behaviour as it emerges in the therapeutic relationship.  Expressive, communicative, and adaptive behaviours are all considered for group and individual treatment.  Body movement, as the core component of dance, simultaneously provides the means of assessment and the mode of intervention for dance/movement therapy. It is practiced in mental health, rehabilitation, medical, educational and forensic settings, and in nursing homes, day care centres, disease prevention, health promotion programs and in private practice. Dance therapy effective for individuals with developmental, medical, social, physical and psychological impairments. It is used with people of all ages, races and ethnic backgrounds in individual, couples, family and group therapy formats.

For over 50 years, dance/movement therapists have pioneered the understanding of how body and mind interact in health and in illness. Whether the issue is the will to live, a search for meaning or motility, or the ability to feel love for life, dance/movement therapists mobilize resources from that place within where body and mind are one. This proves that dance does sort of set a person “free”.