Movement is innate in humans and always communicates something about us, whether consciously or unconsciously. The first self, as Freud said, is a bodily self. Today, on International Dance Day, let’s talk about the psychotherapeutic power of movement.
With Dance Movement Therapy (DMT), we can connect with our emotions (sadness, anxiety…) and express them when they are difficult to recognize or verbalize. In the case of children who have suffered abuse, for example, it is difficult to conduct traditional verbal therapy effectively because the trauma prevents them from talking about it. Instead, art-based therapies, such as Dance Movement Therapy and play, help children open up and express themselves. It may also be that the patient suffers from a language disorder and needs other tools for expression.
Dance Movement Therapy is based on the body-mind connection and seeks the psychophysical integration of the individual. It works with movement and emotion, the body and its own language. Its benefits combat mental disorders such as addictions, affective disorders like depression, anxiety disorders, eating disorders, personality disorders, to name a few examples, and it is a fantastic therapeutic tool for treating pathologies in children and adolescents such as developmental, motor, learning disorders, or autism.
It is important to differentiate between something that can be therapeutic by making us feel good, such as dancing, running, or any pleasurable activity, and what is the psychotherapeutic use of movement and dance. Dance and movement therapy (DMT) requires several conditions related to the training of the psychotherapist, the setting, and the use of the artistic process of dance. Given these conditions, DMT can help understand and resolve people’s emotional or psychological conflicts, as all bodily movement can generate changes in the psyche, promoting health and personal growth.
A Dance Movement Therapy session usually begins with a verbal explanation by patients about how they feel and a verbal closing where an attempt is made to reflect on what happened in the movement. During the session, the therapist, with an empathetic attitude and managing therapeutic presence, can suggest movements to the patient, accompany them in movement, or narrate what is happening to foster the patient’s awareness of what they are expressing. Movement analysis, among other DMT tools, allows the therapist to approach the patient’s emotions and observe their evolution. People with psychoemotional distress can benefit from working with DMT and try to build a healthy relationship between their own body and mind, as well as improve their ways of relating to significant figures in their affective environment.
Article advised by Elena Dueso, professor of ISEP’s Master in Artistic and Creative Therapies, specialist in Dance Movement Therapy.