Our Approach
Dance/Movement Therapy
Dance/movement therapy (DMT) is one of many expressive art therapies. DMT is formally defined by the American Dance Therapy Association (ADTA) as ‘the psychotherapeutic use of movement to integrate our emotional, social, cognitive and physical selves.’
Dance/movement therapy is a holistic form of psychotherapy which recognizes that the mind and the body are integrally connected. We hold our life experience not only in our thoughts and emotions but also in our muscles and ways of moving. Using movement and somatic awareness in therapy can assist the individual in integrating his or her emotions, physical sensations, cognition and connection to the world at large.
Connecting Mind & Body
Movement therapists consider the mind and body to be inherently connected, thus, creating a change in one will affect the other. However, unlike exercise, DMT does not focus primarily on functional movement or the formation of muscle, but explores how stress, emotion, and trauma are stored in the body and works to build awareness and lasting change by shifting the way that we relate to ourselves, others, and environment.
A Somatic Approach
While ‘top-down’ talk therapy can be incredibly helpful when it comes to building awareness and creating goals and change, sometimes individuals can come to a place of stuckness in their work and may need a ‘bottom-up’ approach that flips the script. Somatic approaches to therapy can help you connect to sensations in the body first, and make cognitive connections and change second. You can think of this as going into your house through the back door instead of the front!
