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PART I
Mapping the Territory
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1
THE REGIONAL MAP: AN OVERVIEW OF THIS BOOK
This book introduces the reader to Dance Movement Therapy (DMT) as a form of psychotherapy. I do this within the metaphor of a journey. Before we embark on any journey we need maps. The first part of the book therefore maps our territory. This chapter maps the book as a whole, and sets the book in context by giving an overview of DMT theory and practice. Chapter 2 offers a more detailed map of DMT theory. Theory gives us a way of understanding what DMT is and how it works. My dissatisfaction with the ‘pasting on’ of theories from other disciplines (usually verbal psychotherapy) has led me to re-examine DMT. I propose a unified theory of DMT, emphasising the creative process and in particular the role of the ‘movement metaphor’.
In the second part of this book, I describe my particular approach to DMT practice. I organise this part around the idea of DMT as a creative process, with its four aspects of preparation, incubation, illumination and evaluation. I make use of extensive reference to case study material in order to illustrate each stage of the process.
In Chapter 3 I propose a ‘containment’ approach to DMT, suitable for the early preparation or ‘warm-up’ phase of each session and of the therapy as a whole, and for clients struggling with overpowering experiences. I then examine in Chapter 4 the role of DMT in allowing the process to deepen and in developing insight. This is the stage of confrontation with dungeons and dragons, a letting-go into the darkness (incubation) before seeing a crack of light (illumination). I end in Chapter 5 with a consideration of the role of DMT in processing and evaluating transitions, as we settle around the final campfire. At the end of the book are references and useful addresses, should you wish to explore further the topics raised in this book.
My case vignettes are all based on real experience, though some are presented as ‘composite pictures’ or with certain characteristics changed or disguised in order to protect confidentiality. Changes are only made where this does not affect the validity of the point being made. Pseudonyms are used throughout.
What is Dance Movement Therapy?
In Britain, DMT is defined as: ‘the psychotherapeutic use of movement and dance through which a person can engage creatively in a process to further their emotional, cognitive, physical and social integration’ (ADMT UK, 1977).
What is interesting about this definition is that it places DMT firmly within the realms of psychotherapy. For many years, mainstream psychotherapy in the UK was envisaged solely as a talking therapy, and psychoanalytic or at least psychodynamic in its orientation. With the advent of psychotherapy registration via the United Kingdom Council for Psychotherapy (UKCP) it has been possible to embrace all three of the major schools of psychotherapeutic thought (psychodynamic, behavioural and humanistic) and more. Nevertheless, the arts therapies (dramatherapy, art therapy, music therapy and DMT) are generally not represented within UKCP and maintain their own systems of registration.
Dance Movement Therapy or Therapeutic Dance?
One of the confusions that abounds in many people’s minds concerns the overlap between therapeutic dance and dance movement therapy. A lot of very valuable work goes on in the area of therapeutic dance, and both professions are required in order to meet the varied needs of our society. However, it is worth attempting to delineate the differences and similarities.
Therapeutic dance may be practised by talented and highly skilled dance teachers who are not trained as therapists but work within institutions such as schools, prisons and so on. There is considerable overlap between DMT and therapeutic dance, giving rise to some fruitful cross-fertilisation. One important figure in the development of DMT in Britain has been the dance artist Wolfang Stange, who works with mixed groups of dancers including those with learning and physical disabilities. His goals are artistic; he runs a performance group, yet his methods look very similar to those used by dance movement therapists.
Both dance movement therapists and dancers working in therapeutic contexts are artists. Table 1.1 offers a comparison between the two disciplines. This is based both on my own practical experience and on the following sources: Boas (1943); Carnegie UK Trust (1985); Chace (1975); Claid (1977); Davidson (1979); Gill (1979); Hamilton (1989); Kestenberg and Sossin (1979); King (1983); Laban (1971); Leventhal (1986); Levy (1992); Malecka (1981); Meekums (1990); Meier (1997); Paludan (1977); Payne (1992); Prestidge (1982); Sherborne (c.1984); Solway (1988); Standing Committee of Arts Therapies Professions (1989); Stanton-Jones (1992); Steiner-Celebi (1996); Winnicott (1971). In reading my comparison, it is important to remember that this is an evolving field and that the parameters of each discipline are constantly changing. Table 1.1 should therefore be viewed as a snapshot in time.
Allied Approaches to DMT
Other approaches to movement and dance that may be seen as allied to DMT include:
- Body Mind Centering™ (BMC) (Cohen 1980, 1984), a complex training based on both developmental movement and anatomy. BMC is used both to support performance and as a system of therapy. Several British dance movement therapists have trained in BMC, but by no means all BMC practitioners have registration as dance movement therapists.
- Gabrielle Roth’s five rhythms (flowing, staccato, chaos, lyrical, stillness), which she views as a form of shamanism (1990). As the name suggests, the work centres around five rhythmic structures within which the dancer improvises.
- Circle dance, based on folk dances from around the world and often deemed to hold archetypal, healing significance. I discuss their usefulness with survivors of child sexual abuse in my book Creative Group Therapy for Women Survivors of Child Sexual Abuse (2000). I have also encouraged some groups to choreograph their own ‘circle dance’, based on a given theme like ‘empowerment’. These dances, performed at the end of each session, become a container for the session’s material and reaffirm a sense of connectedness before leaving the session.
Table 1.1 Comparison of DMT and Therapeutic Dance
Field | DMT | Therapeutic Dance |
Facilitator is an artist | Yes | Yes |
Boundaries | Start and finish times, group rules, private space, confidentiality, limits to relationship (no socialisation). | Start and finish times and privacy of space may be more relaxed. Group rules may be relaxed or strict. Relationships may extend beyond the group. |
Use of structure offered by leader | Probably, but in response to therapeutic goals and client’s own contribution. Likely to be flexible. | Probably. Not necessarily responsive to the client’s contribution. May be rigidly adhered to, or flexible. |
Use of props | Probably. May be used as ‘transitional objects’ (Winnicott, 1971). | Probably. Used to stimulate creativity. |
Performance to outside audience | Unlikely | Possibly |
Performance to other members of group | Possibly | Probably |
Use of choreographic structures | Possibly | Possibly |
Use of improvisational structures | Definitely | Probably |
Use of rhythm | Yes. To structure and contain. Also to develop certain psychological/ developmental states. | Yes. To structure and contain, and to develop skills. |
Use of mirroring (rhythm, quality and shape of movement) | Yes. Conscious use to develop therapeutic relationship and group interrelationships. | Yes. May be used as a choreographic device or to develop group interrelationships. |
Use of costume | Limited | Possibly |
Use of theatre lighting | Unlikely | Possibly |
Typical group size | 1 to 8 or 10 individuals | 4 to 30 or more individuals |
Emphasis on aesthetic components | No | Possibly |
Aims | Targeted to the therapeutic needs of the client group. | Broadly therapeutic and sometimes educational/ artistic. |
Theoretical underpinnings | Include psychological theories. | May or may not include psychological theories. |
Client groups | Just about anybody, but may be subject to assessment. | Just about anybody, but may be targeted. |
Competencies required | Experience in facilitation of groups and range of movement styles. Additional competencies including ability to work with distress. | Experience in facilitation of groups and in the movement form offered. |
Own therapy required | Yes | No |
Clinical supervision required | Yes | No |
Level of academic training required | Post-graduate diploma minimum | No formal qualifications required |
Work with group dynamics and interpersonal relationships | Definitely | Probably |
Work with the internal imagery and symbolism of clients | Definitely | Probably |
Integration of spiritual components | Possibly | Possibly |
Distress versus fun | Actively work with distress, but fun is allowed and used to balance. ‘Rescuing’ by therapist avoided. | May avoid distress and emphasise fun. Alternatively, facilitator may act as shaman, ‘rescuing’ through the use of self. |
Verbal evaluation of sessions | Usually | Not necessarily |
Use of touch between therapist and clients | Rare | Occurs as part of normal interaction |
Diagnostic or psychological formulation based on movement observation | Yes | Not necessarily |
Key Principles Underpinning DMT
Dance movement therapy rests on certain theoretical principles. These are:
- Body and mind interact, so that a change in movement will affect total functioning (Berrol, 1992; Stanton-Jones, 1992)
- Movement reflects personality (North, 1972; Stanton-Jones, 1992).
- The therapeutic relationship is mediated at least to some extent non-verbally, for example through the therapist mirroring the client’s movement (Chaiklin and Schmais, 1979; Stanton-Jones, 1992)
- Movement contains a symbolic function and as such can be evidence of unconscious processes (Schmais, 1985; Stanton-Jones, 1992).
- Movement improvisation allows the client to experiment with new ways of being (Stanton-Jones, 1992).
- DMT allows for the recapitulation of early object relationships by virtue of the largely non-verbal mediation of the latter (Meekums, 1990; Trevarthen, 2001).
The Evolution of Dance Movement Therapy
Dance Movement Therapy has had a separate development in the UK from the American experience. Whilst there have been American influences, it is true to say that some of the seeds of British DMT were being sewn before any significant input from American dance movement therapists began in the late 1970s and 1980s.
There are records of dance being used for therapeutic purposes in Britain during the nineteenth century (Browne, 1837). By the 1940s, a definite dance therapy movement had begun, paralleling that in the US. However, dance therapy at that time was seen as distinct from psychotherapy and it was not until the 1970s that a second wave of DMT pioneers began to experiment with the psychotherapeutic applications of dance and movement. This second wave eventually gave birth to DMT as we know it today in the UK, and is more akin to American practice.
Dance movement therapy in the twenty-first century is practised flexibly, either as a primary intervention and therefore as a form of focal psychotherapy, or as a supportive, adjunctive therapy. The more creative, supportive and adjunctive function of DMT overlaps in form and function with ‘therapeutic dance’.
Training and Registration of Dance Movement Therapists
Training in the UK is at post-graduate level, for two or more years. Some courses offer a post-graduate diploma and others offer Masters level training. Courses are accredited via the professional association, the Association for Dance Movement Therapy UK (ADMT UK). During training, all DMT students must be in personal therapy. Theoretical training spans several academic disciplines including psychology, psychotherapy, anatomy and physiology, and of course dance movement therapy. Practical training includes weekly attendance at a DMT process group, 200 hours of client contact and 200 hours of non-contact related work activity (notetaking, staff meetings and other related activity). Practice is ...
