What is Dance/Movement Therapy?

by Victoria Budesa

In the ever-evolving field of mental health, the importance of more integrative therapeutic approaches paves the way for new insights to be gained. 

Dance/Movement Therapy is defined by the American Dance Therapy Association (ADTA) as ‘the psychotherapeutic use of movement to promote emotional, social, cognitive, and physical integration of the individual, for the purpose of improving health and well being.”

In short, I like to say that dance movement therapy is a form of therapy that focuses on utilizing movement (whether big or small) to explore personal thoughts, feelings, and experiences. It is based on the belief that the mind, body, and spirit are not separate entities, rather a part of one connected system. 

This therapeutic modality is incredibly helpful in working on self esteem, body awareness, social interactions, and trust in relationships. 

While traditional therapy comes from a ‘top-down perspective’, meaning processing begins at the cognitive level and then moves into body awareness, dance/movement therapy takes a ‘bottom-up’ perspective, where sensations in the body inform the cognitive processing.

Dance/Movement Therapy invites the mind and body into the healing process and promotes a whole-person approach to healing, which highlights the importance of the mind/body/spirit interconnection as well as the importance of how both verbal and non-verbal communication are important pieces in the therapeutic process.

You do not need to be a dancer at all to reap the benefits of dance/movement therapy, because at the core of it all, we are all movers at heart.

Fun Fact: Dance/Movement Therapy falls under the creative arts therapy umbrella, which includes art therapy, drama therapy, and music therapy.

PS: While we don’t currently have anyone at The Gaia Center who offers true Dance/Movement Therapy, some great resources are @laurenelisepeterson and @the.therapist.who.moves.you. In addition, Colleen enjoys incorporating dance/movement/yoga in sessions when clinically appropriate, but she is NOT a Dance/Movement Therapist.