What is Dance Therapy and How can it help heal?
Based on the assumption that the body and mind are interrelated, 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.
The Andréa Rizzo Foundation, founded by Susan Rizzo Vincent, funds Dréa’s Dream pediatric dance/movement therapy programming to children with cancer and special needs in hospitals and schools nationwide. To date, Dréa’s Dream is in 18 sites across the country.
Each highly credentialed dance/movement therapist works bedside or in small groups with children to access emotions such as anger, fear, anxiety and through the dance and movement the emotions are released and a transformation takes place that promotes coping and healing.
Dance/movement therapy is practiced in mental health, rehabilitation, medical, educational, and forensic settings, and in nursing homes, day care centers, disease prevention, and health promotion programs.The dance/movement therapist focuses on movement behavior as it emerges in the therapeutic relationship. Expressive, communicative, and adaptive behaviors are all considered for both group and individual treatment.
How do I become a dance/movement therapist?
Professional training of dance/movement therapists occurs on the graduate level. R-DMT (Registered Dance/Movement Therapist) is granted to individuals who have completed a master’s degree in dance/movement therapy or a master’s degree in a related field plus 45 credits of specific dance/movement therapy curriculum. All candidates must complete a 700 hour supervised clinical internship in dance/movement therapy. BC-DMT (Board Certified Dance/Movement Therapist) is awarded only after R-DMTs have completed 3, 640 hours of supervised, professional clinical work. BC-DMTs are qualified to teach, provide su pervision, and engage in private practice. Many BC-DMT’s hold state licenses, National Certified Counselor (NCC) status, and doctoral degrees.