In giving her the Open Hearts Award, actress Jane Seymour said that Susan Rizzo Vincent exemplified the Open Heart Philosophy she hopes to promote through her work with the Open Hearts Foundation and through her Open Heart book series.
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The Andrea Rizzo Foundation was established in memory of Andréa Rizzo, a beautiful young woman who survived childhood cancer and was tragically killed at the age of 24 by a drunk driver. Her dream was to become a dance therapist and give children with cancer and disabilities the gift of dance. With the support of many, her dream has become a reality. Our goal is to foster Andréa’s dream of helping children with cancer and special needs through the power of dance.
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.
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.
This interview with Carrie Ann Inaba of Dancing With the Stars fame was originally published in Caregiver Magazine. Carrie Ann became the national spokesperson for the Andréa Rizzo Foundation
Patricia Raskin’s 2012 interview with Susan discussing her book Dréa’s Dream: An Unfinished Dance
Patricia Raskin’s 2009 interview with Susan on her radio program Positive Living
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