Unconscious seduction: Desire and disability in dance/movement therapy

ABSTRACT

Sexuality is typically avoided in therapeutic training and studies of disability; therefore therapy with people living with disabilities is inclined to become problematic when desire emerges. What happens when the therapist unconsciously crosses the imaginary line between being a therapist and being a woman, with all the sensual and sexual implications that might bring? Through four case studies of clients with intellectual disabilities, this therapist investigates sensual touch between clients, clients touching therapists, and therapists touching clients, and contrasts therapeutic touching with sexual misconduct as an ethical concern. The varying evocations of dance, music, touch and flow are problematised in the therapeutic context of dance/movement therapy. Interrogating and theorising an instant of authentic relating in which a boundary seems to be transgressed, this article illustrates the (after)effects of an unconscious slippage of the therapeutic role.     

Extraversion in women with fibromyalgia as a predictor of better prognosis: an intervention model in dance movement therapy

ABSTRACT

This study examined the relationship between extraversion, the ability to identify emotions in observed movement and quality of life (QoL), among women with and without fibromyalgia (FM). The sample was 50 adult women. Participants were asked to fill out Fibromyalgia Impact Questionnaire, NEO Five Factor Inventory, Short Form 36 Health Survey, Toronto Alexithymia Scale-20 and demographic questionnaire, were shown video clips of body movements and were asked to identify the emotion. The results showed that extraversion was positively correlated with the identification of happiness among FM patients and with QoL. A correlation was found between the ability to identify ‘happiness’ and ahigher perceived QoL. FM patients who showed ahigher level of extraversion identified happiness better than those who were not found to be extraverted. It can be assumed that expression of emotion using dance/movement therapy, which activates mirror neurons, will increase empathic abilities. Results led to the building of a therapeutic intervention model based on the practical implications of the findings.     

‘Putting themselves out there’ into the unknown: Dance movement psychotherapy as perceived by five educators and three pupils

ABSTRACT

The introduction of dance movement psychotherapy (DMP) to a mainstream secondary school in the United Kingdom was explored from the perspectives of some educators (n = 5) and pupil-clients (n = 3) to discover perceptions of, and influences on the process of establishing a DMP practice to support pupils within this setting. Semi-structured interviews were analysed using constructivist grounded theory by an ethnographically situated therapist-researcher. Two polarities of themes emerged: constraints, normative inhibitions and expectations, versus empowerment, novel perceptions and awareness. These polarities were evident at two levels of process: school structures and community mind-set and individual engagement with DMP. The results highlight inherent dynamics in positioning of therapeutic provision within a school environment, amplified in unconventional, creative and embodied forms of intervention. An awareness of the tension between these opposites may be useful for dance movement psychotherapists in setting themselves within mainstream education.     

The use of metaphors in dance movement therapy

This text focuses on the specific structure of metaphors in terms of movement processes. The processing of symbolic movement material through structures derived from dance as an art form is investigated. Metaphors that support nonverbal attunement between patient and therapist, and how the use of metaphors and creative processes help establish the inter-subjective relation in dance movement therapy are described.     

The cultural responsibility of dance movement therapy: philosophical considerations

This paper examines the cultural situation and special responsibility of dance movement therapy, delineating certain philosophical and cultural-theoretical interpretations of the ‘corporeal turn’ and ‘therapeutic turn’ of contemporary culture. It aims to show how dance movement therapy’s theoretical horizon is inseparable from the body-mind integration of contemporary philosophies, and how corporeal turn is present in consumer culture, including some of its destructive forms of idealisation and malign regression. The question of how DMT is able to turn malignant regression to the body into benign regression is addressed, and an analysis of the correlating postmodern idea of resilience is offered. Finally, DMT groups are interpreted as social microcosms, and the way Hungarian psychodynamic movement and dance therapists apply their group therapeutic method for the development of democratic culture in the Civil Group Project is described.     

Orientating myself: A gay dance movement psychotherapist’s gender experience in training and practice

ABSTRACT

This paper offers a subjective account of the struggles and pleasures of being a gay dance movement psychotherapy (DMP) lecturer and therapist. The author shares stories of how this individual reality is informed by his life experience as a gay child and man. This gay intersubjective perspective of embodied therapeutic relationships posits a queer theory outlook that deviates from other DMP and embodied perspectives. The intention is to invite more critical reflection on diverse sexual and gender experience and relationships in the training and therapy space, in the hope of opening the door to more transparency with sexual orientation and gender diversity in the body, movement and dance in psychotherapy professions.     

Dance/movement therapy and shamanic healing ritual: natural intelligence of body and spirit

This paper offers a model for integrating a dance/movement therapy practice with some of the themes that show up in literature on shamanic healing ritual. The proposed model is based on literature on shamanism and within the field of dance/movement therapy. It is intended as a first step in an exploration between intersections of the two fields. The model proposes cultivating a sacred container as a holding environment for the therapeutic process, within which the themes of natural intelligence, surrender, and nervous system regulation will be woven together, and the potential for sequencing greater healing energy will be discussed. Applications, limitations, and suggestions for further research will also be considered.     

Embodied attunement: a dance/movement therapy approach to working with couples

ABSTRACT

Attachment theory is well-recognised for understanding and treating adult love relationships. Neuroscientific research highlights the implicit process of attachment and the unconscious, nonverbal, bodily-based, and affect-regulating interactions of the right brain hemispheres in attachment development. Effective couple therapy ought to consider the implicit processes between infants and caregivers as a model to develop secure attachment in romantic partners, which makes dance/movement therapy (D/MT) a valuable treatment modality. Mirroring is a staple D/MT intervention that involves imitation of a client’s movement by the therapist to enhance attunement and empathy. In this paper, the author explores the overlap between attachment theory, neuroscience, dance/movement therapy, and couple therapy. A theoretical model is proposed for the use of mirroring with couples to foster secure attachment by means of attunement on a bodily-based level. Future research is suggested in order to measure the effectiveness of mirroring on couples’ attachment.     

Dance movement psychotherapy for couples (DMP-C): systematic treatment guidelines based on a wide-ranging study

ABSTRACT

A new body of knowledge, growing out of the clinical and research fields, has been developing in recent years in the area of dance-movement psychotherapy for couples (DMP-C). Formulation of an intervention protocol based on a systematic review of theories and research is crucial to scientifically establishing the field and to implementing research findings in clinical practice. The present article reviews the results of a comprehensive qualitative research study in DMP-C, which addresses the following topics: couple intake, expectations of couples seeking therapy, a projective identification mechanism in the couple relationship, desires and expectations in the sexual relationship, synchrony in the non-verbal relationship, somatic mirroring, and kinaesthetic empathy in the couple relationship. Based on the findings of the research, a systematic intervention protocol for couples psychotherapy through movement and dance has been developed; its unique contribution will be examined alongside other interventions in couples therapy.     

Treatment modalities and self-expectancy of therapists: Modes,self-efficacy and imagination of clients in dance movement therapy

Body movement is the primary medium in which dance/movement therapists help clients to connect with implicit experience, to tolerate and express emotion, and thereby to continuously re-work, re-weave and integrate embodied experiences of self. This article explores the role of non-verbal vocalisation within the overall movement ecology of the body, and suggests ways that it can support the aforementioned processes in clinical practice. Three existing frameworks for understanding the non-verbal voice are reviewed, from within and outside the realm of psychotherapy, as are several comprehensive theoretical studies of the ‘self’ in dance/movement therapy. The author emphasises that voice is an integral part of the body's cross-modal capacity for expressive movement, and suggests that the non-verbal voice prioritises and gives form to the emotional content of other bodily movement. This article aims to provide a theoretical starting place for integrating the non-verbal voice into dance/movement therapy scholarship and practice.     

Dance movement therapy and developmental trauma: dissociation and enactment in a clinical case study

This article highlights how body language and non-verbal communication are key elements for the treatment of patients who have suffered from developmental traumas. Contributions from authors from a range of disciplines help the writer to compare the relationship infant-caregiver with the relationship patient-therapist, focusing on common rhythms, attunement, breathing and regulation of affects. The writer investigates how a prolonged lack of attunement from the primary caregiver can have traumatic effects for the child. A clinical case study demonstrates that, through the awarness of his/her own body as 'the instrument', the dance movement therapist can stimulate unconscious implicit body communication and create a sort of vessel where enactments that arise from the therapeutic process can find expression in creative and unexpected ways, as in dreams. This process helps the patient to reintegrate the dissociated aspects of his/herself and can generate significant changes for those involved in the therapeutic process.     

Opposites attract: holistic emotional regulation using dance/movement therapy and the doshas in Ayurveda

This model presents a collaborative and holistic perspective on dance/movement therapy (D/MT) and Ayurveda. This approach suggests that the dance/movement therapist takes into account all range and manner of an individual’s movement repertoire and uses these observations to construct therapeutic interventions that build upon body types and movement preferences represented in Ayurveda. Both D/MT and Ayurveda share the value of achieving a sense of regulation through the use of opposite qualities of movement, which will be explored in depth through the lenses of Laban Movement Analysis and the Kestenberg Movement Profile. Several examples of interventions the therapist might utilise are provided. Further considerations exploring the growth of this model in the future and limitations are also included in this article.     

Widening our lens: The implications of resilience for the professional identity and practice of dance movement therapists

The construct of resilience in psychology has an optimistic character that has been attracting interest due to the paradigmatic change proposed by positive psychology. On the other hand, resilience has different meanings or nuances attributed to it, mainly due to the different focus of researchers and/or their frame of reference: there are scholars who concentrate on developmental issues, others on clinical questions. It is a relatively new construct for dance movement therapists, and due to its subtleties, resilience deserves a theoretical introduction and presentation of its complexities. A discussion of the relevance of this construct for DMT follows after the theoretical outline. This section presents the taxonomy of levels of prevention that expands the possibilities of professional interventions focusing on mental health. It implies widening our lens. Finally, some interventions reported and tested by dance movement therapists will be presented and others will be suggested.     

Dance as a treatment for neurological disorders

Dance has been explored as a therapeutic intervention because of its unique combination of exercise, music and cognitive engagement. Dance therapy is a specific form of dance-based treatment that focuses on how movement correlates with psychological aspects such as self-awareness, expression and coordination, which culminate in a mind–body treatment. In recent years, dance-based programmes have been used as an intervention to improve symptoms of neurological diseases/disorders. Positive results have been shown for patients suffering from Parkinson’s disease, dementia and depression. The neurological adaptations such as improved neural activity and neurogenesis are induced by the combination of coordinated movement strategies, exercise, musical arrangements and social interactions (partnering). With the continued growth of dance therapy, the purpose of this review is to explain the recently proposed theories of how neural changes are mediated through dance, and discuss the positive effects on those suffering from neurological disorders.     

Embodiment and embedment: integrating dance/movement therapy,body psychotherapy,and ecopsychology

This article presents a vision of an emergent ecosomatic psychology that integrates somatic psychology's theories and practices of embodiment with ecopsychology's insights about embedment. Branches within somatic psychology, dance/movement therapy, and body psychotherapy have honed therapeutic practices for embodying the self, engaging in embodied relationships, and opening up to possibilities of transpersonal experiences through the body and movement. Incorporating ecopsychology's emphasis on the development of an ecological identity, inspired by systems and relational views of health, and drawing from theories of participatory consciousness and reciprocity, an integrative framework of embodied embedment practices are proposed for developing an embodied ecological self.     

Discourse: Trudi Schoop and Vaslav Nijinsky,and dance as healer

Conceived as an entrée to discourse, this paper explores the phenomenon of dance as healer, to evoke rather than to answer questions. The intention has been to examine dance in its capacity of healer, scrutinising it in the absence of a formal intermediary intervention such as dance/movement therapy or other somatic models. The early lives of two former luminaries of the dance world are profiled: the first, Trudi Schoop, famed comic mime and early pioneer in dance/movement therapy; the other, Vaslav Nijinsky, renowned dancer and choreographer in the world of ballet. Disparate heritages and life circumstances carried them along radically divergent paths, although both struggled to overcome serious psychiatric issues. Schoop overcame her difficulties vis-à-vis obsessive-compulsive behaviours; Nijinsky's accumulated problems led, ultimately, to chronic schizophrenia. They shared, in common, an overriding passion for and commitment to dance. The discourse focuses on the role of dance, as healer, in their existential journeys.     

Getting synchronised in the mirror game: an exploratory study

ABSTRACT

This exploratory study aimed to disassemble interpersonal movement synchrony by looking at the different elements that comprise this kind of interaction. For this purpose, we used the mirror-game (MG)- an imitation movement technique commonly used in drama and dance/movement therapy. Forty-eight participants (mean age = 33.2) played the MG with same gender-matched expert players. All MGs were recorded and later observed. We used in-depth observation of the MG and created the MG-Synchrony-Scales (MGSS), which identify eight parameters: Reference to the other, Adopting the suggestions, Complexity of the participant’s movement, Sync time, Entering synchrony, Complexity of synchronised dyadic movement, Exiting synchrony, and Non-jittery motion. We explored statistically the links between these different elements of movement synchrony. Using the MGSS showed that the qualities one needs to synchronise with the other are a combination of paying attention to the other and readiness to freely explore a variety of movements and roles.     

Mismatches as milestones in dance movement therapy

This paper explores the concept of mismatches between verbal and non-verbal content and its relation to dance movement therapy (DMT). Relying on interdisciplinary works in linguistics, developmental psychology and DMT, it is shown that although it might be common belief that DMT deals mainly with matching the patient's movements, in reality, mismatches are very common. Moreover, the article shows how mismatches, applied in a broad sense that includes clashing and opposing in various manners, may become a practical tool in clinical practice. To conclude, examples of how mismatches may be implemented in clinical work are given.