Dance/Movement Therapy (DMT) is, basically, a non-verbal form of psychotherapy. DMT’s study, at graduate level, movement, movement analysis (looking for normal and abnormal movement patterns), and therapeutic techniques (ways of helping people to find non-verbal and verbal means of expressing themselves). DMT’s operate under the principle that, while words often lie, the body rarely does. Through mirroring movement (i.e., capturing the essence of the person’s movement, not copying it), the therapist experiences and communicates empathy. She then guides the client toward finding a new, more balanced, or more adaptive movement repetoire, and toward connecting movement themes to life themes. This work may occur on a conscious or unconscious level for the client.

DMT is used in group settings and in individual sessions, and with any type of person. DMT’s are in psychiatric units, public schools, drug rehab clinics, nursing homes, and AIDS residences. They work with Autistic children, adolescents with behavioral issues, couples, families, people who have suffered trauma, and people who want to understand themselves better.
I use DMT with children who have cancer or serious blood disorders. Sessions help my patients express fear, anger, frustration, whatever they’re feeling about their illness and treatment, and may not be able to or want to talk about. With the help of music, balls, parachutes, and scarves, the children often find a needed distraction when imaginative dance transports them out of the hospital. The act of moving helps them feel healthier, as we focus on what they can do, as opposed to the limitations of being sick. While I don’t teach them movements, I guide the children to find movements that are right for them.