Dance Movement Therapy & Transference

In Dance Movement Therapy (D/MT) transference and counter transference play a crucial role in the therapy session. Understanding the differing theories of transference, where and how they take place, whether on an emotional, physical, cognitive, or neurological level is an important foundation for the effective treatment of a client. It is because transference is primarily an unconscious process that D/MT as an effective avenue into the subconscious can allow for transference actions to become consciously embodied. It is this embodiment of these subconscious processes that allows for the exploration and bringing to light transference and thus one part of ‘healing’ for the client.In D/MT client(s) move, through posture and/or gesture in ways that is less likely to be censored. For instance, a therapist asks a question and the client hesitates and chooses their words and answers, censoring (either consciously or not) their response. It’s a cognitive process that we all do generally with little thinking or effort. The therapist asks the same questions and directs the client to respond with the hands in a gesture or a posture with a fuller body expression. I’ve noticed over the last twenty some years that people tend to respond/react to this type of direction with the same hesitation and then begin to move in ways that express something rarely captured by words. I believe this is because people are used to censoring their words but less so with the body.

A great example of this is the Stress-less classes I have taught over the years. Participants almost always identify the body as the way they know they are really stressed out. They report grinding their teeth, clenching their fists, clenching their butt muscles, as the primary resources of how they are feeling/thinking. It’s the bodies uncensored expression of what is happening internally that they notice most. In Dance Movement therapy it is what the body says that we notice most.

Ways of moving

 I have learned a lot about Dance Movement Therapy here at Antioch University. I have come to know the far reaching effects that movement has in discovering one’s own feelings. I have come to recognizing others feelings by witnessing their movement as well.

 In one internship I spend time directing a group of clients to move in ways that expressed relaxation for them. Ten people moving in ten different ways, all expressing the same thing. Later the group shared their experience first with a movement and then with verbal processing. The clients discovered new ways of relaxing and being relaxed by exploring and witnessing others move.

 We can all learn new ways of moving and being moved by witnessing others. As children we learned patterns of movement from our care givers and from our culture. As adults we add to our developmental movement patterns by incorporating the uniqueness of who we are. As we mature and age, our movement pattern change again to reflect where in our lives we are.

 We all move, everyone of us. With our breath, our eye lids, our heart beat, and more. It is what we have in common. It is who we are.

MA in Dance/Movement Therapy and Counseling

If you have a passion for dance and a desire to use your skills in a counseling role, Antioch New England’s programs in Dance/Movement Therapy leads to truly gratifying career options. Dance/Movement Therapy integrates the mind, body, and spirit through verbal and non-verbal treatment approaches to wellness. The program is approved by the American Dance Therapy Association (ADTA).

Click HERE to see the video from Antioch New England Dance Movement Therapy Program.

Authentic Movement

Here at Antioch University in the Dance Movement Therapy program we use reflection as one of the processes of learning. One of those reflection/learning models is authentic movement, another is Narrative Writing. Below I present a writing about an Authentic Movement experience.

For me authentic movement is connecting with the deep internal well of the self, the sub-consciousness. Drawing slowly one bucket at a time, of feelings, thoughts, and sensations - than pouring them out, to the external, sometimes a few drops, sometimes a cup full, on occasion a whole bucket at a time, washed over the movement floor.

 

How does a feeling move me? What body part has an urge to move? What thought moves me and what body part has an urge to move from that thought? How does one sensation (physical, emotional, mental) and one body part moving form/transform into a pattern of movement and a pattern of sensation? These questions are a part of the authentic movement experience for me and they don’t arise while moving but are answered nevertheless by the process.

I sit with my eyes closed, noticing my breath, noticing contractions and expansions in my body. Noticing discomfort and comfort, and then reconnecting with my breath. The mind/thinking creates images and thought patterns in response to the bodily sensations. The body begins to create movement in response to feelings and thought sensations. Letting it happen without censoring, without wondering why or where it is coming from. It just happens.

Moving with the eyes closed in my own internal space, bringing the interior to the exterior, the internal to the external. Using a minimum of sound/words (or none at all); connecting with the floor, walls, ceiling, and air; with the very molecules themselves.

Taking the internal to the external and taking that external even further by sensing others in the room, closer, further; the sound of their breath, of their movement. Perhaps even a touch, and more touch, and less touch. Trying effortlessly to maintain the self (the internal to the external) without being swayed by the connection with another. Trying effortlessly to maintain the self while connecting with the space, the walls, floor, air, molecules.

Children and play

Part of my training and education here at Antioch University in dance movement therapy is working with children and their care givers in a semi structured creative environment. This practicum allowed us to observe interactions such as how and when a child moves toward and away from their care giver. We also used KMP (Kestenberg Movement Profile) to observe the natural developmental based rhythms of child and caregiver and the attunements and clashes between the two. For instance a child may have a gradual rhythm and moves slowly into activities and the care giver has a more aggressive/biting rhythm and pushes the child into activities. This results in a clash of rhythms and often the more the care giver pushes the more the child resists.

Part of the practicum that I enjoy is the semi structured nature of creative play that the children are allowed to engage in. I believe that play is an important part of growing and learning about the social self as well as self regulation. All of this came to mind after reading an interesting article from Scientific America about play: 
The Serious Need for Play: Free, imaginative play is crucial for normal social, emotional and cognitive development. It makes us better adjusted, smarter and less stressed.

See previous blog post about play and children:
Kids and preschoolers.

Dance Therapy and Research

One of my classes this semester is research and design for Dance Movement Therapy (D/MT). Research as a part of D/MT? But of course! I think that research in any endeavor is important, more so in dance movement therapy. As a fairly new discipline, D/MT has a need to prove itself to those who do not understand its value as a healing modality. 

 

In my own experience, I spent many years studying and working with a movement based expressive arts therapists devising and altering processes and exercises to meet the changing dynamic of groups. The exact reasons why we might alter a process/exercise was based on observations such as noticing a change in posture or muscular force in a client(s). Sometimes the noticing was just a feeling that we had. The big research/question for me now at Antioch is why exactly does a process cause a client to change; and what is the information that I notice that creates a feeling/intuition which causes me to change my facilitation to meet the client needs? I believe wanting to know the “why” is one part of research.

I have a very broad picture of D/MT. I think that as a modality for understanding self/others and the world around us, D/MT is invaluable. For instance I can see teaching a class for law enforcement/home land security about movement observation techniques in understanding the dynamics of individuals and groups. I once even visited the NASA website to see how they might utilize D/MT and the need for bodies to move/communicate in limited spaces. I can see applying D/MT to looking at the layout of a playground, or office space in regards to how people who use a space move in it and interact on a body level. 

I firmly believe that the application of D/MT into broader areas is quite possible and can happen with further research in the field. We, as students and practicing D/MT’s have a responsibility and duty to contribute to the field so that we can bring this healing modality to as many as possible.

 

 

Dance Movement Therapy in Australia

Dance Movement Therapy (D/MT) as a discipline and modality in the helping profession has grown in the last 20 years. Even the most ‘main stream’ institutions and practitioners have or are beginning to recognize the value of the expressive arts and dance movement therapy in particular. Most interesting this is happening on a global scale.

For instance the Dance-Movement Therapy Association of Australia (DTAA) has been around since 1994 and promotes the training, supervision and expansion of D/MT as a therapy. The DTAA considers  dance movement therapists:

appreciate the therapeutic value of aesthetic and artistic experience of dance

understand the interrelationship of the physical, emotional, and cognitive dimensions of human behaviour

use their skills in movement observation and analysis to assess individuals, develop and evaluate therapeutic programs

recognise body movement as the basis of human interaction and communication

are trained in counselling skills and group facilitation

design and implement programs for diverse client groups.

Take a moment to vist our friends ‘down under’: Dance-Movement Therapy Association of Australia

Medical jargon changes how we think of disease

I came across this article the other day and found it quite interesting in light of my psychopathology class.  The article on PLoS One reports that simply using technical-sounding labels for newly popularized medical conditions changes our understanding of the condition itself, leading us to think it is more serious and more common.  The over-medicalising of problems/issues that may have been considered unfortunate but normal parts of life (like baldness being labeled “androgenic alopecia”) allows manufactures of drugs to create a market for their product.

See the article here:The Role of Medical Language in Changing Public Perceptions of Illness

Psychology Podcasts

In my down time (which is very limited) I like to listen to Podcasts that relate to my educational endeavors. There are thousands of Podcasts out there and I have listened to a great deal of them once and a handful many times. The podcasts that I like have a professional quality and present information that is researched and supported. Here are three that I listen too: 

All in the Mind  All in the Mind, presented by Natasha Mitchell, is a weekly foray into all things mental – a program about the mind, brain and behavior. From dreaming to depression, addiction to artificial intelligence, consciousness to coma, psychoanalysis to psychopathology, free will to forgetting – All in the Mind explores the human condition through the mind’s eye.

WHYY’s Voices in the Family  Voices in the Family now celebrating 20 years of thoughtful discussions dealing with the many aspects of personality, psychology, and inter-personal relationships. Dan Gottlieb Ph.D, host of Voices in the Family, is a family therapist in private practice. He is a nationally recognized lecturer in the field of mental health, and a columnist for the Philadelphia Inquirer.

The Infinite Mind (streaming only)  Hosted by Dr. Fred Goodwin, this series focuses on the latest developments in neuroscience and the biology of human behavior.

One tool that Dance/Movement Therapists use

In dance movement therapy therapists use a variety of tools. One is art therapy which has two basic schools: art as therapy and art in service to therapy. Much like D/MT and the other creative arts, art therapy is sometimes viewed (in service to) as an adjunct to so called “real” (talk) therapy. I think that the client needs should dictate what type and how therapy is applied, if the client can be served chiefly by creating art, than its theraputic and valuable.

 As with psychotherapy in general, art therapy also has two fundamental theoretical approaches: Freudian and Jungian. The Freudian view of art therapy is that underlying artistic creation is the unconscious expression of conflict that originates in childhood experiences. The Freudian theory also embraces the idea that art work is a projection of psychosexual conflicts.

One problem with the Freudian approach for me is to only see client’s art work from a psychopathological perspective, thus tainting the intrinsic value of art creation, which can be a strength in a client. Psychoanalytic theory even discounts the art maker’s explanations of their work as it believes that conscious thought tends to defend the person from more threatening unconscious conflicts that motivate artwork. However, conflicts from childhood and psychosexual conflicts are not the only motivations behind art work; there are as many motivations for art creation as there are experiences in one’s life.

            The Jungian approach to art therapy embraces the universality of images and symbols with an open mind to the uniqueness and specific feeling content of the client’s creation. It emphasizes the nature of the client’s psyche to communicate a particular message for “anyone able to see it”. (Robinson, 1984, p.83) The Jungian approach most basic underlying principle looks at the art making product with the the importance of the unconscious emerging, as opposed to correcting aberrant behavior.