- 130 pages
- English
- ePUB (mobile friendly)
- Available on iOS & Android
About This Book
`This book is a very useful starting point for trainees in DMT, or for those training or practicing in other arts therapies or allied professions who would like an overview of theories and methods in DMT. For more experienced DMT practitioners and researchers, this book provides an introduction to theories of creativity and the notion of the movement metaphor as a basis for DMT theory and practice. There is constant dialogue and contextualizing between Meekum?s theory and approach, psychological theories that have influenced the development of DMT, case studies, and the historical development of DMT. What is important in this book is the acknowledgement that DMT is a unique psychotherapy practice with a distinctive theory and methodology based on the intrinsic interaction between movement, the creative process, and psychology? - Body, Movement and Dance in Psychotherapy
`Along with the "how" and "why" of psychotherapy, Bonnie Meekums provides realistic examples of people whose lives have benefited from dance movement therapy. It is my honour to recommend this book? - Dianne Dulicai, President of the American Dance Therapy Association
`It is a very accessible book - it?s an introduction to Dance Movement Therapy, ideal for students who have started DMT training, people who work in related fields (eg other arts therapies) or anyone who is interested in DMT. However, the book goes beyond the introduction in Bonnie?s attempt to develop a new framework. It encourages practising DMTs to question their own approach introducing a different terminology to describe the creative processâŚ. It is food for thought and for discussions in supervision? - e-motion
`Dr Meekums surpasses her goal of contributing to the development of DMT; her book serves as a catalyzing guide for all health care professionals who seek creative processes in healingâŚ. Meekums provides an innovative framework for DMT, and offers adequate references and recommendations for further study, research and evidence-based practice. I enthusiastically recommend this book to creative arts therapists, allied practitioners and especially to practicing and interning dance movement therapists as a professional resource and guide? - Maria Brignola Lee, The Arts in Psychotherapy
Dance Movement Therapy is a concise, practical introduction to a form of therapy, which has the body-mind relationship at its centre. Movement, with both its physical and metaphorical potential, provides a unique medium through which clients can find expression, reach new interpretations and ultimately achieve a greater integration of their emotional and physical experience.
In the book, Bonnie Meekums maps the origins of Dance Movement Therapy (DMT) and its relationship to other more traditional forms of therapy. Outlining a new model for DMT, she describes the creative process, which develops in cycles throughout each session and over the course of therapy. The stages in this creative, psychotherapeutic process are described as:
- preparation
- incubation
- illumination
- and evaluation
Illustrated throughout with vivid case examples, the book defines the role of the therapist in working with clients to bring about change.
This is a practical and accessible guide, which will help new trainees become orientated within the field of DMT. It also has much to offer practising psychotherapists who wish to develop more holistic and creative ways of meeting their clients? needs.
Frequently asked questions
Information
1
THE REGIONAL MAP: AN OVERVIEW OF THIS BOOK
- Body Mind Centering⢠(BMC) (Cohen 1980, 1984), a complex training based on both developmental movement and anatomy. BMC is used both to support performance and as a system of therapy. Several British dance movement therapists have trained in BMC, but by no means all BMC practitioners have registration as dance movement therapists.
- Gabrielle Rothâs five rhythms (flowing, staccato, chaos, lyrical, stillness), which she views as a form of shamanism (1990). As the name suggests, the work centres around five rhythmic structures within which the dancer improvises.
- Circle dance, based on folk dances from around the world and often deemed to hold archetypal, healing significance. I discuss their usefulness with survivors of child sexual abuse in my book Creative Group Therapy for Women Survivors of Child Sexual Abuse (2000). I have also encouraged some groups to choreograph their own âcircle danceâ, based on a given theme like âempowermentâ. These dances, performed at the end of each session, become a container for the sessionâs material and reaffirm a sense of connectedness before leaving the session.
Field | DMT | Therapeutic Dance |
Facilitator is an artist | Yes | Yes |
Boundaries | Start and finish times, group rules, private space, confidentiality, limits to relationship (no socialisation). | Start and finish times and privacy of space may be more relaxed. Group rules may be relaxed or strict. Relationships may extend beyond the group. |
Use of structure offered by leader | Probably, but in response to therapeutic goals and clientâs own contribution. Likely to be flexible. | Probably. Not necessarily responsive to the clientâs contribution. May be rigidly adhered to, or flexible. |
Use of props | Probably. May be used as âtransitional objectsâ (Winnicott, 1971). | Probably. Used to stimulate creativity. |
Performance to outside audience | Unlikely | Possibly |
Performance to other members of group | Possibly | Probably |
Use of choreographic structures | Possibly | Possibly |
Use of improvisational structures | Definitely | Probably |
Use of rhythm | Yes. To structure and contain. Also to develop certain psychological/ developmental states. | Yes. To structure and contain, and to develop skills. |
Use of mirroring (rhythm, quality and shape of movement) | Yes. Conscious use to develop therapeutic relationship and group interrelationships. | Yes. May be used as a choreographic device or to develop group interrelationships. |
Use of costume | Limited | Possibly |
Use of theatre lighting | Unlikely | Possibly |
Typical group size | 1 to 8 or 10 individuals | 4 to 30 or more individuals |
Emphasis on aesthetic components | No | Possibly |
Aims | Targeted to the therapeutic needs of the client group. | Broadly therapeutic and sometimes educational/ artistic. |
Theoretical underpinnings | Include psychological theories. | May or may not include psychological theories. |
Client groups | Just about anybody, but may be subject to assessment. | Just about anybody, but may be targeted. |
Competencies required | Experience in facilitation of groups and range of movement styles. Additional competencies including ability to work with distress. | Experience in facilitation of groups and in the movement form offered. |
Own therapy required | Yes | No |
Clinical supervision required | Yes | No |
Level of academic training required | Post-graduate diploma minimum | No formal qualifications required |
Work with group dynamics and interpersonal relationships | Definitely | Probably |
Work with the internal imagery and symbolism of clients | Definitely | Probably |
Integration of spiritual components | Possibly | Possibly |
Distress versus fun | Actively work with distress, but fun is allowed and used to balance. âRescuingâ by therapist avoided. | May avoid distress and emphasise fun. Alternatively, facilitator may act as shaman, ârescuingâ through the use of self. |
Verbal evaluation of sessions | Usually | Not necessarily |
Use of touch between therapist and clients | Rare | Occurs as part of normal interaction |
Diagnostic or psychological formulation based on movement observation | Yes | Not necessarily |
- Body and mind interact, so that a change in movement will affect total functioning (Berrol, 1992; Stanton-Jones, 1992)
- Movement reflects personality (North, 1972; Stanton-Jones, 1992).
- The therapeutic relationship is mediated at least to some extent non-verbally, for example through the therapist mirroring the clientâs movement (Chaiklin and Schmais, 1979; Stanton-Jones, 1992)
- Movement contains a symbolic function and as such can be evidence of unconscious processes (Schmais, 1985; Stanton-Jones, 1992).
- Movement improvisation allows the client to experiment with new ways of being (Stanton-Jones, 1992).
- DMT allows for the recapitulation of early object relationships by virtue of the largely non-verbal mediation of the latter (Meekums, 1990; Trevarthen, 2001).
Table of contents
- Cover Page
- Creative Therapies in Practice
- Title
- Copyright
- Dedication
- Contents
- List of Figures and Tables
- Foreword by Dianne Dulicai
- Preface
- Acknowledgements
- Abbreviations
- Part I Mapping the Territory
- Part II The Journey
- Appendix Useful Addresses
- References
- Index