What is Dance Movement Psychotherapy?

Dance Movement Psychotherapy (DMP) recognises body movement as an implicit instrument of communication and expression. DMP is a relational process in which client(s) and therapist engage creatively using body movement and dance, as well as verbal and non-verbal reflection.

Dance Movement Psychotherapists offer embodied interventions that take into account the client’s lived experience in the context of the social system they live in, how they experience living in their body and relationship to their body, how they think about themselves and their relationships, as well as emotional responses that may be hard to put into words. Each Dance Movement Psychotherapist’s approach will be individual and underpinned by their own education and philosophical stance, but at the heart of this is the intrinsic belief in the inter-relationship between psyche, soma, and spirit.

When used in a psychotherapeutic context, dance movement is utilised for a range of neurological, psychological, relationship, and social problems. It also provides opportunities for people who wish to develop their own creative potential.

DMP can benefit individuals, couples, families, groups, and organisational teams. Dance Movement Psychotherapists work with children and adults of all ages and abilities, and with people who experience a wide range of difficulties. For example, people may be experiencing mental or emotional distress or conflict, problems with communication or information processing, difficulties with body image, physical discomfort or movement restrictions. People may be struggling with the impact of trauma or having to deal with loss, transition or change in their lives, or there may be relationship difficulties. People may be trying to deal with difficulties such as anxiety, depression, eating disorders, psychoses, bereavement, post-traumatic stress, abuse, addiction, learning disabilities, sensory difficulties, physical disabilities, emotional/behavioural difficulties and autism. DMP can also support personal development by enhancing personal communication skills, self-exploration, and self-understanding.

The focus on the moving body and non-verbal phenomena means that Dance Movement Psychotherapy (DMP) can support

  • an increase in self-awareness, self-esteem, self-confidence, personal autonomy, and self-expression through the integration of emotional, cognitive, physical, and social aspects of self
  • discovery of inner resources through contained creative movement play
  • the development of tools with which to express or manage overwhelming feelings or thoughts
  • expansion of resources and skills in communication and social interaction
  • trust within relationships through opportunity to test the impact of self on others in a safe and contained environment
  • space to test the relationship between inner and outer reality and opportunity to increase and rehearse adaptive coping behaviours
  • the potential for physical, emotional, and cognitive shifts as DMP promotes experiencing links between actions, feelings, and thoughts
  • exploration of relational and developmental issues arising from early infancy through to older age

Dance Movement Psychotherapists work in a variety of settings within the public, private, and voluntary sectors. including health, education and social services. DMP may be recommended as a primary service or as a complement to other forms of on-going treatment, rehabilitation, or education. Therapy can be short-term or long-term.

Enquiries can be made directly to a practitioner or referrals may be made through an individual or organisation. Clients do not require dance skills or training. The focus is on the therapeutic process.

The profession is continually informed by research and projects that open up and extend the fields of DMP practice.