Discussion ：How do we compare art therapy with other expressive therapies?

A m e r i c a n D a n c e T h e r a p y A s s o c i a t i o n w w w . a d t a . o r g

Dance is the most fundamental of the arts, involving a direct expression of one’s self through one’s body. It is an especially powerful medium for therapy.

Based on the assumption that the body and mind are interrelated, dance/ movement therapy is defined by the American Dance Therapy Association as “the psychotherapeutic use of movement as a process which furthers the emotional, cognitive, physical, and social integration of the individual.”

The dance/movement therapist focuses on movement behavior as it emerges in the therapeutic relationship. Expressive, communicative, and adaptive behaviors are all considered for both group, individual, couples, & family treatment. Body movement simultaneously provides the means of assessment and the mode of intervention.

Dance/movement therapists are employed in a wide variety of facilities as well as private practice. They address the needs of a broad spectrum of people, including those with specific disorders and disabilities.

Professional training of dance/movement therapists occurs on the graduate level, and the Masters is the terminal degree. The ADTA publishes a list of colleges and universities that provide appropriate education and training, and the association has established an approval procedure for granting rec- ognition to those institutions that fulfill the guidelines for graduate degree programs

ADTA

“Dance/movement

therapy can foster

creative self-expression,

and provides safe and

effective options for

relating to others and

coping with the environ-

ment.”

What is Dance/M ovement Therapy?

A D T A R e s o u r c e B i b l i o g r a p h y

Dance/M ovement Therapy Resources

Kestenberg Amighi, J., Loman, S., Lewis, P. & Sossin, M.K. (1999). The meaning of movement. Amsterdam: Gordon and Breach.

Chodorow, J. (1991). Dance therapy and depth psychology: The moving imagination. New York: Routledge.

Cruz, R.F., & Sabers, D.L. (1998). Dance/movement therapy is more ef- fective than previously reported. The Arts in Psychotherapy, 25, 101-104.

Levy, F. J. (2003, 1992). Dance movement therapy: A healing art. Reston: The American Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation, and Dance.

Levy, F. J (Ed.). (1995). The dance and other expressive art therapies: When words are not enough. New York: Routledge.

Lewis, P. (1979). Eight theoretical approaches in dance movement thera- py. Dubuque: Kendall/Hunt.

Lewis, P. (1984, 1986). Theoretical approaches in dance/movement therapy, Vol. I & II. Dubuque: Kendal/Hunt.

Meekums, B. (2002) Dance movement therapy: A creative psychothera- peutic approach. Thousand Oaks, CA : Sage.

Ritter, M., & Low, K. G. (1996). Effects of dance/movement therapy: A meta-analysis. Arts in Psychotherapy, 23, 249-260.

Sandel, S., L., Chaiklin, S., & Lohn, A. (Eds.). (1993). Foundations of dance/ movement therapy: The life and work of Marian Chace. Columbia, MD:

Schmais, C. (1985). Healing process in group and dance therapy. The American Journal of Dance Therapy, 8, 17-36

Siegel, E. V. (1984). Dance-movement therapy: A mirror of our selves, the psychoanalytic approach. New York: The Human Sciences Press.

Stanton-Jones, K. (1992). An introduction to dance movement therapy in psychiatry. New York: Tavistock and Routledge.

**For additional DMT resources please visit www.adta.org

“Dance/movement

therapy is the

psychotherapuetic use

of movement which

furthers the emotion-

al, cognitive, physical

and social integration

of the individual.”