DEMYSTIFYING DANCE/MOVEMENT THERAPY AS A COUNSELING SPECIALTY LESLIE ARMENIOX, PhD, LPC, BC-DMT Public Relations Liaison to Counseling SUSAN SAENGER, MA, LPC, BC-DMT Chairperson of the DMTCB

 1966  MAINTAINS HIGH STANDARDS FOR EDUCATION, TRAINING, & PROFESSIONAL PRACTICE  CODE OF ETHICS  RESEARCH  AMERICAN JOURNAL OF DANCE THERAPY  PROGRAM ACCREDITATION  CREDENTIALING BODY DMTCB  WEB SITE  AMERICAN DANCE THERAPY ASSOCIATION

 TASK FORCE  BENEFIT CONSUMERS BY MAKING AN INNOVATIVE APPROACH MORE ACCESSIBLE  NBCC REVIEWED GRADUATE PROGRAMS, CURRICULUM, RESEARCH, LITERATURE, HISTORICAL RECORDS, FINANCIAL RECORDS  CACREP COMPARISON  BC-DMT CREDENTIAL REQUIRED  ALTERNATE ROUTE NBCC RECOGNIZED DMT AS A COUNSELNG SPECIALTY

 Counseling is a professional relationship that empowers diverse individuals, families, and groups to accomplish mental health, wellness, education, and career goals.  Counseling is single profession with specialized areas of training VISION OF COUNSELING

 PSYCHOTHERAPEUTIC USE OF MOVEMENT TO FURTHER THE EMOTIONAL, COGNITIVE, PHYSICAL, AND SOCIAL INTEGRATION OF INDIVIDUALS.  FOCUSES ON EXPRESSIVE, COMMUNICATIVE, AND ADAPTIVE MOVEMENT BEHAVIOR AS IT EMERGES IN THE COUNSELING RELATIONSHIP  MOVEMENT PROVIDES MEANS FOR ASSESSMENT & INTERVENTION  AS OR MORE EFFECTIVE THAN VERBAL APPROACHES  CONSIDERED TRADITIONAL APPROACH NOT ALTERNATIVE DEFINING DMT

Not everything that counts can be counted, and not everything that can be counted counts. --Einstein

 First licensed in 1995  35% of DMTs are licensed, most as counselors, in 29 states  WI, NY, CA, PA specifically include DMT in bills  One state includes regulation that counselors use creative arts (art, dance/movement, etc) in their work, but has resisted licensing qualified DMTs LICENSURE OF DMTs

 Master’s and PhD programs  semester hours for master’s  addresses core counseling curriculum  unique educational competencies  Counseling +DMT  350 hour practicum hour internship  Clinical supervision  R-DMT  BC-DMT  3000 hours clinically supervised work experience  Portfolio Exam EDUCATION & TRAINING

 BODY, MIND, AND SPIRIT ARE CONNECTED  80-90% OF COMMUNICATION IS NONVERBAL  MOVEMENT REFLECTS OUR PERSONALITIES, CULTURES, PERCEPTIONS, SOCIAL CONSTRUCTIONS, STORIES  PHYSICAL MOVEMENT IS HEALING, RESTORATIVE, AND PREVENTIVE  NOVELTY, PHYSICAL MOVEMENT, & ENRICHED EXPERIENCES STIMULATE NEUROGENESIS  CHANGE IN MOVEMENT AFFECTS TOTAL FUNCTIONING  EMBODIMENT CAN LEAD TO TRANSFORMATION DMT OPERATING PRINCIPLES

 DMT & CATS: NONVERBAL MEDIUM AND EXPRESSION THROUGH ARTS IS PRIMARY, WHILE VERBAL IS SECONDARY, AND USED TO SUPPORT THE PROCESS  CAC: VERBAL IS PRIMARY, USE OF CREATIVE ARTS AS INTERVENTION IS SECONDARY, & USED WHEN NONVERBAL IS MOST APPROPRIATE CHOICE FOR CLIENT  EXAMPLES  COUNSELOR TEACHES CLIENT WALKING MEDITATION  DMT HELPS CLIENT INCREASE FLOW INTO TORSO TO DEEPEN BREATHING WHILE GROUNDING AND PROCESSING THE EMOTIONS THAT ARE CONNECTED CREATIVE ARTS IN COUNSELING VS. CREATIVE ARTS THERAPIES

 Everyone moves and uses nonverbal communication  Non-verbal observational skills are important to understanding the richness of cultural expression, and therefore contribute to multicultural competency  Dance reflects culture, history, styles of communication, values, work  Dance provides means to socialize, celebrate, mourn, tell stories, pray, heal, meditate  Most cultures maintain dance as important component  Recent revival of “American” Dance DMT ADDRESSES MULTICULTURAL DIFFERENCES

 DMT IS BIAS-FREE APPROACH  LESS ANXIETY-PRODUCING TO THOSE WHOSE LANGUAGE SKILLS ARE LIMITED OR LESS DEVELOPED  SERVES TO REDUCE ANXIETY  MOVEMENT REPRESENTS MULTIPLE FACTORS AT ONCE  ASSIMILATION OF COPING SKILLS VARIES BASED ON MOVEMENT REPERTOIRE, WHICH IS MORE PRACTICAL TO ASSESS THAN LEVEL OF SOCIOCULTURAL ASSIMILATION WITH MULTICULTURAL CLIENTS:

COUNSELING SKILLDMT SKILL LISTENOBSERVE RAPPORTVISUAL & RHYTHMIC SYNCHRONY REFLECTMIRROR, ECHO EMPATHYKINESTHETIC EMPATHY QUESTIONSINTRODUCE CHANGE SYMBOLSSYMBOLIC MOVEMENT METAPHORMOVING METAPHOR CONFRONTINTRODUCE CHANGE, COMPARISONS SUMMARIZESEQUENCE, REVIEW FOUNDATIONAL SKILLS

COUNSELINGDMT BUILD ON EXISTING STRENGTHSBUILD ON MOVEMENT STRENGTHS GOALS & PLANGOALS & PLAN TRANSLATED ASSESSMENTMOVEMENT ASSESSMENT SELF-AWARENESSBODY/MIND AWARENESS IMPROVE COPING SKILLSEXPAND REPERTOIRE & PRACTICE SKILLS EXPRESS EMOTIONSEXPRESS EMOTIONS USING MOVEMENT CHANGE BEHAVIORMOVE DIFFERENTLY COUNSELING PROCESS

THEORYCOUNSELINGDMT CBTCHANGE THOUGHTSIN VIVO PSYCHODYNAMICSELF-ANALYSIS, DREAMSRECAPITULATION OF EARLY OBJECT RELATIONS ADLERIANGOALS, SKILLS, APPROACH TO LIFE INTERACT & PRACTICE SKILLS IN SOCIAL CONTEXT PERSON-CENTEREDTALKING TOGETHERMOVING TOGETHER SOLUTION-FOCUSEDWHERE DO I WANT TO BE? HOW DO I MOVE WHEN I’M THERE? EXISTENTIALAUTHENTICITYEMBODIED AUTHENTICITY CONSTRUCTIVISTNARRATIVEMOVING THE STORY EXAMPLES OF THEORIES SHARED BY COUNSELING & DMT

 SUZI TORTORA: DMT IS MOST APPROPRIATE AND PREFERRED APPROACH  DAVID ALAN HARRIS IN AFRICA  VERBAL/NONVERBAL INTEGRATED APPROACH IN HAWAII CASE EXAMPLES

 Further inquiries can be made to or  Copies of this presentation are available at the AASCB web site  More information on DMT is available at QUESTIONS?

THANK YOU! MAHALO!