By: Emily Sexton

The American Dance Therapy Association defines dance and movement therapy as “the psychotherapeutic use of movement to further the emotional, cognitive, physical and social integration of the individual.”[1] Dance Therapy is practiced in an enormous variety of settings today such as: hospitals, mental health facilities, nursing homes, and schools[2]. The non-verbal nature of dance and movement lends the therapy to the mentally ill, as well as healthy individuals[3]. Dance therapy is traditionally practiced in four separate stages known as preparation, incubation, illumination, and evaluation[4]. It is practiced both professionally and privately.  Professional educators are labeled as registered dance movement therapists (R-DMTs) or board certified dance movement therapists (BC-DMTs)[5].  As stated in the peer reviewed article “ A Systematic Review of the Evidence for the Effectiveness of Dance Therapy” by Strassel, Cherkin, Steuten, Sherman, and Vrijhoef: “Dance therapy should be considered as a potentially relevant add-on therapy for a variety of conditions that do not respond well to conventional medical treatments.”[6] Published in 2011, this study sought to analyze the therapeutic benefits and value of dance therapy.



[1]  “About Dance/Movement Therapy.” American Dance Therapy Association. Web. 26 Jan. 2014. http://www.adta.org/About_DMT Online Source.

[2] “About Dance/Movement Therapy.” American Dance Therapy Association. Web. 26 Jan. 2014. http://www.adta.org/About_DMT Online Source.

[3] Chace, Marian. Marian Chace: Her Papers. Ed. Harris Chaiklin. Kensington: American Dance Therapy Association, 1975. Page 22. Print.

[4] Meekums, Bonnie. Dance Movement Therapy: A Creative Psychotherapeutic Approach. Thousand Oaks: Sage Publications, 2002. Page 15. Print.

[5] “Become a Dance/Movement Therapist.” American Dance Therapy Association. Web. 26 Jan. 2014. http://www.adta.org/Become_a_DMT Online Source.

[6] Strassel, Juliane, Daniel Cherkin, Lotte Steuten, Karen Sherman, Hubertus J Vrijhoef, and INNOVISION COMMUNICATIONS. “A Systematic Review of the Evidence for the Effectiveness of Dance Therapy.” Alternative Therapies in Health and Medicine, 17.3 (2011): 50-59. http://onesearch.uoregon.edu/metasearch/record?group=2014-01-26-001146&resultSet=004596&startRecord=1 Accessed Online.

One Response to “An Overview: Dance and Movement Therapy”

  1. Henry Hoyun said:

    an ve Vrijhoef tarafından yazılan “Dans Terapisinin Etkinliğine İlişkin Kanıtların Sistematik Bir İncelemesi” b agario unblocked



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