DANCE MOVEMENT THERAPY

Rohit Bhutani

Wondering about career options in dance and therapy? Come, let’s explore......
Expressive arts play an essential role in a person’s emotional well-being and have a therapeutic effect on mental well-being.
India, being the land of rich diversity and culture, proves to be an up-and-coming platform for fostering and development of Expressive Arts, Music, and Dance Movement Therapies.

WHAT IS DANCE MOVEMENT THERAPY?

Dance movement therapy is the clinical and evidence-based therapeutic use of the physical activity of dance and movement interventions in order to achieve individualized goals within a therapeutic relationship by a professional.

The therapy primarily focuses on the relationship between the movement of body and emotions to empower the functioning of body and mind.

• A dance therapist collaborates with the clients to bring about a change in total body image and restoring and uplifting self-esteem.
• The therapy aims at enhancing practical and communication skills to promote pro-social behavior
• It aids clients to gain insight into what is the cause of problematic behavior

Dance Therapy has been applied in different healthcare areas, education, and rehabilitation with different populations of patients such as children, adults, and senior citizens. It can also deal with disorders such as autism, Alzheimer’s, bulimia etc. 




HOW TO BECOME A DANCE MOVEMENT THERAPIST?

1. To become a credential professional in dance movement therapy, one is supposed to have a Bachelor’s degree, preferably from psychology or fields of Liberal Arts.
2. One must acquire a certificate or a diploma in the dance form of choice from an accredited Institution for that dance form.
3. One can further apply for the masters, either specialization in DMT or take up a diploma course offered in DMT specialization. A doctorate can also be looked up to.

In India, you may find only limited options to pursue DMT as a career. Here are some Institutions and courses: -
 

S No.	Names of institutes	Courses offered
1	Women’s Christian College,  in association with The East-West Centre for Counselling and Training	Diploma course in Expressive Art Therapy
2	Creative Movement Therapy Association in India	60 hours of annual certification course in dance movement therapy.
3	Symbiosis School for Liberal Arts	DANCE Movement therapy course of 60 hours

 

4	Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai
5	SHRISTI Centre of Performing Arts and Institute of Dance Therapy, Delhi

**Fee structure differs from institution to institution

 

Some Institutions Across the Globe

 

Serial No.	Name of Institutes	Courses offered
1	Goldsmiths University of London	Dance Movement Psychotherapy MA, MPhil, and PhD
2	London Metropolitan University	Sports and Dance Therapy BSc (Hons)
3	Drexel University	Master of Arts in DMT
4	University of Derby	Creative Expressive Therapies (Dance) BA (Hons)Dance Movement Therapy and Psychotherapy MA
5	Codarts, University for the Arts, Netherlands	Master in Dance Therapy

 

DMT seems to have a promising future as a career option, a contemporary path to explore in order to serve the society in different and lesser tried ways. Being an upcoming field in the world of psychotherapies calls for a struggle to establish oneself as a renowned professional.

Remember, it is not just about exploring the passion for the art form. However, it is also about the essential service as a professional psychotherapist to employ movement interventions to heal people.

So, keep dancing and cheers to mental well-being!!!!