How Somatic Experience Is Reflected In Spoken Therapy

Dance began as a form of communication and storytelling. Thousands of years ago dancing served as a way for people to tell a story and helped distract themselves of the hardships they faced. Furthermore, dance was a form of storytelling through communication, which then turned into using storytelling through dance as entertainment. According to the History World, many dancers during the BC time danced in front of only a few people to get a story across. That later turned into hundreds of thousands of people as dance was used by many. Today, dance is also a form of entertainment and storytelling, but in a modern sense. However, today perfection and technique are stressed more than they were in the past. Yet, the passion for dance has not changed. Many dancers who share this passion also have many of the same qualities. Among a discourse community of trained dancers, one expects to find individuals who are healthy and active athletes, expect perfection from themselves through competition, and religiously attend dance performances.

Outside of medicine, I spend my leisure time dancing and choreographing. My love for dance and music stems from my early childhood. I recall listening to Disney songs and “choreographing” dance moves – moves that appeared as uncoordinated, but exquisite loose wiggles. As a result of my parents’ high expectations and strict upbringing, dance was an important activity because it served as a safe haven away from the stress and pressure I felt as a child. Dancing was, and is still, my source of joy and amusement.

Having been recently introduced this style of therapy, I became curious to apply my newfound knowledge during the first session with my new client. Like most people, I learn best by doing. The literature that I have read describing MI has not been as descriptive of a real-life session as I would like for it to be. So, closely observing how a counselor guides a conversation with a client, paying meticulous attention to body language and nuanced facial expressions, has been tremendously helpful in my understanding of how these kind of interventions can

important foundation in understanding the broader scope of how dance can be seen as a

On April 14, 2017, my friend and I visited for the first time Salt Lake City Community College dance company’s annual performance. The show was presented at the Grand Theater at the South City Campus of the college. The performance’s name “Moving Words” imply what the audience was about to experience. “Moving Words” consists of 18 different dances and each of those dances brought a unique feeling to the overall performance. I thought that the dancers and choreographers have done an amazing job. However, after seeing all the different dances there were two that stuck together with me, because of the ideas and the morals these dances introduced.

As I have participated in dance class, I have been able to express my feelings. Additionally, after dance class I find that I am able to see the bright side of situations. With these great benefits of dance, I was not surprised to find that there is an occupation known as a Dance Therapist or Dance/ Movement Therapist (DMT) that helps people improve their overall well being through Dance/ Movement Therapy. To be more specific, Dance/ Movement Therapy is “an exciting field of health that provides emotional and physical support for clients and individuals,” according to the article “Career Profile Dance Movement Therapist” by About.com Careers. Dance therapists bring therapy and dance together and create a space where people can express themselves.

Within the three main modalities each person will have one that is dominant or preferred and each individual’s preferred modality can be ascertained by careful, inconspicuous, observation and questioning of the client by the therapist during the sessions, taking note of the way they dress, the language they use (words and tone), their body language (the way they breath, their postures and gestures) and the work and pastimes they undertake.

For example, nonverbal indications can be used to backup, enrich, substitute, and even contradict what you are saying through your verbals. Nonverbal cues can place the verbal message in a framework that provides a support for how the message should be understood. When you are working with someone who has complete or partial deafness, enunciating your verbals and coupling them with hand or body gestures to convey a message can be beneficial, when done correctly. As an illustration, if you are trying to communicate to a person that you are about to wash their face, you could get down to their level, speak the words, and additionally use a hand with a cloth in it to hover to over your face in washing motions. This strategy could be applied to a countless number of situations to enhance communication between you and a

This paper explores my main question, “how does movement through dance affect the mental and emotional dimensions of wellness?” I will explore the many unknown benefits that come from dance as well as share expressions of my personal thoughts on the subject. I will also share my personal experiences as well as others’ experiences with dance. In the research portion of my paper, I will cite studies supporting both the mental and emotional benefits of dance. This paper will also explore the perspective of a professor of dance, as well as the lived experiences of actual dance students. My interview will support my paper as it reinforces the findings in literature. I will discuss my future plans on the subject of mental and emotional dance; stressing the need for individuals to dance as the benefits can be

In the 1960s, Aaron T. Beck, a psychiatrist, observed that during his analytical sessions, his patients tended to have an internal dialogue going on in their minds, almost as if they were talking to themselves. But they would only report a fraction of this kind of thinking to him. For example, in a therapy session the client might be thinking to him- or herself: “He (the therapist) hasn’t said much today. I wonder if he’s

The benefits of dancing as a physical exercise are well researched, widely understood, and as a fitness, mobility and weight management tool, it is a multi-million dollar industry. Less studied and acknowledged are the benefits on our mental functioning, self-awareness, psychological well-being, self-confidence, self-expressions, concentration, social skills, etc.

The first group (ages 26+) were patients who suffered from intellectual disabilities like motor disorder as a consequence of cerebral palsy, speech impairment, auditory function, and difficulties with motor skills. The second group (ages 26-50) had individuals who suffered from a genetic disease and severe psychomotor retardation. The third group was older adults (ages 70+) who suffered from severe stages of mobility issues, Alzheimer disease, behavioral symptoms, temporal and spatial disorientation. Some forms of therapy included circle dance group, listening groups that listened to only music, and ergometer groups. A study by Thaut, McIntosh, Prassas, and Rice (1992) investigated the effect of auditory rhythm on temporal parameters. Data from this study showed that using principals of rhythmic cuing improved stride, upper limb movements, and enhanced gait. (Krampe, (2013) p. 40) Within these group sessions, therapists used props to stimulate sensory integration, interaction, and self-expression. This made the dance therapy session fun, more enjoyable, and helped with the “grounding” concept at a physical, emotional, and social level amongst everyone. The props that were used were balls varying in different sizes and colors, small percussion instruments, and

The objective in lesson 1, we can see does not only broaden their understanding by introducing a new word and its meaning, but also demonstrates how this can become a stimulus for dance creation. As with lesson 2 they learn to use every day movements as a starting point for movement design and this is continued in lesson 3

Dance therapy is a type of psychotherapy that uses movement to further the social, cognitive, emotional, and physical development of the individual. Dance therapists work with people who have many kinds of emotional problems, intellectual deficits, and life-threatening illnesses. They are employed in psychiatric hospitals, day care centers, mental health centers, prisons, special schools, and private practice. They work with people of all ages in both group and individual therapy. Some also engage in research.

The first reason why teachers should integrate dance into education is that dance increases students’ attention and reaches students of different learning types. One study was done to determine whether lessons that incorporate movement were effective at generating student’s situational interest. They compared the outcomes of movement and non movement lessons in second and third grade reading and math classes. The teachers provided one week of lessons that included movement and one week of lessons that did not. Students were asked to use their bodies to illustrate specific concepts they were taught. At the end of the study, the teachers rated students’ interest levels, and they found that students were more excited by and engaged in the lessons that integrated movement than those that did not. Surprisingly, they also found that the dancing did not hinder the amount of content learned during the lesson (Lindt and Miller). Dance could be a