Body, Movement and Dance in Psychotherapy

An International Journal for Theory, Research and Practice

ISSN: 1743-2979 (Print) 1743-2987 (Online) Journal homepage: http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/tbmd20

The interface between somatic psychotherapy and

dance/movement therapy: a critical analysis

Jennifer Frank Tantia

To cite this article: Jennifer Frank Tantia (2015): The interface between somatic psychotherapy
and dance/movement therapy: a critical analysis, Body, Movement and Dance in
Psychotherapy, DOI: 10.1080/17432979.2015.1109549

To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/17432979.2015.1109549

Published online: 20 Nov 2015.

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 Body, Movement and Dance in Psychotherapy, 2015
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/17432979.2015.1109549

The interface between somatic psychotherapy and

dance/movement therapy: a critical analysis
Jennifer Frank Tantia 
Creative Arts Therapy Department, Pratt Institute, Brooklyn, NY, USA
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ABSTRACT
Just as a child’s neurodevelopment becomes more sophisticated with life
experience, somatic psychotherapy and dance/movement therapy, now in
their eighth decade, are approaching a more intricate stage of growth. As
each discipline grows in complexity, conflicts have risen regarding the concept
of identity. The recent debate of whether dance/movement therapy is one of
the somatic psychotherapies or its own discipline is a necessary and exciting
‘growing pain’ in the evolution of embodied psychotherapy practices. This paper
provides a historic overview and uses a systems theory framework to compare
the disciplines with data derived from original and recent literature. Practices,
education and governance of each discipline are presented as they exist in the
United States. Findings illustrate the comparison and offer clarity on the current
trend towards integration. Suggestions are made for further critical thinking to
develop awareness towards an evolved perspective of embodied psychotherapy
practices.

ARTICLE HISTORY  Received 24 April 2015; Accepted 25 September 2015

KEYWORDS Somatic psychotherapy; dance/movement therapy; body psychotherapy; general

systems theory; somatics; alternative and complementary medicine

A gem cannot be polished without friction, nor a man perfected without trials.
(Chinese Proverb)
The identities of somatic psychotherapy1 (SP) and dance/movement therapy
(DMT)2 is part of an important, ongoing debate that began six years ago (Young
& Pallaro, 2008) and was resurrected in a recent issue of the present journal
(Payne, Westland, Karkou, & Warneke, 2014) that sparked the theme of this cur-
rent issue. While some somatic psychotherapists see DMT as ‘a form of body
psychotherapy’ (Young, 2006, 2012) or an ‘expressive body psychotherapy’
(Ben-Shahar, 2014), most dance/movement therapists have historically viewed
DMT as a separate discipline from SP with theoretical and practical approaches

CONTACT  Jennifer Frank Tantia  jftantia@gmail.com 

© 2015 Taylor & Francis
 2    J. F. Tantia

that are distinct from somatic psychotherapists. My own professional curiosi-

ties as a somatic psychotherapist and dance/movement therapist has led me
to spirited conversations with other professionals in the field, as well as my
own attempts to merge (Tantia, 2012a), as well as separate (Tantia, 2014) the
two disciplines. These unsatisfactory attempts led me to further challenge my
biases and understand the oppositions from an evidence-based exploration.
To identify more clearly what is being debated, this article offers an in-depth
exploration based on the extant literature of each discipline’s theory, practice,
governance and education.
In order to conduct such an analysis, a methodology is necessary. General
systems theorist Bela Banathy (2000) articulated four ways to analyse a system:
philosophy, theory, methodology and application. After presenting a brief his-
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tory of both disciplines, this paper will analyse the philosophy and theoretical
backgrounds of each discipline. Methodology will be viewed through the sim-
ilarities and differences in practice, and application will be explored in terms
of governance and education. The information shared here is collected from
my knowledge and experience as a somatic psychotherapist and DMT edu-
cator for the past decade, and through examination of the extant literature
from each discipline. To define the terms used for this article, in the US SP is an
umbrella term used to describe many somatic approaches to psychotherapy
including Bioenergetics, Hakomi and Somatic Experiencing®. Likewise, DMT
includes many styles such as Marion Chace’s approach and Mary Whitehouse’s
Authentic Movement.

‘Somatic’ or ‘Body?’
Before untangling the distinction between SP and DMT, it might be advanta-
geous to first distinguish the differences between the uses of the terms ‘somatic’
and ‘body’ when describing SP practice. A practical delineation is that ‘body
psychotherapy’ is the preferred term in the UK and Europe, while ‘somatic psy-
chotherapy’ has been the term most used in the US and Australia (Young, 2012).
However, there are conceptual and historical differences that go far deeper
than geography.
Thomas Hanna coined the term, ‘Somatics’ in 1976 and defined the difference between
body and soma; the former being the physical body and the latter a holistic aggre-
gate of human experience. Hanna contended:Somatics is the field which studies the
soma; namely the body as perceived from within by first-person perception. When a
human being is observed from the outside – i.e., from a third-person viewpoint – the
phenomenon of a human body is perceived. (Hanna, 1986, p. 4)
This may have been the same structure from which modalities like Bioenergetics
originated; the style of manual manipulation of the client’s body as a means
towards reaching repressed emotion might well fit the ‘body psychotherapy’
 Body, Movement and Dance in Psychotherapy   3

description. By the time Hanna had developed his philosophy, a holistic

approach to psychotherapy was emerging that included the awareness of the
body in psychotherapy treatment. Hanna’s philosophy evolved from the embod-
ied phenomenology of Husserl (Mensch, 2001) and Merleau-Ponty (2008), that
soma is more than attention to physical existence:
It was phenomenology again that resulted in the eventual naming of this broad
collection of practice as ‘Somatics,’ a coin termed by Hanna from the related term
psychosomatic and from Husserl’s notion of a somatology as a particular task of
phenomenology that could integrate the mechanized body of medical science
with the flowing or ‘lived’ body of direct experience and consciousness. (Kripal,
2007, p. 230)
This perspective is also what drives somatic psychology pedagogy in master’s
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and doctoral programmes in US universities today, and seven of eight relevant

graduate programmes use the term, ‘somatic psychotherapy’ in lieu of ‘body
psychotherapy’ to reflect this epistemological stance.

History of embodied psychotherapy treatments

In Europe in the 1930s, Reich was exploring the body’s role in addressing emo-
tion for psychological health. Fritz Perls, who moved from Europe to New York
in 1946 to work with Reich, later created Gestalt therapy, which is quite possibly
one of the first body psychotherapy treatments in the US.3 For approximately
the next 20 years, embodied explorations of the psyche ‘… enjoyed a quiet exist-
ence among small groups scattered throughout the US and Europe’ (Johnson
& Grand, 1998, p. 12).
As early as the 1940s, the role of the body’s movement as a psychiatric treat-
ment became known as DMT. Marion Chace, a dancer, had begun to use music
and expressive movement as forms of communication with psychiatric patients
at St. Elizabeth’s Hospital in Washington, DC. Simultaneously on the West Coast,
Jungian analyst Mary Whitehouse was developing a style of healing called ‘mov-
ing in depth’, which is today known as Authentic Movement. Whitehouse’s first
paper ‘The Tao of the Body’ was presented in 1958 at the Analytical Psychology
Club in Los Angeles (Pallaro, 1999).
It wasn’t until 1962 that a group of like-minded individuals came together at
a small California community in Big Sur called Esalen to explore their common
perspective on the indisputable connection between embodied experiences
and emotions as a means towards healing (Kripal, 2007, 2008). Whitehouse had
been one of those invited to Esalen, where, at the same time, Thomas Hanna
was constructing his philosophy of Somatics and Fritz Perls was teaching the
practice of Gestalt therapy. Many other pioneers, both psychological (Charlotte
Selver, Alexander Lowen) and non-psychological, (Ida Rolf, Gabrielle Roth) were
also creating their own somatic practices (Johnson & Grand, 1998; Kripal, 2007).
Concurrently, dance/movement therapists on the East Coast experimented with
 4    J. F. Tantia

expressive movement as a primary focus for healing, and in 1966 the American
Dance Therapy Association was formed.
In the early 1970s, the first graduate programmes in both DMT and
somatic psychology were created (Tantia, 2012b). By the 1990s, there were
more than 50 styles of somatic practices categorised by structural, func-
tional, psychological and energetic approaches (Knaster, 1996). Today, there
are more than 70 non-DMT somatic approaches, both therapeutic and psy-
chotherapeutic (Mullan, 2014), while DMT continues to grow from a united
theory and practice.

Philosophy
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A philosophy is a conceptualised body of thought that is formed from theo-

ries. Both SP and DMT are based in the psychophysiological philosophy that
embodied awareness is the prima facie of self-knowledge, and healing hap-
pens through experience. Some of the common theories that compose this
philosophy are:

(1) The soma is the very essence of self-reference (Bernstein, 1979; Hanna,

1979).
(2) Physical states, movement and body areas can and do have symbolic
and associative meaning (C. Caldwell, personal communication, April
5, 2015).
(3) There is value in both implicit and explicit memory, and the former is
discovered through embodied awareness (Heller, 2012).
(4) Repressed emotions and memory are held in the musculature and can
be released through manipulation or expression of the body (Espenak,
1981; Koch, Fuchs, Summa, & Müller, 2012; Lowen, 1967).
(5) Touch may be a healing element in practice (Ben-Shahar, 2014;
Changaris, 2015; Matherly, 2014).

It might be suffice to say that the two disciplines have almost the same phil-
osophical foundation, but in theory, there are nuances to consider.

Theory
The Oxford dictionary defines theory as ‘a set of principles on which the practice
of an activity is based’. The theory of SP (usually referred to as ‘somatic psychol-
ogy’) is based in the interoceptive phenomenology of Merleau-Ponty (2008),
while DMT primarily follows phenomenology from the kinaesthetic philosophy
of Sheets-Johnstone (2011). DMT, which emerged from modern dance of the
1940s, values the aesthetic expression of the body through sublimated move-
ment as part of healing (Bernstein, 1979; Bruno, 1990).
 Body, Movement and Dance in Psychotherapy   5

SP theory
Wilhelm Reich was a student of Freud who diverted his focus away from tradi-
tional psychoanalysis and towards an increased attention to the body in his work
with patients. Orgone therapy (Heller, 2012) was based on Reich’s theory that
emotional repression is held in the musculature tensions of the body, and that
physical manipulation of those tensions may release emotional content. Eugene
Gendlin was another major theorist who introduced embodied awareness, or
‘felt sense’ (Gendlin, 1980, p. 10) as a way to identify implicit knowledge before
the mind can completely articulate experience in words. Today, SP theory has
expanded to include theoretical backgrounds of other fields such as pre/perina-
tal psychology, attachment theory and interpersonal neurobiology, particularly
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in how the autonomic nervous system is addressed in traumatology.

DMT theory
Primary theories of DMT include Piaget’s work in developmental psychology,
attachment theory, psychoanalysis and a belief in the fundamental way in which
dance as ritual is a powerful ancient healing process. DMT pioneers Whitehouse
and Chace believed that dance provides the means for self-expression through
the body – a common resource innate to all human beings. While Whitehouse
worked with higher functioning individuals, Chace focused on process with
psychiatric patients. Both valued group work as part of the therapeutic process,
and valued dance as a form of non-verbal healing that facilitates expression
when words are too confusing, difficult or frightening for an individual to express
(Levy, 2005). DMT is also one of the creative arts therapies4 that is situated in the
foundation of artistic expression in psychotherapeutic treatment (Wengrower,
2009). The core component of dance in DMT provides the means of assessment,
expression, communication and adaptive behaviours and focuses on movement
qualities as they emerge in therapeutic milieu.
It is no secret that Chace was influenced by Reich’s early theoretical con-
structs as described above (Bernstein, 1979; Levy, 2005). However, Hanna him-
self directly recognised the difference between Reich’s somatic approach and
Chace’s movement orientation when he wrote, ‘For the psychotically withdrawn,
movement was the needed vehicle for expression and renewed contact with
others and with the world’ (Hanna, 1979, p. 179). In summary, even though both
disciplines share the same philosophy and much of their theoretical approach
is similar, in action they each look very different.

Methodology/practice
For the purpose of adhering to Bánáthy’s structure of analysing a system, ‘meth-
odology’ will be used synonymously with the term, ‘practice’. The appearance of
 6    J. F. Tantia

Table 1. Structural differences between somatic psychotherapy (SP) and dance/movement

therapy (DMT).
Structural component SP DMT
Individuals X O
Groups O X
Private practice patients X O
Hospitalised patients O X
Character analysis X O
Movement analysis O X
Note: X = ‘more frequently used’, and O = ‘less frequently used’.

each practice is very different. For example, if a passer-by was to walk into an SP
session in progress, it might look like a typical ‘talk’ therapy session (even though
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there would be much more happening than verbal expression). If one were to
walk into a DMT session, they could mistake it for an exercise session or dance
class where everyone is moving together with or without music playing, or (if
everyone happens to be lying on the floor with their eyes closed, for instance), a
relaxation group. Table 1 attempts to delineate each discipline in terms of prac-
tice, first by examining the types of structures each discipline tends to employ.
Table 1 delineates structure in terms of individuals vs. group, populations served
and the structure of analysis the therapist uses to assess the client.
Although a full demographic analysis of current practitioners’ populations,
settings and analysis are needed for a complete report, Table 1 suggests that
each discipline uses all structures listed, yet the tendencies towards preference
are virtually opposite. For example, most SP is practised with high-functioning
individuals in a private practice setting, and only some modalities (e.g. Hakomi,
Pesso Boyden System Psychomotor) use a group component. Conversely, DMT
is historically rooted in psychiatric settings that treat persons with severe
mental illness and therefore mostly conducted as a group process in hospi-
tals (Bräuninger, 2014; Koch, Kunz, Lykou, & Cruz, 2014; Schmais, 1985). Only
very recently has a UK form of body-oriented psychotherapy (Papadopoulos &
Röhricht, 2014) been tested and conducted using groups and DMT interventions
in a hospital setting. In terms of analysis, SP utilises character analysis as a way
to discover a patient’s existential crisis (Johnson, 1994) through postural and
gestural manifestations, and only recent developments in SP include the rela-
tionship between character style and developmental trauma (Heller & La Pierre,
2012; Kurtz, 2013). In contrast, DMT has traditionally used movement analysis
to observe posture, gesture and movement to determine a patient’s relational
strengths and deficits, reflected from early childhood movement patterns. Laban
Movement Analysis (LMA; North, 1972) and the Kestenberg Movement Profiles
(Amighi, Loman, Lewis, & Sossin, 1999) are two systems of analysis currently
used to assess movement and expression as indicative of psychological health.
Most recently, LMA has been tried for movement patterns in both SP and DMT
(Koch, 2007).
 Body, Movement and Dance in Psychotherapy   7

Somatic Dance/movement
Psychotherapy Therapy
Tracking
Grounding
Sensation awareness Mirroring Kinesthetic awareness
• tensions Interoception • rhythm
• temperature Breathing • space
• sublimation Movement • aesthetic expression
• pain/vitality • creativity
• posture/gesture • interpersonal
• intrapersonal
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Figure 1. Similarities and differences in practice interventions.

Note: Overlapping elements are italicised and described in the text.

Comparing practice interventions

A much more complicated comparison is the way in which SP and DMT under-
stand and implement interventions. Although each has its foundational practice
differences, the past decade of literature has shown a trend towards integration.
Figure 1 illustrates some fundamental differences, as well as a number of inter-
ventions that overlap and cross-fertilise across disciplines.
An over-arching comparison between SP and DMT finds that SP is more
interoceptive and sensory focused, while DMT is more outwardly expressive
and motor focused. SP values interoceptive awareness in connection with
emotions, and DMT focuses on the expression of feeling in creative movement
as an interpersonal experience. SP focuses on awareness of bodily states and
sensations such as muscle tension, temperature, pain and/or vitality (as energy;
Fogel, 2009), while DMT focuses on actions of rhythm, (Chaiklin & Schmais, 1993),
space (Koch, Mehl, Sobanski, Sieber, & Fuchs, 2015) and movement sublima-
tion into aesthetic and creative expression in dance. SP brings attention to the
body, whereas DMT is based in attention with the body (Tantia, 2012a). While a
detailed description of how their differences deserve a more thorough discus-
sion, the analysis of shared interventions will be the focus of the present article.
Both somatic psychotherapists and dance/movement therapists are trained
to track (notice, identify and follow) movement in a client’s body in different
ways. Somatic psychotherapists focus on tracking a client’s sensorimotor expe-
rience. Martin (2015) describes, ‘So we learn to pay attention to the client’s eyes,
postural habits, gestures that repeat themselves, the expression etched in the
face …’ (p. 154). In contrast, dance/movement therapists focus on the client’s
 8    J. F. Tantia

emotional awareness through motor experience. This is often done through the
therapist’s actions of mirroring and matching his or her own rhythmic move-
ments with those of the patient (Koch et al., 2015). The dance/movement thera-
pist almost always dances/moves with the client to facilitate the patient’s sense
of relationship between him/herself and the environment (which includes the
therapist).
Grounding is a practice that was originally defined by Lowen (1972) and
widely practised in SP. It ‘may involve breathing into the belly, feeling the pel-
vic floor, legs or feet, or standing or squatting on the feet to give them more
involvement’, (Aposhyan, 2004, p. 131). Recent literature in SP has suggested
that grounding can facilitate self-efficacy (Bader-Johnasson & Gyllensten, 2015),
and affect regulation (Heller & La Pierre, 2012). Despite its pertinence to practice,
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grounding has only recently emerged in DMT literature (de Tord & Bräuninger,
2015).
Another shared intervention is the process of mirroring. Mirroring in posture,
gesture and movement has been a staple in DMT practice from its inception.
‘Mirroring, which may occur as part of the empathy process, involves [both
therapist and patient] participating in another’s total movement experience,
i.e. patterns, qualities, emotional tone, etc. …’ (Sandel, 1993, p. 100), and today
continues to play an important role in DMT interventions (Koch et al., 2015;
McGarry & Russo, 2011). Recently, the connection between mirroring and empa-
thy (Gallese, 2003) and understanding another’s intention (Gallese, 2009) has
been acknowledged in the neuroscience literature, which has provided strong
support for use of mirroring interventions in both disciplines. In SP, Reich was
known to use postural and gestural mirroring in his practice (Heller, 2012).
Although it is evident that somatic psychotherapists use mirroring as an inter-
vention, scant literature exists on the use of mirroring in SP.
In regard to how the patient attends to his or her own body, somatic psycho-
therapists instruct their patients to attend to aspects of interoception such as
breathing. Breath work has been so foundational to both SP (Caldwell & Victoria,
2011) and DMT (Barton, 2011) that there are few studies to show its efficacy in
practice. Other internal sensations of focus might include daily occurrences
such as digestion or feeling one’s heartbeat. Buzzing, twitching or trembling
sensations have been reported as a part of trauma work (Levine, 1997).
Attending to sensations in one’s body is an action of self-reference, and there-
fore can deepen a client’s process of personal knowledge. Hindi (2012) has exam-
ined the ways in which attention to interoceptive awareness can inform DMT
clients. ‘The ability to differentiate between various kinds of sensory information
might allow for the client to more articulately communicate her experience’,
(p. 135). The author also acknowledges the central role that attention to intero-
ceptive awareness has in formulating an ‘inner witness’ in Authentic Movement.
Proprioception is the means towards locating oneself in space. In both SP
and DMT, the preferred term is ‘body boundaries’. DMT clients are instructed to
 Body, Movement and Dance in Psychotherapy   9

move their head, torso and limbs while focusing on the joints in order to feel
where they are in space, and how these movements can create posture and
gesture. Smaller movements tend to the experience of self, while larger move-
ment invites connection with others in the room. In SP literature, Ben-Shahar
(2014) has written extensively on the many types of body boundaries that can
be attended to in treatment. In addition to boundaries of the body natural
(such as skin and hair), he adds the focus of clothing boundaries, and relational
boundaries of eye contact, posture and gestures.
Movement in SP stems more from the idea that pressure builds up inside
the body and must be released. In SP, movement can be used for emotional
expression, but the therapist is not trained in further movement analysis.
Conversely, DMT can be incredibly precise in terms of nuances of movement,
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but the focus on movement may tend to over-emphasise the patient’s exter-
oceptive awareness. DMT is more often socially constructed, and focuses on
the client’s body awareness in relation to others (including the therapist).
DMT has traditionally favoured movement over breath support and sen-
sory tracking, but some recent literature reflects more micro-movements
of the torso and head (Edwards, 2015; Hindi, 2012; Welling, 2015). While
DMT has an extremely sophisticated understanding of movement, SP has an
equally sophisticated process for sensory tracking and micro-movements.
Although beyond the scope of this inquiry, a comparison between SP’s and
DMT’s attention to movement would be a welcomed continuation of this
exploration.
One additional note is the comparison between catharsis and sublimation.
Reich and later Lowen’s processes of releasing emotional tensions through
specific exercises of the body was an extraordinary paradigm following the
limitations of psychoanalytic ‘talk’ therapy. Using mattresses and props to
release emotional energy through kicking, squeezing of organs and yelling
one’s truth was a large part of Lowen’s Bioenergetics work. With the advent
of trauma healing (Levine, 1997), and natural evolution of the style, SP has
nuanced its catharsis into more subtle and sensory awareness. However, it
still does not utilise movement in an artistic way, as DMT does. DMT releases
energy through improvisational movement and dance; a creative process
that uses symbolism and aesthetics to mould emotions into a manageable
form. A more thorough discussion about aesthetic value that is essential to
DMT practice can be found in Brown (2008) and Chaiklin and Wengrower
(2009). It might be considered that differences in body expression between
DMT and SP may reflect the zeitgeist of the 1940s and 1950s, as well as a
gender-specific approach to release and expression of emotion. Historically,
Lowen’s catharsis might be viewed as a reflection of masculine energy, while
Chace’s dancing reflects the more restricted feminine, socially acceptable
forms of emotional expression of her time.
 10    J. F. Tantia

Application
The final approach to a system in Bánáthy’s theory is application, and so will be
considered here as analogous to professional identity. Somatic psychotherapists
and dance/movement therapists identify themselves differently according to
professional organisations and education, which, in turn describes how they
embody their practice within the larger field of psychotherapy. The following
section classifies each discipline according to professional organisation and
answers the following questions: How do somatic psychotherapists and dance/
movement therapists identify themselves through governance? How are each
educated and licensed?
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Governance
The governance of SP and DMT psychotherapists in the US is the largest differ-
entiation between the two disciplines to date. To work as a mental health clini-
cian in the US, one must have had at least a master’s level of formal education
in mental health theory and practice such as counselling, marriage and family
therapy, and social work. An individual must have also completed a set number
of internship hours, and fulfilled qualifications (usually additional postgraduate
practicum hours and pass a board certification exam) for licensing in one’s state.
These qualifications bind the clinician by state law, and are for the protection
of the client. To hold a licence, the clinician must adhere to an ethical code, and
complete ongoing professional development through continuing education
courses that will keep the clinician appraised of current expectations, knowledge
and practices in his or her discipline.
The United States Association for Body Psychotherapy (USABP) is the gov-
erning organisation in the US for somatic psychotherapists. The mission of
the USABP is ‘… to develop and advance the art, science, and practice of body
psychotherapy and somatic psychology5 (United States Association for Body
Psychotherapy [USABP], 2013) in a professional, ethical, and caring manner in
order to support our membership as they promote the health and welfare of
their clients’. Currently, the USABP holds approximately 300 members with sep-
arate types of membership, including clinical and practitioner levels. Clinical
membership requires a licence to practice psychotherapy which includes
completing a degree in a mental health field from an academic institution. The
USABP began a clinical journal in 2002, which has been co-hosted with the
European Body Psychotherapy Association since 2012.
Moving away from a modalities-based organisation, The American Dance
Therapy Association (ADTA) was formed in 1966 as a national organisation for
the profession of DMT in the US. The ADTA defines DMT as, ‘the psychotherapeu-
tic use of movement to further the emotional, cognitive, physical and social inte-
gration of the individual’. (http://www.adta.org/About_DMT). The organisation
 Body, Movement and Dance in Psychotherapy   11

supports chapters in 50 states, and 39 countries, and holds the legal rights
to the title, ‘dance/movement therapist’. To date, the ADTA has approximately
1700 members and hosts an academic journal, The American Journal of Dance
Therapy, since 1977. Research in DMT also includes substantial contributions to
international journals such as Body, Dance and Movement in Psychotherapy, and
The Arts in Psychotherapy, with several meta-analyses of DMT-specific research in
its research collection (Bräuninger, 2014; Koch et al., 2014; Ritter & Low, 1996).

Education
In the US, there are few ways to become a valid clinician in SP or DMT. Some
achieve a traditional master’s or doctoral degree, followed by specialised post-
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graduate education/certification. Others complete a master’s or doctoral pro-

gramme in either somatic psychology or DMT.
Two schools in particular have led the progress of SP in higher education:
the California Institute of Integral Studies (CIIS) and Naropa University. The SP
programme at CIIS was founded by Don Hanlon Johnson and the body psy-
chotherapy programme at Naropa by Christine Caldwell. Both have been in
existence for over 30 years and have been bedrocks of formal education in SP
training. Today, six graduate schools currently offer programmes in SP that lead
to a master’s degree in counselling or marriage and family therapy, and two
additional programmes offer SP at the doctoral level. SP is still in a primitive
stage in the US, where is it just beginning to identify with somatic psychology
scholarship, but is viewing somatic therapy training and standards from the
perspective of a guild system rather than a scholarly discipline.
According to the ADTA, in order to professionally identify oneself as a dance/
movement therapist, a master’s degree in DMT is required. For those who
have already earned a master’s degree in a different mental health field, alter-
nate-route programmes in DMT have been approved by the ADTA. There are two
qualifying levels of practice: the Registered Dance/Movement Therapist (R-DMT)
and the Board-Certified Dance/Movement Therapist (BC-DMT). The credential
of R-DMT is achieved by completing a master’s degree in DMT or graduating
from an approved alternate-route DMT programme. An advanced credential,
the BC-DMT is granted to those who have achieved the R-DMT, plus a two-year
postgraduate study that includes supervision by a BC-DMT, 3600 h of clinical
practice, and a second thesis that describes the applicant’s theoretical frame-
work and an analysis of a single DMT session conducted by the applicant. After
these requirements are completed, the applicant must pass a board certification
exam. Only a BC-DMT is approved to be a supervisor or recognised as a valid pri-
vate practice clinician, and is required to continue to pursue 100 h of continuing
education units every five years. To date, there are seven master’s programmes
in DMT in the US, two of which offer education in DMT at the doctoral level.
 12    J. F. Tantia

Conclusion
This paper has attempted a critical analysis of similarities and differences
between SP and DMT. A literature search provided information on the history,
theory and practices of each discipline, while reflection from an extensive inter-
net search and personal communications provided the bulk of information
regarding governance and educational standings. Although vast differences
in governance and educational identities are clear, a trend has evolved over the
past decade towards increasing overlap of practices.
While writing this article, I struggled to avoid generalising and comforting
myself with my biases. By leaning into the ‘growing pains’ of this debate, I hoped
to instigate further critical thinking and discussion between somatic psycho-
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therapists and dance/movement therapists. I also hoped to challenge the limits

of the reader’s presumptions rather than reinforce existing tastes and interests.
As Bánáthy has stated, all meaningful change in history has been brought
about by small groups of dedicated people. It is my hope that this article will
launch further examination of each discipline, and that we will critically ques-
tion our own theories and practices while listening to differing viewpoints with
curiosity and receptivity. This may enable us to recognise and even embrace
the harmonies of our works rather than cling to the reductionist view of con-
trast or confluence. Indeed, as Steckler (2006) suggested, we might be somatic
soulmates after all.

Notes
1. 
Somatic psychotherapy is the preferred term used across academic programmes
in the US.
2. 
Dance/movement therapy is the official title in the US.
3. 
Gestalt authors and therapists are frequent invited speakers at USABP conferences
(Clemmons, 2012; Frank, 2001; Kepner, 1999) as experience in Gestalt process is
undeniably tied to the body. The debate over whether or not Gestalt therapy
is a somatic approach to psychotherapy is a worthy pursuit that is beyond the
scope of this paper.
4. 
Also called, ‘Expressive Therapies’ in some circles.
5. 
In 2013, the board of the USABP had discussed a name change for the organisation
to replace the phrase ‘body psychotherapy’ with ‘somatic psychotherapy’. The
decision was tabled due to other more pertinent issues.

Acknowledgement
A special thank you to Christine Caldwell for her contributions to this article.

Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.
 Body, Movement and Dance in Psychotherapy   13

Notes on contributor
Jennifer Frank Tantia, PhD, BC-DMT, is a somatic psychologist and dance/movement
therapist in private practice in New York City. Tantia lectures regularly on DMT and SP at
several universities throughout the country while advising graduate students in DMT and
SP research. Former board member of the USABP, Tantia currently serves on the ADTA
research committee. Her current interests include embodied research methodologies,
non-verbal communication in clinical practice and embodied learning.

ORCID
Jennifer Frank Tantia   http://orcid.org/0000-0002-0443-0361
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