Dance Therapy

Leandra Perrotta
“He that has eyes to see and ears to hear may convince
himself that no mortal can keep a secret. If his lips are silent,
he chatters with his finger-tips; betrayal oozes out of him at
every pore.”

Sigmund Freud
Fragment from an analysis of a case of hysteria
1905
Theoretical premise:
A vital connection exists between body and mind. Within a
guided therapeutic setting, movement becomes a creative
and transformational experience which initiates a process of
integration and healing.
Movement as a means of authentic and symbolic expression
emerges when the patient develops a deep, self-sensing
awareness – an attitude of inner listening or mindfulness.
Principles:
Theoretical significance of embodied metaphor: movement
contains a symbolic function and is evidence of an
unconscious process.
Movement is creative and improvisational, allowing the
patient to experiment with new ways of being and to widen
the field of consciousness.
The body is the vehicle for self-expression and transitional
space for the therapeutic relationship.
Approaches:
Outside-in:
The therapist sets a theme or a structure and the patients
work within that. Movement is often with eyes open and
aids awareness of emotional intrapsychic and intersubjective
patterns.
Approaches:
Inside-out:
Self-initiated movements arise out of interactions and
feelings such as identifying a physical symptom and moving
“as if ”.
This is often done with eyes closed and the movement relates
only to the internal process as it is being experienced, often
as a pre-conscious state.
Unsuitable for psychotic patients.
Expression and awareness:
Dance therapy provides a tangible means by which the
patient can express consciously felt life experiences.
It provides a way to gain access to feelings that are difficult
to verbalise.
It involves an inner awareness of moving as well as the more
external experience of feeling moving.
Integration of conscious and unconscious
experience:
The early transactions between mother and nursling may
determine the tendency to somatic rather than psychological
reactions to internal and external stress.
Infants react to tensions by creating a “second skin”,
primitive defences that can endure long beyond childhood.
Embodiment:
Embodiment describes the tendency towards the balance and
integration of different aspects of the self – sensory,
emotional and mental – within the containing confines of
the bodily structure.
The felt sense in stillness, including physical or psychic
restrictions, is also a part of movement. It is not only about
what one does but it is also a sensorial registering of who
and how one is.
“The body, as represented by the brain, constitutes the
indispensable frame of reference for the neural processes that
we experience as the mind.
The body is used as the ground reference for the
constructions we make of the world around us and for the
construction of the ever-present sense of subjectivity that is
part and parcel of our experiences.”

Antonio Damasio
The feeling of what happens
1999
Treatment:
Autism:
therapist connects on a sensory-motor level, provides a sense
of acceptance and expands skills and cognitive abilities,
increases maturity.

Mental retardation:
improves body image, social skills, coordination, and motor
skills, promotes communication.
Treatment:
Deaf and Hearing Impaired:
reduces feelings of isolation, provides inspiration for
relationships.

Blind and visually Impaired:

improves body image, motor skills, and personal awareness.
Treatment:

Physically Handicapped:
improves motor skills and body image, provides a way to
communicate and express emotions.

Parkinson’s Disease:
uses rhythm to help reduce body dysfunctions which
improves motor abilities, balance, and use of limbs.
Treatment:

Eating Disorders:
alters distorted body images which helps end destructive
behaviors, discovers symbolic meanings behind disorder/
food.

PTSD:
weaves together past and present through symbolism in a
“safe place” to confront painful memories.
Treatment:

Elderly:
provides social interaction, expression, and exercise,
alleviates fears of loneliness and isolation.

Holistic Birth Preparation:

explores relaxation techniques to reduce anxiety, teaches
breathing techniques and release of energy, builds
confidence to help cope with labor, birth and early parenting.