Dance Therapy or Movement Therapy uses coordinated physical movements to create emotional and psychological changes. Movement Therapy works under the principle that motion is interconnected with emotion and the release of energy.
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Advantages of Movement Therapy
- According to a study in 2006, DMT (Dance/Movement Therapy) offers improvement in impulse control, frustration management, and social interaction.
- Kijajic (2006) proved that movement therapy could help to improve communication skills in autistic children. The therapy helps stimulate verbal and non-verbal communication, encouraging good behavioral changes.
- Ylonen and Cantell (2009) proved that DMT helps to improve communication in children with learning disabilities and social displacement problems. According to the study, movement therapy stimulates mirroring, environment awareness, and creativity.
- Canell and McGhee (2007) proved that children with developmental delays could experience improved motor skills.
- A study by Regev et al. (2012) proved that children who underwent movement therapy with their mothers showed better improvement in self-image and behaviors than the children who underwent the therapy without their mothers. This shows the importance of parental presence during therapy.
- A study conducted with elementary school children (neurotypical kids) showed that movement therapy improved creativity, imagination, and better emotional control.
- Regular long-term movement therapy improves a child’s development, balance, self-consciousness, and social interaction and reduces violent tantrums in children with ADHD.
How do we set goals for movement therapy?
Our primary goal is to naturally integrate physical activities into a child’s schedule. However, initially, we offer dedicated movement therapy classes headed by our dance therapist. After the child has started engaging and being involved in the dance movements, we create activities that involve movements and are beneficial for the child’s targeted development.
Step 1: Observation
The first step in involving in movement therapy is observation. We cannot force a child into movement therapy and expect the child to have a calm and collected mind. Thus, children are first left to observe the older kids in the classroom. The child would watch how the other kids coordinate their movements, imitate the children/trainer, and enjoy the class.
Enjoyment is also a learned behavior. When a child watches other children enjoying a particular activity, he would assume it to be fun rather than mundane work.
Step 2: Natural involvement
Within a few days, the child would start to mirror the kids or the instructor even without specifically instructing him. Next, the instructor would slowly prompt the child physically or verbally to imitate specific movements and gradually involve them in the class.
Step 3: Complete involvement
At this stage, the child would be completely involved in the class. Then, we take this training to the next level by teaching emotions, acting out stories, a goal-based movement (running race), and so on.