by Isis de Carvalho Stelmo
Dance Movement Psychotherapist
Introduction
This project proposal aims to outline the characteristics of the Dance Movement Psychotherapeutic approach, to present an overview of the mental health panorama within the UK, focusing on ethnical minorities.
Dance Movement Psychotherapy (DMP) is a creative therapy which uses movement as a bridge between body and mind. Movements, gestures and postures are used explore and express emotions, feelings and thoughts.
It is not a dance class, yet it is a modality of therapy in which clients are encouraged to use their bodies along with the talking process. The clients do not need to be dancers or have experience with any form of dance. (ADMPUK, no date).
In the UK, 1 out of 10 adults live with mental health illness (NHS England, 2023). Research also shows that the migrant community is more at risk for developing severe mental health symptoms due to hardships faced before, during and after the immigration process (UK Government, 2022). There is also an increased risk for people who belong from ethnic minorities, such as Black, Latin American, Asian, to name a few.
Individuals from these communities might face adverse experiences, such as
xenophobia, racism, othering experiences, and other types of discrimination related to language barriers, religion, behaviour.
Within an intersectoral view, it is urgent to consider gender violence and violence against women and girls on top of the cited above. Mental Health UK (2023) report shows that 30 to 60% of women who are experiencing mental health illnesses were exposed to some kind of domestic abuse. Anxiety, PTSD, and depression are some of the conditions associated with this adverse experience in life (Howard et al., 2009).
Considering the above mentioned, it is important to increase people’s access to mental health professionals and therapeutic approaches. DMP has a great advantage to overcome language barriers, especially when it comes to diverse and ethnical minority communities, in the session because body cues are considered and the relationship it is also stablished in movement.
Benefits for this specific client group
When one changes the way they move, they change the way they see and live their lives. (Levy, 2005).
DMP can provide a space to explore embodiment of feelings, thoughts, emotions. It enables clients to notice their narrative of life housed in their body. Through movement and embodiment, it is possible to develop somatic resources to tolerate the pain and discomfort caused by adverse experiences.
In addition, the group or individual sessions in DMP can become a space to explore the body in a playful way with dance, movement, the use of props (scarves, fabric, massage balls, paper and colour pencils, crayons, personal objects).
Aims of the DMP Service
-To improve access to Dance Movement Psychotherapy for vulnerable communities, such as BAME and Latin American.
- To build a safe community based on healing in relationship with one another.
- To develop a trauma informed psychoeducational pathway for the participants.
- To build resilience and bodily resources to process and tolerate painful experiences.
- To provide a creative space to be playful, to relax, and release.
Themes explored in the pilot group in January-February 2023: - Grounding
- Boundaries
- Empowerment
- Sense of Agency
Proposal
Frequency: 1 or 2 full days
A 7h-work day includes 3 sessions: one group and 2 individual sessions; or 2 groups and one 1:1 session.
Length of each individual session: 1h
Length of each group session: 1h30
Number of participants in the groups: min. 4; max. 8
Client group: LAWA Service Users
Space: Refuges, Main office, partner spaces (i.e. MoreYoga studio).
Costs:
Supervision: 120 – 240 pounds/month (every 6h with clients, 1h private clinical supervision with a Dance Movement Psychotherapist)
Professional membership with ADMPUK: £13.00/month
Professional membership with UKCP: £6.20/month
Indemnity insurance with Balens: £10.25/month
Studio: £420.00/month (considering 3h30 per week)
Costs of the service per month, 1 day/week: £1000.00
2 days/week: £1800.00
References:
ADMPUK, no date. What is Dance Movement Psychotherapy? Available at [URL: https://admp.org.uk/]
Levy, F. (2005). Dance movement therapy: A healing art. 2nd edn. Reston, VA:
National Dance Association an Association of the American Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation, and Dance Howard, L.M., Trevillion, K., Khalifeh, H., Woodall, A., AgnewDavies, R., & Feder, G. (2009). Domestic violence and severe psychiatric disorders: Prevalence and interventions. Psychological Medicine, 40(6), 881–893
Mental Health (2023). Domestic violence: statistics. Available at [URL:
https://www.mentalhealth.org.uk/explore-mental-health/statistics/domestic-
violence#:~:text=Domestic%20violence%20is%20associated%20with,abuse%20in%20the%20general%20population.&text=Exposure%20to%20domestic%20violence%20has,levels%20of%20mental%20health%20problems] Accessed 23 Nov 2023
NHS England (2023). Mental Health. Available at
[URL/https://www.england.nhs.uk/mental-health/] Accessed 23 Nov 2023
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