Dance Movement Therapy (DMT) also known as Dance Movement Psychotherapy (DMP) in the United Kingdom, is the psychotherapeutic method that uses movement to promote well-being, self-esteem, quality of life (QOL), social, cognitive and physical integration of the individual.
Dance Movement Therapy (DMT) it has been applied in hospitals, clinics, and private practices under the departments of Psychiatry, psychotherapy, psychosomatics for child, youth, adult and elderly.
Despite of age, religion, ethnical background or gender Dance Movement Therapy (DMT) embraces all individuals.
The DMT method can help the alleviation of traumatic events, in situations of conflict at work, among peer groups, in schools, in social and political contexts (neighborhood, racism, migration, war refugees, etc.), in cases of mobbing, gender issues (homosexuality, transgender, transsexuality), caregiver’s separation, adoption issues, war veterans, accidents, nature catastrophes, sexual abuse, grief and loss processes.
DMT is defined by the European Association Dance Movement Therapy (EADMT) as ‘the therapeutic use of movement to further the emotional, cognitive, physical, spiritual and social integration of the individual. Dance as body movement, creative expression and communication, is the core component of Dance Movement Therapy. Based on the fact that the mind, the body, the emotional state and relationships are interrelated, body movement simultaneously provides the means of assessment and the mode of intervention for dance movement therapy.’
EADMT Ethical Code 2010