Week 1 as DMT Intern

After completing my first week as a dance therapy intern, I have been reading these articles:


Eating Disorders: What they are and how to help them.

Schizophrenia: Introduction from NIMH.

Mania/Bipolar/Major Depression: What NIMH says about it.

Electroshock Therapy Treatment (ECT): Did you learn in Psych 101, as I did, that ECT was no longer used as a common method of treatment for mental illness? Think again. Read about it here.

And lastly, here is another dance therapy article from Psychology Today magazine.

"Any problem in the world can be solved by dancing." --James Brown

I love this time of year. I am always so happy to have a little time off, be with family, visit with friends, and attend numerous celebrations. Here's an article on how happiness is contagious. This time of year can be very stressful, however, and it is important to keep moving through the stresses in life so that they do not manifest into our bodies and create imbalance or disease. Just like James Brown says, "any problem in the world can be solved by dancing."


Here's another story about dance and Parkinson's Disease from NPR. Read it or listen to it here.

Art to Communicate Pain

“It was only when I started doing art about pain, and physicians saw the art, that they understood what I was going through,” Mr. Collen said. “Words are limiting, but art elicits an emotional response.”

http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/04/22/pain-as-an-art-form/

Dance as if Nobody is Watching

An interesting article from the NY Times blog:

http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/07/10/dance-even-if-nobody-is-watching/


Where the Hell is Matt? (2008) from Matthew Harding on Vimeo.

Anyone want to provide funding for me to do something like that???

And here is an article regarding art as healing with mental illness, a population I will be working with:

http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/12/11/art-and-mental-illness/

DTR checklist: an overview of what's needed to become a dance therapist

Once you've downloaded the DTR packet from the ADTA website and have communicated with the national office that you are an alternate route student, which is very important in case of any changes or modifications to the requirements, you're well on your way toward registry!

You'll find a checklist in the beginning of that packet. Become very, v e r y familiar with it.

The M.A. I am a candidate for is a non-ADTA approved program in Dance/Movement Therapy (and Expressive Arts Therapy, see earlier posts for more information), but I am also an alternate route student, planning on taking courses in DMT offered with CMER. These courses include the required DMT theory and training (see DTR packet for specific hours and credit requirements):

1. Dance/Movement Therapy Theory and Practice,
2. Group Processes in DMT,
3. Movement Observation and Assessment,
4. Anatomy and Kinesiology

**Anatomy and Kinesiology and Movement Observation and Assessment is NOT covered in CMER's program.

I have completed 3 units in Anatomy/Kinesiology with Amy Matthews at LIMS in New York City, and plan on taking Laban Movement Analysis courses for the Movement Observation requirement.

General Training must include:

Research Design and Methodology,
Abnormal Psychology/Psychopathology,
Developmental Psychology,
Group Processes/Dynamics,
Advanced Counseling/Psychology Couses,
Theories of Therapy/Counseling,
Therapeutic Intervention,
Diagnostic Methodology,
Systems Theory

Training:

A minimum requirement of five years of concentrated study in dance, including form, school/city, teacher(s), and years.

Collateral Dance Studies, such as dance theory, dance composition, creative dance, improvisation, etc., and Movement Studies, such as yoga, Alexander Technique, tai chi, etc.

Dance experience in performance or choreography and teaching dance is necessary.

You'll also need recommendations from two ADTRs who've seen your work in the past two years, and fieldwork supervision (200 hours) and an internship (700 hours) with at least two populations.

Phew! There is a lot to do! Let's get started!