5.31.2009

Great Intro to the Work of Dance/Movement Therapy

Here is an interview with Dr. Lori Baudino about her work as a dance/movement therapist in Los Angeles.

5.26.2009

Become Certified in Dance/Movement Therapy!

The Center for Movement Education and Research

Explore Dance/Movement Therapy this summer
Courses in Northern & Southern California

>
> Northern CA held at Sonoma State University
> July 10, 11, 12 & August 7, 8, 9, 2009
>
Theoretical Origins of Dance/Movement Therapy: Foundations Level I
This is an introductory level course reviewing the theoretical origins of
dance/movement therapy as a therapeutic modality. The foundational tenets
defining dance/movement therapy as a creative, healing and integrating
process will be presented in relation to self and other awareness and
insight oriented symbolic functioning. The course will review the history
and conceptual development of the major pioneers in the field and the
application of their work within various settings. Additionally the
cultural, ritual, modern dance and nonverbal communication historical
elements will be reviewed.
>
> Course Hours: 45 Contact Hours
> Course Instructor and Credentials: Janet Lester, Psy.D., ADTR
> Dates: July 10, 11,12 & August 7, 8, 9, 2009
> Location: Sonoma State University
> Times: 9-5:30 Friday-Sunday
> Fee: $1200.00/ 45 Hour CE Credit for MFT/LCSW (Provider #3888)
>
> Southern CA held at Scripps College
> July 24, 25 & August 21, 22, 2009
>
> Dance/Movement Therapy with CHILDREN/ADOLESCENTS
This DMT theory and practice course will cover the specific developmental
needs of children and adolescents and the DMT skills pertinent to working
with this population age group. The course will include movement assessment,
diagnosis and treatment planning specific to the needs of
children/adolescents including child/adolescent psychiatric populations.
Additionally, the clinical methods, leadership skills, and framework for
understanding the client individually, within groups, families and systems
will be reviewed.

> Course Hours: 30 Contact Hours
> Course Instructor and Credentials: Janet Lester, Psy.D., ADTR
> Dates: July 24, 25 & August 21, 22, 2009
> Location: Scripps College Richardson Dance Studio 1030 Columbia Avenue
> Claremont, CA 91011
> Times: 9-5:30 Saturday-Sunday
> Fee: $750/30 Hour CE Credit for MFT/LCSW (Provider #3888)
This course meets the qualifications for 30 hours of continuing
education credit for MFTs and/or LCSWs as required by the California Board
of Behavioral Sciences (Provider #3888).


These courses have been approved by the American Dance Therapy
Association as meeting requirements for the Alternate Route D.T.R.
Credential.

For full details on coursework and application, go to:
http://www.movement-education.org/courses_alternateroute


DMT Director of Southern California Courses:
Pamela Fairweather, ADTR, NCC

>> DMT Director of Northern California Courses:
Janet Lester, PsyD, ADTR

For Course Fees and Refund Policy go to:
http://www.movement-education.org/courses_alternateroute.html

Contact Information:
To apply for courses go to: http://www.movement-education.org/index.html
or write to:
Judy Gantz-CMER Director
POB 2001
Sebastopol, CA 95473
judy@movement-education.org
(310) 477-9535

5.21.2009

Body Movements Help Problem-Solving

By RICK NAUERT, PH.D. Senior News Editor
Reviewed by John M. Grohol, Psy.D. on May 13, 2009

As most exercisers have experienced, performance of physical activity is often accompanied by clarity of thought. A new study supports this premise as investigators demonstrated that the brain can use bodily cues to help understand and solve complex problems.

The study, appearing in an upcoming issue of the journal Psychonomic Bulletin & Review, is the first to show that a person’s ability to solve a problem can be influenced by how he or she moves.

“Our manipulation is changing the way people think,” said University of Illinois psychology professor Alejandro Lleras, who conducted the study with Vanderbilt University postdoctoral researcher Laura Thomas.

“In other words, by directing the way people move their bodies, we are – unbeknownst to them – directing the way they think about the problem.”

Even after successfully solving the problem, almost none of the study subjects became consciously aware of any connection between the physical activity they engaged in and the solution they found.

“The results are interesting both because body motion can affect higher order thought, the complex thinking needed to solve complicated problems, and because this effect occurs even when someone else is directing the movements of the person trying to solve the problem,” Lleras said.

The new findings offer new insight into what researchers call “embodied cognition,” which describes the link between body and mind, Lleras said.

“People tend to think that their mind lives in their brain, dealing in conceptual abstractions, very much disconnected from the body,” he said.

“This emerging research is fascinating because it is demonstrating how your body is a part of your mind in a powerful way. The way you think is affected by your body and, in fact, we can use our bodies to help us think.”

In the study, the researchers asked study subjects to tie the ends of two strings together. The strings dangled from ceiling rafters and were so far apart that a person grasping one could not reach the other. A few tools were also available: a paperback book, a wrench, two small dumbbells and a plate.

Subjects were given a total of eight, two-minute sessions to solve the problem, with 100 seconds devoted to finding a solution, interrupted by 20 seconds of exercise.

“Our cover story was that we were interested in the effects of exercise on problem-solving,” Lleras said.

Some subjects were told to swing their arms forward and backward during the exercise sessions, while others were directed to alternately stretch one arm, and then the other, to the side.

To prevent them from consciously connecting these activities to the problem of the strings, the researchers had them count backwards by threes while exercising.

The subjects in the arm-swinging group were more likely than those in the stretch group to solve the problem, which required attaching an object to one of the strings and swinging it so that it could be grasped while also holding the other string.

By the end of the 16-minute deadline, participants in the arm-swinging group were 40 percent more likely than those in the stretch group to solve the problem.

“By making you swing your arms in a particular way, we’re activating a part of your brain that deals with swinging motions,” Lleras said. “That sort of activity in your brain then unconsciously leads you to think about that type of motion when you’re trying to solve the problem.”

Previous studies of embodied cognition have demonstrated that physical movements can aid in learning and memory or can change a person’s perceptions or attitudes toward information, Lleras said.

Other studies by Lleras and his colleagues also have shown that directing a person’s eye movements or attention in specific patterns can also aid in solving complex problems, but this is the first study to show that directed movements of the body can, outside of conscious awareness, guide higher-order cognitive processing, he said.

“We view this as a really important new window into understanding the complexity of human thought,” he said. “I guess another take-home message is this: If you are stuck trying to solve a problem, take a break. Go do something else. This will ensure that the next time you think about that problem you will literally approach it with a different mind. And that may help!”

5.17.2009

Columbia College Chicago


Columbia College has an approved and accredited DMT graduate program, and here is an incredibly informative and well written article about dance/movement therapy and using the body to heal the mind.

5.14.2009

June 6th Dance/Movement Therapy Event in Claremont

THE SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA CHAPTER OF THE
AMERICAN DANCE THEARAPY ASSOCIATION
and
THE CENTER FOR MOVEMENT EDUCATION AND RESEARCH
PRESENT:

Moving Forward

3.5 Continuing Education Conference
Attendance of this conference meets the qualifications for 3.5 hours of continuing education credit for MFTs and/or LCSWs as required by the California Board of Behavioral Sciences (Provider #3888).

June 6, 2009
9:00 - 3:30
Claremont, California



Schedule

9:00 - 9:30 Registration/Check In

9:30 -10:15 Welcome & CCCL Forum

10:30 – 12:30 Morning Workshop
(Choose A1 or A2)

12:30 -1:30 Lunch ($10 – preordered or on your own)

1:30 -3:00 Keynote Workshop by Warren Lamb

3:00-3:30 Raffle and Concluding Remarks

A1
A Creative Movement Process-
From Inner Listening to Form

Paula Perlman
Bringing something to form is part of the creative process and the integration of our experiences. After deepening our capacity for “inner listening” by working with concrete and abstract images we will bring a movement experiential to form that works toward an integration of self. The movement approaches of Alma Hawkins and Mary Starks Whitehouse are influential in this presentation.

Paula Perlman, LMFT (#02136), ADTR and CLMA (certified Laban Movement Analyst) teaches creative movement with children in private and public schools and an art center in the inner-city of Los Angeles. She also works with seniors as a Dance/Movement Therapist and movement specialist. She is a faculty member at the Center for Movement Education and Research instructing in the Alternate Route Training for Dance/Movement Therapy. She is co-creator of a professional development program for teachers, “How to use movement in the classroom to teach curriculum and the arts- K-5th.”

A2
Autism: Breaking Down the Disorder
Dr. Lori Baudino


Dr. Lori Baudino, ADTR, discusses her clinical work with young children given the diagnosis of Autism. She reveals 5 categorizations of the disorder, which can be used to further understand children with this diagnosis and the empowering support that clinicians can provide to parents and professionals. A clinical case presentation will provide in depth discussion into one of the categories: Trauma. In addition, Dr Baudino will describe the use of Dance/Movement Therapy in the treatment and intervention for these individualized children.

Dr. Lori Baudino has been a practicing clinician for the past six years, providing services in Los Angeles, California, Washington, DC, Melbourne, Australia, and Ghana, Africa. She received her doctorate in Clinical Psychology and her Masters in Dance/Movement Therapy. This therapeutic approach identifies symptoms and creates ways to work toward incorporating movement expression into everyday action and also provides a place for self exploration, which promotes well being and self awareness. Dr. Baudino worked extensively in psychiatric hospitals with adolescent and adult populations and rehabilitation centers for pain management. Dr. Baudino has specialized in supervising, facilitating, and providing treatment for children with special needs and their families. She has worked as the coordinator for Behavior Intervention Programs within the home/school setting and Psychological services for aiding families with special needs children in support groups for parenting from the inside out.

Keynote Address:
Effort/Shape Compatibility
Warren Lamb


Warren Lamb studied at the Art of Movement Studio, Machester, England (1946-1950) then continued as apprentice to Rudolf Laban in developing Laban/Lawrence Personal Effort Assessment.

After Laban’s death in 1958 Lamb taught Effort/Shape to Irmgard Bartenieff and helped her form the Effort/Shape Department of the Dance Notation Bureau in New York, which later became the Laban Institute of Movement Studies.

Lamb also taught Dr. Judith Kestenberg and worked with her Child Development Group in Long Island, New York for many years on the development of the Kestenberg Movement Profile.

Lamb was responsible for developing Action Profiling, now re-named Movement Pattern Analysis and formed Warren Lamb Associates, based in London, to apply it, primarily in the field of Business Management, but also in other fields.

He is now seeking to gain more recognition for Movement Study as a discipline in its own right and is also working on the contribution to Decision-Making Theory and to Gender Studies.

Lamb’s work is documented in multiple books and DVDs.

Directions to the Joslyn Senior Center:
Joslyn Senior Center,
660 N. Mountain Ave.
Claremont,CA 91711


Located in Linkin Park, Claremont, CA

From Northern CA
I-5 South
I-210 E (Signs for Pasadena/I-210)
Take exit 47 for Foothill Blvd toward La Verne, Keep right at the fork to continue toward CA 66/Foothill Blvd
Turn right at N Mountain Ave (destination on the right).

From Los Angeles
Take I-10 East toward San Bernardino
Take exit 46 for Towne Ave
Turn left at N Towne Ave, Turn right at E Harrison Ave
Turn left at N Mountain Ave (destination on the right).

From San Diego
Take I-15 North
Take exit onto I-10 W toward Los Angeles
Take exit 47 for Indian Hill Blvd toward Claremont
Turn right at S Indian Hill Blvd (signs for Claremont)
Turn left at W Bonita Ave, Turn right at N Mountain Ave

For registration information and questions, email blairwilliamsca@yahoo.com .

See you there!

Posture Matters

Posture does make a difference. In the hospital, patients say sitting up straight helps them feel emotionally "confident" "good" and "happy." Good posture is good for every body.

The Epoch Times writes:
"Good posture denotes a positive image, sending signals to the world signifying confidence and ability. Posture is not just physical, but an indicator of mood, strength, weakness, intention, and ability."

Here's the full article.

Interested in becoming a Dance/Movement Therapist?


It's been a while since I started my blog for anyone interested in going into the fascinating field of dance/movement therapy (DMT). If you live in California, we have the particular challenge of becoming certified through the American Dance Therapy Association, since there are no approved graduate level programs in DMT yet in the state. Thus, alternate route certification is possible, and the Center for Movement Education and Research (CMER) has programs available in both Northern and Southern California.

Check here for information on CMERs alternate route training, including dates of the next program offerings and introduction to DMT workshops (highly recommended).

There is also information on the ADTA website regarding general answers about the career of DMT, educational opportunities for certification, recommended reading, and much more.

5.12.2009

Britney Spears on Dancing as Therapy


After hearing about my career goal of becoming a dance/movement therapist, my cousin told me about a quote from MTV's documentary, Britney: For the Record, where Britney talks about expressing her life issues through dance.

She said: "Everybody has a world that they create around themselves. If I have a lot of nervous energy, when I start dancing it goes away and I just feel emotion."

"People think that if you go through something in your life you need to go to therapy, but for me art is therapy because you are expressing yourself in such a spiritual way."

"Sometimes you don't need to use words to go through what you need to go through. Sometimes it's an emotion that you need to feel when you dance, that you touch on and the only way you can touch it is if you move a certain way."

5.09.2009

We Shake with Joy: A Poem by Mary Oliver

We Shake with Joy
by Mary Oliver


We shake with joy, we shake with grief.
What a time they have, these two
housed as they are in the same body.

5.08.2009

Best Yoga Video

I have a really hard time sticking to a yoga video routine. There's something about the ritual of going to a class with others, getting corrections and attention from a live teacher that I love. If I am in my living room doing a video I become easily distracted by time, what I need to do, phone calls, etc. But this video from the Monterey Channel is done by one of the best yoga teachers I've ever had. If I can't go to her class, this video is the very next best thing.

Namaste.

http://www.ampmedia.org/asx/11785.asx