It's been a while...

And after writing my thesis and graduating last spring, I have had a challenging time getting back to writing - whether it's on paper or at the computer.

I am busily engaged in my alternate route DMT courses, and came across this video on the ADTA website. It is lovely to see so many applications of dance therapy. Thought I'd share.

Watch the full episode. See more Experience.

Become a Dance/Movement Therapist! Trainings in Northern California Start June 4th!

Here ye, Here ye!

FINALLY, Northern California gets some gold! The Center for Movement Education and Research offers certification courses for aspiring dance/movement therapists at Sonoma State University starting this June, 2010.

Sign up TODAY!

INFO:

You MUST enroll in both DMT I & II if you want want to fulfill the DMT Alternate Route Training. Go online for an application and send in your 50% Deposit by April 1, 2010. Classes will be cancelled without sufficient enrollment.


Theoretical Origins of Dance/Movement Therapy: Foundations Level I
June 4,5,6 & July 9, 10, 11, 12 2010

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: June 4,5,6 & July 9,10,11 2010
Location: Sonoma State University
Times: 9-5:30 Friday-Sunday
Fee: $1200.00/ 45 Hour CE Credit for MFT/LCSW (Provider #3888)


Theoretical Developments in Dance/Movement Therapy: Elaborations Level II
Aug 6, 7, 8 & Oct 8, 9, 10 2010

This course has been approved by the American Dance Therapy Association as meeting requirements for the Alternate Route D.T.R. credential and satisfies 45 hours of DMT Theory & Practice Training. This is a Theory Course in Dance/Movement Therapy elaborating on the concepts of the creative process, the creative process in dance/ movement therapy and the role of the “moving imagination” in promoting psychological transformation. The importance of fostering creative processes in therapeutic dance experience will be reviewed from a depth oriented perspective. The course will also investigate the creative process involved in developing an empathic therapeutic relationship in dance/movement therapy. Each day movement experientials will be offered to explore the presented concepts as well as the creative aspects of improvisational and choreographic processes as they pertain to dance/movement therapy.(A prerequisite for alternate route training course enrollment is the satisfactory completion of a Foundations Theory Course in Dance/Movement Therapy – Level I.).
Course Hours: 45 Contact Hours
Course Instructor and Credentials: Paula Perlman LMFT, ADTR, CLMA
Dates: Aug 6, 7, 8 & Oct 8, 9, 10 2010
Location: Sonoma State University
Times: 9-5:30 Friday-Sunday
Fee: $1200.00/ 45 Hour CE Credit for MFT/LCSW (Provider #3888)

For Information and Application Contact:
Judy Gantz-CMER Director
POB 2001
Sebastopol, CA 95473
judy@movement-education.org
(310) 477-9535
www.movement-education.org

DMT course in March: DMT in HEALTHCARE

CMER is offering Dance/Movement Therapy In Healthcare: PREVENTION, TREATMENT
& AFTERCARE on March 19, 20, 21 2010 at Pomona College --Claremont CA 9:00am
6:30pm.

Dance/Movement Therapy In Healthcare:
PREVENTION, TREATMENT & AFTERCARE

This course has been approved by the American Dance Therapy Association as meeting requirements
for the Alternate Route R-DMT credential and satisfies 25 hours of DMT Theory & Practice Training.
This course is approved for CE by the ADTA.

This course meets the qualifications for 25 hours of continuing education credit for MFTs
and/or LCSWs as required by the California Board of Behavioral Sciences (Provider #3888).


Course Content/Description:

This dance/movement therapy theory and practice course covers the role of
dance/movement therapy in the prevention and treatment of illness, and in the
maintenance of health and well being. This course will be divided into three sections to
cover the dance/movement therapy principles and applications specific to prevention,
to treatment, and to aftercare.

In the section on prevention, this course focuses on dance/movement therapy
contributions to health and well being in response to the somatic, emotional and
cognitive consequences of stress and trauma. The section on treatment addresses
dance/movement therapy in a medical context and as an adjunctive treatment for illness.

The section on aftercare focuses on the role of dance/movement therapy in coming
to terms with treatment outcomes, creating new choices, and finding new meaning.
All sections will focus on self regulation, self expression, and self in relationship, all
fundamental to health and well being. The specific attention throughout to body awareness,
creativity, and attunement, will amplify aspects of dance/movement therapy theory and
practice, as well as provide a foundation for a somatically oriented psychotherapy practice.


Course Objectives:


1) Students will become familiar with the concepts of prevention and wellness in dance/movement
therapy practice.

2) Students will gain understanding of the cognitive, somatic and emotional impact of stress and
trauma on health and well being.

3) Students will develop an understanding of the application of dance/movement therapy theory
and practice in the treatment of illness in a medical context.

4) Students will learn interventions, applicable both to the student as therapist and to work with
patients, that are grounded in the principles of dance/movement therapy and based in the
concept of preventive care and maintenance of health.

To sign up, contact Judy@movement-education.org

CMER DMT with Seniors CANCELLED

Dance/Movement Therapy with Seniors Course for January and February is CANCELLED.

Yes. Another course has been cancelled due to low enrollment. Sigh.

Without attending (or hence, graduating) from these classes, I will not be able to become a dance/movement therapist. I feel held back while I'm rarin' to go!

My efforts and energies are currently focused on my thesis, but when it's done, it's on. Nobody will be able to hide! I plan on recruiting everyone I know and everyone I don't know to become dance therapists in California. This profession will thrive with a new generation of DMTs in this wonderful state!

PLEASE SIGN UP FOR THIS COURSE!

The Center for Movement Education and Research

January 9,10, 2010 – Scripps College -- Claremont CA
February 13,14, 2010 – Pomona College --Claremont CA
9:00am – 5:30pm

http://www.movement-education.org/courses_alternateroute_socal.html


Course Title: Dance/Movement Therapy with Seniors —30 hrs
This dance/movement therapy theory, practice and application course will cover the specific developmental needs of seniors and the dance/movement therapy skills pertinent to working with this population age group. The course content will focus on physical, psychodynamic, psychopathological, and enculturating factors impinging on the later years of human development. Students will be exposed to various clinical concepts of dance/movement therapy viewed within a developmental framework that are pertinent to selected late adulthood populations, including clinical disorders of late adulthood and, the types of somatic transference/countertransference issues that might be encountered.

This course has been approved by the American Dance Therapy Association as meeting the Alternate Route Requirements for the R-DMT credential" and satisfies 30 hours of DMT Theory and Practice Training.


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). Students taking the class for continuing education are excused from the required assignments other than attendance and participation.

Course Objectives:
1) Students will develop an understanding of the developmental needs, tasks and challenges presented when working with various senior populations.
2) Students will develop a basic understanding of dance/movement therapy assessment and application of dance/movement therapy interventions as they apply to various senior populations.
3) Students will learn interventions through which to facilitate an individual or group dance/movement session for various senior populations.
4) Students will be able to design and facilitate a dance/movement therapy session for seniors that is developmentally sound and takes into account the unique developmental, physical, emotional, psychological and cognitive needs of seniors.
5) Students will conclude the class with a beginning level awareness of dance/movement therapy processes and techniques utilized in working with seniors.

Locations:
Scripps College
Richardson Dance Studio
1030 Columbia Ave
Claremont, CA 91711
Pomona College
Pendleton Dance Center, Studio 16
210 East 2nd Street
Claremont, CA 91711

Course Fee: $750.00

Course Instructor: Gabrielle Kaufman MA, BC-DMT, NCC
is a CMER faculty member, dance/movement therapist and counselor with close to twenty years experience in the helping profession. She has taught creative movement to preschoolers and elementary school students, has used DMT with the elderly, Holocaust survivors, adults with mental illness, individuals with eating disorders and body image issues, with teens at high risk and other individuals suffering from anxiety and depression.
Currently, she is the coordinator of the New Moms Connect Program of Jewish Family Service of Los Angeles. She has run several programs for high risk children and teens in both English and Spanish languages, taught classes to parents of newborns and toddlers, and runs support groups for single parents, women with eating disorders and women with perinatal mood disorders and with seniors. She is a coordinator with Postpartum Support International and has a private practice in Los Angeles.

For Information and Application Contact:
Judy Gantz-CMER Director
POB 2001
Sebastopol, CA 95473

(310) 477-9535

Interested in Becoming a Dance/Movement Therapist?

The Center for Movement Education and Research, CMER, is offering a Dance/Movement Therapy with the Elderly course in Southern California in January and February, 2010.

Please sign up! The course is in danger of being canceled due to low enrollment, and selfishly, I NEED THIS COURSE! :)Tell all your friends!

Info below:

January 9,10, 2010 – Scripps College -- Claremont CA
February 13,14, 2010 – Pomona College --Claremont CA
9:00am – 5:30pm


Course Title: Dance/Movement Therapy with Seniors —30 hrs
This dance/movement therapy theory, practice and application course will cover the specific developmental needs of seniors and the dance/movement therapy skills pertinent to working with this population age group. The course content will focus on physical, psychodynamic, psychopathological, and enculturating factors impinging on the later years of human development. Students will be exposed to various clinical concepts of dance/movement therapy viewed within a developmental framework that are pertinent to selected late adulthood populations, including clinical disorders of late adulthood and, the types of somatic transference/countertransference issues that might be encountered.

This course has been approved by the American Dance Therapy Association as meeting the Alternate Route Requirements for the R-DMT credential" and satisfies 30 hours of DMT Theory and Practice Training.


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). Students taking the class for continuing education are excused from the required assignments other than attendance and participation.

Course Objectives:
1) Students will develop an understanding of the developmental needs, tasks and challenges presented when working with various senior populations.
2) Students will develop a basic understanding of dance/movement therapy assessment and application of dance/movement therapy interventions as they apply to various senior populations.
3) Students will learn interventions through which to facilitate an individual or group dance/movement session for various senior populations.
4) Students will be able to design and facilitate a dance/movement therapy session for seniors that is developmentally sound and takes into account the unique developmental, physical, emotional, psychological and cognitive needs of seniors.
5) Students will conclude the class with a beginning level awareness of dance/movement therapy processes and techniques utilized in working with seniors.

Locations:
Scripps College
Richardson Dance Studio
1030 Columbia Ave
Claremont, CA 91711

Pomona College
Pendleton Dance Center, Studio 16
210 East 2nd Street
Claremont, CA 91711

Course Fee: $750.00

Course Instructor: Gabrielle Kaufman MA, BC-DMT, NCC
is a CMER faculty member, dance/movement therapist and counselor with close to twenty years experience in the helping profession. She has taught creative movement to preschoolers and elementary school students, has used DMT with the elderly, Holocaust survivors, adults with mental illness, individuals with eating disorders and body image issues, with teens at high risk and other individuals suffering from anxiety and depression.
Currently, she is the coordinator of the New Moms Connect Program of Jewish Family Service of Los Angeles. She has run several programs for high risk children and teens in both English and Spanish languages, taught classes to parents of newborns and toddlers, and runs support groups for single parents, women with eating disorders and women with perinatal mood disorders and with seniors. She is a coordinator with Postpartum Support International and has a private practice in Los Angeles.

For Information and Application Contact:
Judy Gantz-CMER Director
POB 2001
Sebastopol, CA 95473

(310) 477-9535

New R-DMT Paperwork and Anti-Aging Yoga

If you are a dance/movement therapy alternate route student, or plan to become one in the future, you should definitely check out the ADTA's new website to become familiar with the R-DMT packet. There is a bunch of downloadable paperwork as well, which is newly added since the website makeover. Make sure you're organized!

Also, I came across the Gaiam blog this weekend, and thought I'd share the "anti-aging" yoga slideshow with you. Although I'm not a fan of gimmicky incentives as the only motivation for movement and health, this one is at least interesting enough to pass along. Let me know what you think.


Anti-Aging Yoga: How-to Slideshow
by Sadie Nardini

What yogis have known for centuries, science now backs up: When it comes to looking and feeling young, skin creams and injections ain’t got nothing on the practice of yoga. Yoga changes the body’s system as a whole, so the glow on your more youthful face actually comes from an inner transformation and slowing down of the aging process. This means fewer wrinkles, less stress, more immunity, increased brain power and yes, a body that stays healthy and beautiful for a lifetime. So forget botox. Try yoga!

I’m not talking about face yoga here — though that’s fine to do, too.

More and more research is finding that people who practice a vigorous form of yoga just three hours a week are investing in maintaining a youthful glow by switching on the anti-aging hormones that slow down the process from the inside out. In fact, some studies show that on average, these three hourly sessions make practitioners biologically nine years younger than their non-yogi counterparts. Now that’s change we can believe in! Yoga does this by stimulating the endocrine system to produce balanced amounts of hormones, and helps switch on and off genes that we need (or don’t!) to keep us running smoothly. It’s been shown, among other things, to reduce stress hormones like cortisol, a major factor in disease and aging.

Make this practice part of your regular routine, and reap the benefits of invigorated health and beauty that will have people asking you what your secret is. You’ll just smile slyly (with fewer wrinkles) and say, “It’s the yoga.”

THE PRACTICE

The following 6 power poses work specifically to trigger the main endocrine glands: reproductive, adrenals, thymus, thyroid, hypothalamus, pituitary and pineal, and the major organs, which all work together to regulate stress, metabolism, aging, sleep and immunity.


1. Seated Cat/Cow

Regulates: reproductive and stress hormones

Come into an Easy Seat. Place your hands on knees, and with each inhale, arch your back, drawing shoulder blades closer. Exhale, and round in, shoulder blades move apart, chin towards chest.

Repeat for one minute or more.

2. Metabolic Spark

Regulates: metabolism and weight management, immunity

Return to Easy Seat. Inhale into the chest and ribs, and reach your arms out parallel to the floor, palms facing forward. Exhale more quickly from the navel, and swing your arms to reach out in front of you, palms face each other.

Repeat for one minute.

3. Twisted Lunge


Regulates: organ health, overall system function.

Come into a Lunge Position, back heel up, hips squared. Bring your palms together at the chest and plant your right elbow onto the left knee. Keep the hips level as you exhale and spin your heart and top shoulder to the sky. Place your back knee down onto the floor if needed.

Take 5-10 breaths here, then switch sides.

Read the full article here.

Dance Therapy Coursework at Kinections in NY

Right around the corner in 2010!

May
Dance/Movement Therapy Theory & Practice I
Foundations and Principles of Dance/Movement Therapy
May 24, 2010 - May 28, 2010
Danielle L. Fraenkel, Ph.D., BC-DMT, NCC, LCAT, LMHC

June
Group Processes in Dance/Movement Therapy
The Marian Chace Approach
June 2, 2010 - June 5, 2010
Elissa White, BC-DMT, CMA, LCAT

A Bill Evans Approach to Laban Movement Analysis
June 7, 2010 - June 10, 2010
Bill Evans, MFA, CLMA, CMA

An Experiential and Theoretical Introduction to the Kestenberg Movement Profile
Janet Lemon Williams, R-DMT, KMP Analyst Level I
June 12 - June 15, 2009

The CenterPost Trauma & Resiliency Framework
Dance Movement Therapy for Survivors of War, Torture and Violence in Cross-Cultural Settings
June 16, 2010 - June 19, 2010
Amber Elizabeth Gray, MPH, MA, BC-DMT, LPCC

Group Processes in LivingDance~LivingMusic
June 23, 2010 - June 27, 2010
Danielle L. Fraenkel, Ph.D., BC-DMT, NCC, LCAT, LMHC