The Difference Between "Therapeutic" Dance and Dance/Movement Therapy 

Acknowledge the training and professional preparation of dance movement therapists is critical, as it is the depth of expertise they bring to their practice. This recognition enhances the field's credibility and highlights these therapists' significant impact on individuals' mental and emotional well-being. Their unique ability to integrate movement and therapy fosters healing and self-expression, making it essential to appreciate the dedication and skills required in this transformative profession.

I really appreciated Susan's distinguishment between therapeutic dance and DMT because I feel like it doesn't get frequent enough attention. Her video showed the importance of the relationship between a therapist and client . She did a great job explaining how a Dance Movement Therapist can affect the quality of a session and help ease a client's feelings in the face of physical shortcomings.

I had never thought of the dangers of bringing forth someone else's feelings, but this is so true! Dance therapists hold so much power in so much humanity.

I like how the video highlighted that while both therapeutic dance and dance/movement therapy promote well-being through movement, they serve different purposes. Therapeutic dance focuses on self-expression and enjoyment, whereas dance/movement therapy is a structured, psychotherapeutic approach aimed at healing and personal growth.

I feel like this talk was very informative as people can often be confused that feeling better from dance is dance/movement therapy. She highlighted that people can put themselves and others in danger if they uncover deep emotions with their clients with ethical boundaries. This part is key to DMT as therapists are trained in biosocial circumstances to deal with a wide range of scenarios.

It is so important to understand the purpose of dancing to make us feel better and therapy through movement. I think that Susan Imus does so well in explaining this. The holistic view of dance therapy is so special in the ways that just dancing cannot do

This video really helped me to understand the difference between using dance as therapy versus dance/movement therapy. As a dancer myself I have felt its therapeutic aspects before, however, that does not mean I am supervised to give therapy to someone else. I think it is important to understand the education and certification a dance/movement therapist must go through before they are qualified.

It is difficult to think that there is a difference between therapeutic dance and DMT, but Susan did a great job explaining the different. Therapeutic dance is movements that make one feel better while DMT is a profession that takes years of schooling and practice to do right. I also love how she talks about the difference between a dance teacher and a dance therapist. A dance teacher wants scripted movements, while a dance therapist wants unscripted movement.

Dance therapy is therapy guided through movement, and therapeutic dance is a dance experience that has a positive or therapeutic effect on the dancers. I like the differentiation between therapy and therapeutic activities as it applies to dance and other fields of therapy.

Conversations like this are very important, as they emphasize just how trained and qualified dance and movement therapists are! I really like the point that "feeling better" from dance is not the same as DMT. Dance and movement therapists are able to turn what would previous be considered a problem into a possibility/opportunity.

I like the idea of treating the whole patient, not just one aspect of their health. I think it is equally important to treat the mind, body, and spirit because if one area is having problems, it will cause a domino effect for their health. DMT has the unique ability to treat not only the mind through therapy but also the body through movements that can open a person up.

1. Therapeutic dance and dance movement therapy are two different things that people tend to mix up. Just because therapeutic dance sounds like it's helpful doesn't mean that it can help you the way dance movement therapy does. Dance movement therapy is an actual type of therapy whereas therapeutic dance helps you feel good. 2. We talked about in class how dance movement therapy is a way of nonverbal communication and i think connects to what we learned this semester. We also learned in a video about this lady who used her experience of falling and getting a seizure as good thing. 3. One thing in this video that impacted me was that when she talked about how if a patient had triggered a traumatic memory or suffered from a muscle movement, dance movement therapy can help them with coping their distress and help what surfaces their therapeutic intervention.

I definitely did not differentiate the concept of 'feel better' therapy and dance movement therapy. However, listening to Imus's talk I have a greater understanding of how dance movement therapy is more than making the patient feel better. It fosters health, communication, and promotes integration of emotional, physical, and cognitive functions. Dance therapists are trained and educated to do what they do, in order to fully attend to patient's needs.

Susan was very knowledgable and did a great job of explaining the differences between a dance therapist and a dance teacher during this talk. One point that stood out to me was how dance therapists are able to unlock some of the most raw feelings from people, especially those who could become violent and dangerous. It made me realize how important training is for a dance therapist and how much power they have to have.

Dance Therapy - Susan did an amazing job explaining the difference between therapeutic dance and dance movement therapy. A therapist wants unscripted movements while a dance teacher would want scripted dance movements.Susan shared a great message about how good and vaulable dance therapy is.

The distinction made in this video helped me to better understand the difference between therapeutic dance and dance/movement therapy. I think one of the most important differences is that there is no expectation for how the dancing or movement should be performed in dance/movement therapy. This probably allows dance movement therapy to be even more effective than therapeutic dance for making people feel better through self-expression because they have more freedom.

I never really thought about the difference between Therapeutic Dance and DMT but after listening to this talk, Susan did a great job of explaining the two and why it is so important to differentiate them. There can be many issues when dance and movement are used in the wrong way and bring up triggers that someone may not be ready to face.

This video about the distinction between dance being referred to as 'therapeutic' for some people and actual dance movement therapy was helpful for gaining a better understanding about what dance therapy is. It clarifies that dance therapists have a certification that grants them the ability to act as a therapist for clients to help them improve their well-being. The therapist knows key techniques that can help in unique client situations and sessions are structured to attain some kind of improvement for clients.

I really loved when you said "What may start as a problem, becomes a new possibility." It further strengthens the difference between dance therapy and therapeutic dance in general. I definitely agree that it may seem harmful to bring up trauma, but if you just leave it there, it's just going to stay there. You would rather bring it up and make an opportunity out of it, to overcome and learn from it. Thank you for a great speech!

Susan Kelinman discusses how dance therapy can help people with eating disorders reclaim connection with their body and their inner-selves. She highlights how she helps them have the ability to feel, express those feelings, and then be able to discover and identify metaphorically how they move through life. Additionally, she states that they often don't feel comfortable in their bodies and she has to use props to guide them in body exploration. Body depersonalization is a concept that relates to eating disorders because often they feel as though they have a different body then what they see in the mirror. They often have a negative body image of themselves or perception that hinders their growth. Another concept is having a screwed balance as Susan mentioned many women have to have props because they are afraid to explore the demonstration of their bodies. I think this will have a great impact on the community because over 87% of girl's by the age of 17 years old have a body issues, which can lead to eating disorders. Having dance therapy as another tool to help support the healing process of these disorders is amazing.

I feel that everyone should be made aware of the differences between dance as an experience and dance movement therapy. I'm glad that this video is posted to point out the differences between the experiences and to shed light onto the dangers of DMT without a certified dance movement therapist. There is truth in was Susan is speaking about. A dance teacher may be able to adapt to different levels of dancers, but a dance movement therapist concentrates and assists with any vulnerable emotion that is brought forth by movement.

This talk was much needed. I knew there were many differences between dance and DMT like no movement needs to be perfect in DMT whereas it does for dance, but I did not realize just how much change it facilitates over time. I did not realize the extensive training DMTs undergo to become full-fledged therapists.

I appreciate this differentiation. Dance as movement matching the group versus dance as self-exploration and therapy was explained very well in this video.

I enjoyed Susan's informational talk on the profession of dance/movement therapy. I especially liked her emphasis on the dance/movement therapist's role in facilitating change for a client's "whole self." It's interesting to learn more about how effective unscripted dance can be in this transformative process.

"Dance is a creative force that has the potential to change and improve our bodies , our moods, and ultimately our lives". Dance is powerful in so many ways. Not just for our physical health, but for our mental and spiritual health as well. I like this statement she made because dance is mostly looked in a way that is beneficial for out physical health, but it is very important for the growth of out emotional state of mind, and connecting with our interpersonal selves. Dance movement therapists work with all people who have mental illnesses and diseases. The are the superheroes in which make people comfortable with themselves.

This really goes back to back to the ideas brought upon by Mary Whitehouse. She moved away from the term dance therapy to movement therapy as she believed in authentic movement and everyone should be letting movement flow from when they are not moving and let you body do what it needs to do. Dance therapy gives off the connotation that the moves need to be choreographed but really any movement or even lack of movement can help with the treatment of a patient. -Karlie Knoll Dance 231

I have been a dancer my whole life but have never learned much about it in classes or anything. This was so helpful in giving me more knowledge about therapeutic dance and DMT and I feel lucky to be able to gain this knowledge.

It was very interesting to learn that feeling better from dance (therapeutic) is not the same as dance/movement therapy and how we can differentiate them. Dance/movement therapy requires training and is an actual type of therapy, whereas therapeutic movement is something people do for themselves through whatever movements they think will work for them. I never thought about this comparison before. Very insightful video!

The difference between dancing to feel good and dance movement therapy is very important. The intensely personal and emotional nature of DMT is something that I greatly enjoy as it gives a person the opportunity to confront their emotions, situation, and conquer the difficulties that they're facing. The therapist also directly helps the client with their progress and growth.

Very interesting to learn the difference between how dance makes someone feel better versus how DMT makes someone feel better. Very holistic improved feeling from DMT. There is also security in knowing that DMT professionals are actually trained, unlike others.

This talk helped to clarify the difference between therapeutic dance and DMT because I have danced my entire life but had never been introduced or involved in dance therapy. DMTs are the only dancers trained to teach therapy, said Susan Imus. Her explaining how the patient's fall during one session was turned into a therapeutic experience was so interesting for the entire group, rather than ignoring the fall and letting the student be embarrassed.

I like how dance/movement therapists show empathy towards their patients through their own movement, like a new language, which is not commonly seen.

This talk brings up some really good points with how people may be familiar with dance but, outside of a social context, they don't realize how many benefits dance and dance therapy can have. By embracing the moments and movements in one's own life, they are able to help others do the same with proper certification.

This is so interesting because I use theraputic dance all the time and I love it so I always thought that the feel good I get from it was the same as Dance Movement Therapy when instead it provokes emotion and is guided through movement and how the movement is performed doesn't matter. This is a very insightful, well done, talk.

Dance movement therapists are the ONLY dancers trained to do therapy. They use dance and movement to foster health, communication and expression, promote the integration of physical, emotional, cognitive, and social functioning, enhance self-awareness, and facilitate change. I think this is very cool, especially how these trained dance movement therapists can help individuals while in group settings.

The speaker, Susan Imus explains the difference between dance movement therapy and just dance. How dance movement therapy heels the patients by many therapist technique and how just dance changes people’s feeing or mood is different. She uses kinesics study to observe her patients. It can give therapist clear information about their patients who has physical or mental problem. Therapists can see their patient’s body movement including gesture, movement of arms, legs, feet, eye behavior and facial expression. She also talks about body awareness for her patients who suffer from gymnastic violence. She has problem with body distortion. Like we discussed in class, I was surprised with how much time therapist spends their time to train to become dance movement therapy and since not many people are not too familiar with that fact, it is important for people to know theses fact so more people who is suffering can get help from dance movement therapists.

Dance definitely does change the way we feel and can help us "feel better", but it is extremely important to realize the difference between DMT and therapeutic dance. Dance students may present themselves through dance, but DMT participants are truly healed through their actions and can even use the therapy to better communicate. Great video to provide these distinguishing factors.

Being a visual human, I really appreciated how Susan Imus explained the differences between the therapeutic value of dance and dance as therapy as existing on a continuum. While there is a great deal of overlap, it is when a trained profession uses dance/movement for the purpose of helping someone make a healthy change in their life that it becomes a therapy.

Sometimes, I don't think people understand the schooling most dance therapists go through, and it's important to acknowledge this and recognize and how education they really are in the field!

I always enjoy how I learn more and more about Dance Movement Therapy in the ADTA talks! Now learning the difference between therapeutic dance and DMT! Very interesting, it was wonderful to know more about both!

I appreciate that Susan describes dance as a spectrum of experiences, styles etc. and that she recognizes that dance can facilitate therapeutic experiences outside of an official client therapist relationship. However I understand that it would be irresponsible to facilitate dance therapy without training, just as it would be irresponsible to facilitate other types of therapy. While we can seek discussion and advice from a friend or spiritual leader, we differentiate that kind of counsel from “therapy.” You can still make great progress through means other than official therapy, but therapy guarantees a particular level and area of training. To be fair though, there are also trained therapists who are incompetent or practice poorly.

I can see why the two would be confusing because they use similar terminology in the titles. However, dance therapy is dancing to feel good/better whereas dance/movement therapy is dancing to heal or treat chronic behavioral, cognitive, social, and emotional issues. This is an important distinction to make.

I never thought about dance movement therapy as potentially being "dangerous" because of its ability to provoke emotions so that was a very interesting point. I also never thought about comparing dance therapists to dance teachers so this talk arose some interesting thoughts concerning my interpretation and classification of those professions. Loved how it brought new ideas for me think and compare!

Susan presented really valuable information about dance and movement therapists and treatment. she provided very interesting, personal examples.

I think a main point of this video was the relationship between the therapist and the patient. They compare dance teacher vs dance therapist. In the circumstance of a patient straying away from the group is a dance teacher would help the patient get back on track with the group, but a dance therapist would develop a reciprocal movement relationship between the patient/student.

Dance therapy is greatly misunderstood, dance therapists are not just dance teachers telling students right and wrong but a therapist who looks to better understand their client's emotions using dance and movement as a tool and provide a gateway of release. Awesome talk!

I like that she distinguished between the therapeutic side of dance and movement and just dance itself. I would have not initially thought that there was a difference.

I think this a great talk to emphasize the difference between the two because I think they often get used interchangeably which isn't that case.

Dance Therapy, is to Body Language as; the Subconscious, is to the Conscious .💜

I liked how she made a point to differentiate DMT and the power of dance or other innate therapeutic activities. She mentions that therapists of DMT promote and facilitate physical, cognitive, and self awareness to enhance one's functioning through change.

1. Dance Movement therapy and therapeutic dance are completely different types that affect others differently. Therapeutic dance is not capable of assisting others if they do not have similar skills whereas a dance movement therapy can since there is not specific form. 2. In the short clip they mentioned how she used dance movement therapy or nonverbal communication on the guest who’s disease caused her to collapse. However instead of seeing the collapse as a negative, Susan changed it to a positive and joined her on the floor. This form of body language saved both of them from becoming a negative event and flipping the outcome to a positive. 3. Susan example of using non-verbal communication on the student that fell due to her disease impacted me the most because I would not realize how quick and simple she made the negative event become to a positive event; all through body language.

True how dramatic of an influence that media has had. The specific therapy session experience with the woman falling on the ground and then being allowed to make a personal dance out of it was especially powerful, as well.

watching this video helped me to understand the differences between DMT and dance being therapeutic. I have been in dance for a long time and have used it as being therapeutic, but realized not in the same way as DMT

Great descriptions of how dance/movement therapy stands out from the therapeutic benefits our culture typically notices about dance and physical expression. This type of video and its descriptions of dance/movement therapy would be great to share with other creative arts therapists and general clinicians to describe more about the dance/movement therapy field. Great descriptions and clear thoughts!

This is SO helpful in describing the difference between dance/movement therapy and so many other things! Thank you!

I really liked the distinction between a dance teacher and a DMT facilitator. While a dance teacher gives clear direction for students to follow, a facilitator guides the movement experience along, but does not stifle a patient's creative and authentic movement.

Therapy enhances self-awareness and is done by highly trained professionals. It goes beyond knowing how to dance or managing a group. It requires training in nonverbal language. Such therapy is non defined movements or directing the patient to a certain movement but rather compassionately assisting the patient to find his or her own movement by listening to his or her body talk through movement.

I think this is a very interesting topic that isn't super clear or talked about. As a student studying both dance and damnce movement therapy in school, I am able to tell the difference between these two ideas, however, it is difficult to describe to others. I believe that Ismuse explained these ideas very well, especially to those who may not have a deep understanding of either idea.

This is very helpful in understanding where the therapy aspects of DMT differentiate from dance itself.

It is important to know the differences between dance and dance movement therapy. Although dance can be used in a therapeutic way it is very different from the work of Dance Movement therapy.

I like how she compared dance being "therapeutic" to some activities that we do when we need a mood boost. I think DMT is more of a structured system, while dance being "therapeutic" is more of an objective feeling that can be found in all creative art forms.

I am familiar with the therapeutic nature of dance. DMT is very different from therapeutic dance, as the one conducting the session has a degree psychology, and the goal is not to teach technique or create "good dancers." The goal is to use dance to help patients overcome or recognize emotional or physical distress.

This woman has such a beautiful energy.

I am a dancer AND a Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor. I practice Dance Therapy but I am not a DMT.

Dance has been seen to have therapeutic value, but it needs to be facilitated by certified therapists in order to engage in proper Dance movement therapy. However, dancing can still be a way for anyone to work through their emotions, but it can be enhanced through DMT. Therapists are professions with years of training so that they are able to handle different clients with different needs, to determine what their client may require during a session.

As a dancer, I have often used dance as a therapeutic means to feel better. This is not the same thing as DMT because dance movement therapists are trained to provide quality and effective treatment to someone suffering from a disorder. I think it is important for everyone to understand this difference.

Susan describes how Dance/Movement Therapy can help treat individuals with eating disorders. She connects with patients to better understand what they are going through by practicing kinesthetic empathy and reading and following their body language. The way people with eating disorders see their body awareness is through body depersonalization which is the feeling of personal detachment or estrangement from the self to allow them to numb their feelings as a coping mechanism. By following her patients non verbal cues she is practicing E.M.P.A.T.H.Y.: engaging or noticing eye contact, muscles of facial expression, posture, affect, tone of voice, hearing the whole patient and clinicians own response to the encounter. When Susan mentioned that the importance of practicing kinesthetic empathy is to truly understand the patient- it reinforces the fact that it also helps people remember the essential components of nonverbal communication.

Great talk on a tricky topic. Thanks Susan.

Dance teachers are very different than dance/movement therapists!!! I feel as if in todays society, if the mass majority isn't involved, everything is shoved into their umbrella term. Dance/movement therapy really just uses movement and dance as a guide to recognizing these emotions and feelings that are living within us, compared to dance which is movement that is emotive, but you are being told how to move. The example of the patient falling down, there are two approaches to it and I didn't even consider anything else existed besides helping the person stand up. The fact that Susan plopped down next to her and followed into a contact improv after, it created a different and even positive reaction compared to what it initially would've been. Things like falling could make a person angry or embarrassed, but once it is made into something else, those negative feelings are created into something else. I remember once I fell going up the stairs and I immediately turned around and sat on the stair once I was able to, my friend asked me if it was intentional or not, which it wasn't, but because it didn't end with a fall, I felt a lot better about the situation. If I did just fall and get right up, I probably would've been living in fear and embarrassment walking next to my friend. Not everybody has the tools to help guide someone slowly such as a DMT, this is a great thing to realize and remember.

Really valuable insight. Many thanks

This video talks about how dancing changes our bodies, moods and lives and there are therapeutic qualities in dance but DMT and feeling better from dance are NOT the same thing. Dance Movement Therapist are the ONLY dancers trained to do therapy. In relation to what we learned in class Susan spole about how in her sessions she had to help a student who fell in class due to Parkinsons Disease. with nonverbal communication you have to pick up on subtle cues and interpret them to mean certain things. knowing all of the feelings she experienced from her fall, she was able to turn the situation into a positive learnind experience. since DMT don't tell their students how to move i think it connects with body language. body language is needed to help determine emotion and if the instructor is good at picking up on nonverbals, he/she can better assist the student. something important that would be of value for others to know: dance instructors cant help people feel better through dance if they do not have the skills of a therapist. it can put their students in danger by putting in them situations that bring up their feelings and the teacher wouldn't know how to help them.

Using dance as personal therapy isn't the same as dance/movement therapy. You need a therapist to facilitate the therapy for it to be actual dance movement therapy. They have training and understanding of how to help people work on their experience to help with change.

I thought it was a great description to differentiate dancers and dance therapists and also dancing versus dance and movement therapy.

This video explains that Dance/Movement Therapy is not "Therapeutic" Dance, and currently society has tied the word "therapy" to anything that makes us feel better, but DMT uses movement and dance to "foster health; communication and expression; promote the integration of emotional, physical, cognitive, and social functioning; enhances self-awareness; and facilitates change". Also, a dance teacher teaches a routine while a dance/movement therapist uses the patient's own movements to connect with them on a personal level and to asses the patients objectives. DMT relies on efforts, or our movements that explain how we are coping the external reality. The therapists have the patients explore their movement sensations that accompany the motor components expressed, and help the patient understand their mental attitude that might have instigated or followed from it.

Thank you !! Very informative !! 🌟

Well explained!

I disagree, Dance is healing period. I have used it over the years to over come fears, traumas, cope with grief and loss. I have used it to express my inner emotions that I could not express verbally, I have used dance to build confidence. Movement is liberating, control is taught through movement, perseverance, resiliency, improved positive feelings of ones self, improve physical health, improved mental health, improved memory, reasoning, reduces anxiety and depression, facilitates the growth of new connections, and improved health of neurons. Movement raises vibrations, and aids in a positive lifestyle. I agree with the above comment dance/movement facilitators/instructors should be able to become certified to teach from a holistic POV or at least become aware of what the therapeutic benefits are, as well as be able to offer therapy as well. I would love to be a certified dance moment therapist but I don’t have 50,000$ or 5 years, is there no 2 year program that could certify me for a portion that I can afford? I hope that you can offer a program for holistic therapeutic dance/movement one day for instructors to be able to work from a more holistic approach that us not exceed 2,500$ for a 2 year program please consider or point me in the direction of one thanks!

Gem