Even though I nearly find pursuing a career in any of the psychology fields interesting, there is one that has been dear to me, and that is being a dance/movement therapist (DMT). Being an excellent DMT requires that one has a good amount of knowledge regarding clinical psychology. The main reason for this, is that, acquiring a specialization in DMT, a person needs one to be a critical thinker, be creative as well as being a practitioner who applies elements of therapy, all which are offered in this field. However, one also needs to get a good grip on other disciplines such as dance, medicine or other health-related subjects. My liking to this profession came after an unforgettable event in my life.
After an accident, I lost 88% of the range of motion for both my arms at different times. Even though surgical and physical therapy helped in great deals, DMT helped me mentally. The feeling of being better again has always overwhelmed. These were the lowest times in my life as my confidence had stooped low and I found myself depressed and affected by anxiety. However, using DMT, these overwhelming feelings started to dissipate. I eventually felt stronger mentally than I ever did before. This experience gave me the reason to want to pursue a career in a bid to help more people and help them get better again. In this paper, the background, as well as the history of DMT, will be discussed. The various research methods and theories applied in the field will also be addressed.
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The idea of dance as a form of psychotherapy was initially recorded by Carl Gustav Jung, but other names such as Marian Chace have made considerable contributions to the field (Chodorow, 1991). However, for Chace, the movement was also thought to be one of the most effective communication tools. As such, she mainly emphasized on the fact that movement is mainly triggered in the unconscious or inner places of the places. As such, the role of the DMT is to help guide the patient to reach self-realization. However, when it comes to its relation to clinical psychology, a lot of historical activities have been some of the things that have contributed to the development of this profession. There are three areas of focus that have led to the development of this profession.
The first of these includes, gaining an in-depth understanding on the significance of the body as well as its movements that lead to the generation of emotional change and then reflecting the emotional changes that occur in this case (Motion-Emotion). Another stage that was crucial in the development of this profession was the emphasis on words, to help reveal information that is stored in body/movement (Form-information). Another factor that led to the development of the profession was the development of the observational tools as well as movement analysis. Such resulting in the bringing of conscious attention to the explicit and implicit information, thus revealing the hidden layers (Stern, 2013). As such, with these developmental focus areas, with time, the scientists eventually were able to get the connection between movements and the psyche.
Modern dance, on the other hand, can also be attributed to being one of the origins of this field. As such, it can be said to be one of the creative arts therapies. It joins a list of other psychotherapies used to treat mental and motor problems such as music, art, and drama therapy.
For one to be good in this field, one should understand that the field is closely related to various disciplines within or out of psychology. One of the fields that are closely associated with this profession includes dancing. As such, having experience in at least a dance or movement is very useful. One will also need to have good knowledge on the human anatomy, which will enable them to know the various muscles or organs that facilitate movement, movement observation as well as psychotherapy are some of the things that are closely related to this field.
By gaining an understanding of the history and background of the field, I can appreciate the field more by acknowledging the amount of work and research done by the pioneers. Furthermore, by knowing about the history of the field, I was able to learn about the various challenges that the pioneers and innovators had to undergo to develop this field. As such, by knowing these challenges, efforts can be made to evade them as I plan to branch more into research in this field in the future.
The connection between the mind and the body has been one of the most important topics that people seeking to research the DMT are concentrating on in many aspects. As such, interest from various academic disciplines has been observed to increase towards the understanding of the mind and body connection. One of the main theories used in the development of this field is the Theory of Dance/Motor Therapy. The theory is majorly centered on the fact that the mind and the body are inseparable. As such, this theory majorly relies on some theoretical principles. Some of these principles include that personality is affected by movement. It should be noted that some of the factors that influence the use of DMT with the pathological conditions are mainly drawn from the ontogenetic models of Ayres and Kephart, who can thus be said to be the pioneers of this theory in the 1960s and 1970s (Berrol, 1981).
The methodologies for these models mainly are based on the development of the body image as well as the general patterns of the movements. These are primarily the locomotor patterns and propulsion. The models have evolved in the recent past, especially with the use of computer programs for the hacking of brain signals. The other theory is that the mind and the body interact to result in a change of the movement that affects the functioning of a person. Another theory that the DMT is majorly dependent on is the Learning theory. In this, retention is highest when the learner is involved in the learning process. As such, when a person is learning to regain their motor skills, DMT is one of the best methods to employ. One of the perspectives used in the approach of this theory is the behaviorist perspective, developed in 1913 by John Watson (Stern, 2013).
Oral Comprehension: The ability to acknowledge the present of literature among both men and women increases the ability to understand literature-related subjects. It also furthers the understanding of a career subject, especially the non-verbal communication attributes presented by music and dance. The attribute will be of paramount importance in assisting me to further my studies. I have the capacity to appreciate diversity in ethnicity, culture, and race among my classmates. The modern literature recognizes the commonalities of our creation I the exploration of culture, race, gender, ethnicity, and linguistic differences and similarities. The emphasis in communication that has been incorporated in our education system initiates the basis for classroom parent-teacher interaction. This increases my morale of appreciating the existence of diversity in human beings and the need to explore how culture influences the perspectives of people on others. The recognition of such diversities in people dictates the future values, customs, beliefs, thinking, and behaviors of a student. In my previous class, there were several people who hailed from different regions. Our interactions helped me to build future capacity to contain people of such sorts.
Sociology and Anthropology: This attribute encompasses the comprehension of group standards, behavior, migration history, and moral approvals in the community. In any society, morality is recognized as the crucial driver of harmony and peace among its members. Out of the many emotions that stories arouse during my studies, morality seemed the most powerful of all. None of these value dynamics can drive emotional energy more forcefully than justice and injustice. Many societies have formulated mechanisms that are geared towards positive values in their daily struggle. In our class, we are coached about morality and its effects to our lives. By acquiring good morals, implementing the instructions given by teachers was of great essence. Moral capacity and discipline dictates the future person that a student is modified to be. I am well acquainted with moral values that increase my capacity to interact well and to get the instructions given by m teachers in a clear way. Moral values increase the capacity of discipline and the ability to retain the good teachings that are provided by the teachers. Lack of moral values presents serious challenges in installing instructions from teachers.
English Language. In my bid to increase my knowledge in English, I have strived to get acquainted with all necessary skills that will propel me to the heights of English language. Having a command in English Language has really assisted me in analyzing music and dance. In these lessons and portfolios, I was taught on how to efficiently present my ideas and communicate messages in a clear manner. It had been a difficult task for me. It was not my joy to watch my colleagues advancing their education by being facilitated by their ability to communicate effectively in English. I put all necessary efforts by practicing what we were taught in class and making narrative notes. The verbal cues of communication and English learning were always at my reach. We gave a response of about 2 million minutes assignments. This was aimed at increasing our capability to respond to emergency issues in English. I was a good team player in all assignments that required group participation.
Service Orientation. Service delivery has always been one of my attributes. I have demonstrated proficient skills as a teacher and a supervisor of dancing festivals. I have also taught and performed dance as my first career to all ages. During this time, I depicted excellent talents in delivering my teaching profession. My enthusiasm and determination have been fueling my capability to soar in great heights of communicating in English. I have been periodically consulting our professor to seal my loopholes that emanate in every new tactic taught in English. It has not been a shot journey as we have had to overcome many challenges in shaping our capabilities of communicating in English. Some professors, who are fully cognizant of the onus ahead of us, have not been considering that English is not our first language. They have been talking too fast and using deep vocabularies that serve to scare us instead of increasing our morale in leaning the new language. The assistant teacher has been helping us to understand the difficult situation that we face in learning English language.
Research Attributes. Research is of significant essence as it helps in increasing the skills of a scholar. It assists in authenticating a thesis statement and validation of a theory. Further, research elevates the pool of knowledge resources in both teaching and learning. The exploration of different works of literature has been my order every time. I have been investigating different ways on how I can advance my knowledge in English. By studying novels and storybooks, plays, and novels, my understanding and capability to communicate in English has been enhanced. It is by resilience and hard work that has made me fathom different codes of language that I possess. Our assistant has helped us to fathom several ways of communicating. It is not necessary to convey a message verbally as we have been taught on how to communicate non-verbally. In this case, sign language has been a major arsenal in enhancing the same. My dream of becoming a professional in music and dance is coming to revelation. I am assured that at the progress of my education, I will be able to understand all concepts that will be taught in class.
The ability to concentrate on long talks and dances is a great attribute in leaning movement therapy, music, and dance. It encompasses gluing eyes and attention to the scene characters to grasp the message presented in both verbal and nonverbal mechanisms. As demonstrated, I can follow long scenes and conduct both preliminary and aftermath analysis of the presentation. These attributes will help in furthering my career because I will be studying a course that has always been in my heart.
