Common Questions Students Have

Considering a Career in Dance/Movement Therapy?

Wondering if dance/movement therapy is the right career for you? Find out what dance/movement therapists do and how you can prepare for a rewarding career in dance/movement therapy. Below are questions most often asked by students thinking about pursing a career in dance/movement therapy.

What Do Dance/Movement Therapists Do?

• Dance/movement therapists work with individuals of all ages, groups and families in a wide variety of settings. They focus on helping their clients improve self-esteem and body image, develop effective communication skills and relationships, expand their movement vocabulary, gain insight into patterns of behavior, as well as create new options for coping with problems.
  
• Movement is the primary medium dance/movement therapists use for observation, assessment, research, therapeutic interaction, and interventions.
  
• Dance/movement therapists work in settings that include psychiatric and rehabilitation facilities, schools, nursing homes, drug treatment centers, counseling centers, medical facilities, crisis centers, and wellness and alternative health care centers. Dance/movement therapy can be a powerful tool for stress management and the prevention of physical and mental health problems.

What is Dance/Movement Therapy?

• Dance/Movement therapy is the psychotherapeutic use of movement to promote emotional, cognitive, social and physical integration.
• Dance/Movement therapists work with individuals who have social, emotional, cognitive and/or physical problems.
• They are employed in psychiatric hospitals, clinics, day care, community mental health centers, developmental centers, correctional facilities, special schools and rehabilitation facilities.
• They work with people of all ages in groups and individually. They act as consultants and engage in research.
• They live and work throughout the United States, in Canada, Europe, South America, Asia, the Middle East, Africa, and Australia.

What Kinds of Work Experience Would be Helpful for a Future Dance/Movement Therapist?
Working with people in a variety of human service settings and teaching dance and creative movement to groups of children and adults.

What Undergraduate Preparation Should One Have?
Extensive dance experience and a liberal arts background with coursework in psychology. For specific prerequisites contact each graduate program.

What Degree Do Dance/Movement Therapists Receive?
Professional training is on the graduate level. Graduates of ADTA  "approved" dance/movement therapy programs are eligible for the R-DMT (Registered Dance Movement Therapist) credential upon graduation. Graduates of alternate route programs must apply to the Dance/Movement Therapy Certification Board. Also, find out more about graduate dance therapy training.

What Does Approval of Graduate Programs Mean?
An approved program has met the educational standards of the American Dance Therapy Association.

What Does BC-DMT (Board Certified Dance/Movement Therapist) Mean?
This signifies that an individual has the education and experience to teach dance/movement therapy and to supervise interns, and has been through a rigorous examination process.

What Does R-DMT (Registered Dance/Movement Therapist) Mean?
It signifies that an individual has been prepared through a standard training process as part of graduate education, to practice dance/movement therapy in a clinical, educational, or rehabilitative setting.