Power dynamics in dance movement therapy

ABSTRACT

This article investigates power dynamics in dance movement therapy (DMT), potential blind spots layered into the discourse about power in the profession, and underexplored aspects of the manifestation of power in the therapeutic setting. The research highlights a tendency in the field of DMT towards oppositional thinking and suggests the necessity to hold space for a non-binary approach to the matter. The findings of this study suggests that if dance movement therapists work to deepen their awareness of the implications of their own socio-cultural backgrounds and theoretical frameworks on their embodied approaches to the therapeutic and human relationship with their patients, they will be better able to practise embodied ethical decision-making in an ever more globalised world.

KEYWORDS:

• DMT
• power
• ethics
• gender
• therapeutic relationship

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Rachele Preda

Rachele Preda is a licenced Dance Movement Therapist both in Italy and in Spain, where she earned her master’s degree in DMT from the Autonomous University of Barcelona. She is also an Authentic Movement practitioner, a certified yoga instructor and has extensive training in dance. Her DMT practice strives to integrate a trauma-informed, culturally humble and non-violent perspective into the areas of well-being, mental health and social embodied activism.