Orientating myself: A gay dance movement psychotherapist’s gender experience in training and practice

ABSTRACT

This paper offers a subjective account of the struggles and pleasures of being a gay dance movement psychotherapy (DMP) lecturer and therapist. The author shares stories of how this individual reality is informed by his life experience as a gay child and man. This gay intersubjective perspective of embodied therapeutic relationships posits a queer theory outlook that deviates from other DMP and embodied perspectives. The intention is to invite more critical reflection on diverse sexual and gender experience and relationships in the training and therapy space, in the hope of opening the door to more transparency with sexual orientation and gender diversity in the body, movement and dance in psychotherapy professions.

KEYWORDS:

• Gay
• sexual orientation
• gender
• male
• dance movement psychotherapist (DMP)

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Geoffery Ivan Unkovich

Geoffery Ivan Unkovich is Australian born and trained in dance. DMP practice has included people with learning disabilities, LGBT mental health, and elders. He is a senior lecturer in DMP at the University of Roehampton and has taught at Goldsmiths College London, in Croatia and Romania. Geoffery is on the ADMPUK Education and Training Committee, is a co-founder of DMPLDNetwork, a special interest group for DMPs in learning disabilities, and a co-founder of aRTSjAM improvisation collaborative.