Sensing the self: a dance/movement therapy model of embodied identity development

ABSTRACT

Identity development has been thetopic of much literature, and a strong sense of self is considered important for mental health. However, most literature has taken a primarily cognitive approach to the issue, and has insufficiently addressed the factors that propel the developmental process. This article examines identity development through the somatic lens of dance/movement therapy, and proposes an Embodied Identity Development Model rooted in interoception, developmental movement (The Five Fundamental Actions or The Satisfaction Cycle), and the sensorimotor loop. After locating identity as a bodily phenomenon, this model will address how one gains a sense of identity via the body and one’s present-moment embodied experience. Clinical applications are suggested.

KEYWORDS:

• Identity development
• interoception
• developmental movement
• body identity
• dance/movement therapy
• embodied identity development

Acknowledgments

The author would like to thank Christine Caldwell for her feedback and editorial support on this project.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest reported by this author.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Lauren M. Pass Erickson

Lauren M. Pass Erickson is an LPCC and registered dance/movement therapist in Colorado, USA and a graduate from Naropa University’s clinical mental health counselling program with a specialization in somatic counselling and dance/movement therapy. Lauren uses somatic counselling approaches with individual clients in private practice and leads group work in embodied resilience and dance meditation.