“I feel like I can be me again”: Schoolchildren’s Experiences of a Dance Movement Therapy programme.

Supervisors: Flis Bishop, Bee Hartwell

Dance Movement Psychotherapy (DMP) is described as "The psychotherapeutic use of movement to promote emotional, social, cognitive and physical integration of the individual for the purpose of improving health and well-being" (ADTA, 2014.) Much previous research has focused on DMP as tool for clinical populations of children, demonstrating improved social communication skills in children with autism (Koch, 2015,) lowering clinical depression rates in adolescents (Jeong et al, 2005) or improving regulatory behaviours in SEND classrooms (Devereaux et al., 2016.) 

In UK education settings, DMP's therapeutic reputation has meant it is practised and researched primarily in special education settings. However, its focus on building body awareness and facilitating self-expression means it could be experienced positively by non-clinical populations of children.

This research examines the lived experience of four mainstream primary schoolchildren who underwent a 10-week DMP programme in their school setting. An interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA) of focus groups and individual participant interviews revealed an overarching theme of 'Freedom', experienced in domains of self-expression, movement, and friendship. Participants demonstrated a perspective shift from before to after the programme: moving from a fear of others' judgement to an increased sense of freedom to be themselves, make mistakes and build trusting connections with peers.

Participant experiences highlight the power of existing school structures to shape self-concept and the subsequent opportunity to adapt these to include holistic, embodied approaches to developing children's learning, emotional health, and social communication.