Jordan LeBlanc
Professor Williams
English 1301
October 11, 2012
Dance Therapist
Dance therapy careers provide the opportunity to use movement to improve the lives of others. Dance therapy is a love dance and a strong desire to help others.
Dance therapists use movement to help clients improve emotional, mental and physical health. According to the American Dance Therapy Association (www.adta.org), they are trained to help others develop communication skills, reduce stress, boost self-esteem and overcome physical disabilities through movement.
The American Dance Therapy Association (ADTA) recommends that aspiring dance therapists possess a strong dance background in addition to a liberal arts degree. As undergraduates, students can pursue degrees in psychology, dance, recreation therapy and other liberal arts or human services fields. After earning a bachelor's degree, students can enroll in an ADTA-approved master's degree program in dance therapy. They take courses that may include counseling, body movement assessment, psychotherapy, and movement therapy. A program might also include a supervised internship. There were six master's degree programs in the country that were approved by the ADTA as of September 2011. “Those schools include Antioch University, New England, Columbia College, Chicago, Drexel University, Philadelphia, Lesley University, Cambridge, Naropa University, Colorado, and Pratt Institute, New York” (www.adta.org).
Students who already hold a master's or doctoral degree in a field related to human services can earn a master's degree in dance therapy by completing specific dance therapy courses and training. There are two different credentials offered by the Dance Movement Therapy Certification Board, Inc: the Registered Dance/Movement Therapist (R-DMT) credential and the more advanced Certified Dance/Movement Therapist (BC-DMT). A BC-DMT can provide training and work in private practice, while an R-DMT can work only in a clinical or...