How Is Dance Therapy Different From Other Somatic Therapies?
Somatic Therapy San Francisco
If you are looking for a therapist that does more than listen to you speak and reflect back your words, you may have stumbled upon various somatic therapies. In San Francisco, there are a multitude of somatic therapies and anyone can claim to be a “somatic therapist.” So how do you decide what the best somatic therapy is for you?
How To Decide Which Somatic Therapy Is Right For You
A somatic therapy is any therapy that uses the body to help with mental health. There are many disciplines that require a variety of different training and it would be difficult to describe each and every one. However, here are a couple of ways dance therapy differs from other somatic therapies.
Ways Dance Therapy Differs From Other Somatic Therapies
1) Dance therapists are trained in both movement analysis and using movement as an intervention.
The dance training part of dance therapy helps dance therapists see how a client is moving and what the movement signifies about their mental health. Movement is used as a means of assessment, diagnosis and intervention in addition to verbal processing of movement. Board-certified dance therapists have studied dance therapy at the graduate school level and have at least two years of supervision in their field.
2) Dance therapists move with you, not just watch you move!
Dance therapists reflect your movement preferences back to you via mirroring and also move WITH you rather than just observing. Moving with clients helps build rapport and can ease the feeling of being watched.
3) Dance therapy does not focus on one body part specifically but views the body and movement as a whole.
Dance therapy looks at movement patterns and how they provide a metaphor for how we deal with life. By changing your movement patterns, you change how you cope with stressors. We work to integrate the mind and body through movement.
4) While the title says dance therapy, dance therapy does not use a specific type of dance.
Since we are trying to understand the client through their natural movements, we do not impose a certain style of dance such as ballet, modern, hip-hop, etc. Instead we suggest movement interventions in line with the client’s mental health treatment.
5) Dance therapy can use music or not, depending on client need or preference.
Music can serve to organize movement by using a beat. Sometimes that works well for clients to help with inhibitions around moving and at other times music can overwhelm the movement, drowning out its significance. Whether or not to use movement is up to the therapist’s assessment and client’s preference.
I hope this blog helped to give a brief explanation about why, if you are looking for a somatic therapy in San Francisco, dance therapy is a great choice. If you have any questions about how dance therapy could help you, please email me at lisa@lisamanca.com.