About:

• Dance Movement Therapy (DMT) is based on the principle that the body and mind are connected/interrelated and is defined as the psychotherapeutic use of movement to further the emotional, cognitive, physical, and social integration of an individual.
• Motherhood begins before birth. During pregnancy, the expectant mother experiences complex changes both emotionally and physically.
• DMT can help integrate both the emotional and physical aspects of the journey into motherhood through dance, exercise, and movement meditation.
• DMT can be used as a tool to build a sense of trust and safety.
• These two elements are key components of the therapeutic relationship and that they facilitate awareness of self, help build interpersonal connections, reintegrate mind and body and expand self-expression.
• DMT work that takes into account factors of safety and trust also builds trust in the relationship of the mother with herself and her growing body, calming her anxieties and fears about the body’s natural capacity to give birth.
• General DMT benefits for pregnant women (Carbonnel Bejerano, 2007):
•  Improving body image and global self-image
• Learning to attune to her psychological and physical needs and feel more.
• She can act upon her own process of pregnancy, delivery and postpartum, instead of feeling passive about it (self-agency).
•  Creating positive body experiences at a moment when physical changes and discomfort can make it a difficult experience
• Using the artistic process of dance and movement to help and solve emotional and psychological conflicts.
• Creating a safe space (psychotherapeutic space) where one can verbalize and communicate their own experience.
• A space where there is space for fears, fantasies, doubts, positives experiences, discoveries, etc.