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Please read the Short Courses Contract before signing up.

Please note that the course running on campus will be subject to recruitment and government guidelines. If it has to be cancelled, the University will not be liable for flight, accommodation or any other costs incurred.

Our Dance Movement Summer School this year provides participants with the opportunity to experience  an intensive 5 session experiential class within this therapy discipline, and involves experiential learning about Dance Movement Psychotherapy. It is therefore of interest to anyone wishing to find out more about training in this discipline as well as individuals wanting to explore their creativity in a unique environment. In addition this summer school may be of interest to mental health professionals, teachers and social workers etc. interested in learning more about these unique and creative forms of therapy. A degree of active participation will be expected from all participants who should therefore be prepared for a degree of personal disclosure, sharing and exploration.

Combining the art form of dance and movement with psychotherapeutic models, participants will be invited to experiment through a range of non-verbal and verbal expressions—movement, gesture, words, play, rhythm, storytelling and ritual. The main focus is to explore a way of linking body awareness with emotional awareness.

Course Description

Facilitated by senior dance movement psychotherapy practitioners, this five-day summer school offers participants an insight into core aspects of Dance Movement Psychotherapy (DMP). DMP has been part of the Arts and Play Therapies profile at Roehampton for over 27 years and we offer a unique, integrative approach not available elsewhere. Our framework is located within contemporary bio-psycho-social understandings of embodiment, contrasting with programmes that provide training in one specific model of therapy. The Roehampton programme emphasises a critical consideration of different descriptions and explanations of bodies, human systems and therapeutic practices in different places and times. In the context of an individual person’s experiences, beliefs, values and different 'cultures', we actively promotes a participatory ethic, self-reflexive practices and the ability for critical reflection on: creative processes, mutual influence and the construction of social and power differentials, in learning and in psychotherapy. 

Embodied practice and working with attention to the art of dance is our central focus. Drawing from Feminist, Social Constructionist, Psychoanalytical, Phenomenological and Systemic frameworks, summer school participants will be introduced to the creative role of curiosity and a 'not knowing' position, a respect for difference, and an appreciation of the effects of mutual influences in all relationships. We believe that focusing on the creative potential of individuals in relationship creates a sound ethical basis for psychotherapeutic work with others.

A degree of active participation will be expected from all participants who should therefore be prepared for a degree of personal disclosure, sharing and exploration. Applicants should also note that the active, experiential nature of all the arts and play therapy workshops can be intense and emotionally demanding and are likely to involve a degree of personal disclosure, sharing and exploration.

Presented by multiple experienced DMP tutors

Fees: £745 Places are on a "first paid, first served" basis due to demand.

Please note: Course fees do not include accommodation. Should you require accommodation on campus, our conference office would be pleased to assist you. Please contact the Conference Office on 0208 392 8100 or e-mail [email protected]

Date: July 22nd-26th