Dance/Movement Therapy
Be whole. Empowered. Embodied.
Become fully integrated.
Dance/Movement Therapy (DMT) is the use of movement to promote emotional, social, cognitive, and physical integration of you. Dance/Movement therapists use movement to access things that are not accessible verbally.
DMT is unique because it provides a clinical lens to see you as a whole person, to have visibility into understanding and diagnosing areas in the body that are exhibiting stress, trauma, or disconnection.
DMT has a wider focus than other types of somatic therapies. We look at the many parts of the body, how it moves, can be moved, and can be adaptive.
You move every day, breath is movement, walking is movement
Our goal in dance/movement therapy is to broaden our options of how your body moves. Your body creates a vocabulary of movements, and often the body’s repertoire of movements is shaped by your experiences, including your trauma. Some of these movements may have been a mode of coping or protecting you, but they are no longer working for you. These ingrained movements shape your experiences, whether those close off experiences, or open you up to joy and creativity. Using dance/movement therapy, your body will feel different. Your mood will feel different. Parts of your body that you’ve blocked off to feel safe will become accessible to you.
We talk a lot about pain and stress, but the body is capable of so much more than this. We will give your body the options to experience joy, relief, expression. We will practice feeling those things so you can take them in.
Living in your head, apart from your body
Before starting DMT You may find yourself living in your head, feeling that your body is not part of you, or doesn't reflect who you are. Society tells you that you should be rational, that you succeed when you put your head down and push through, or in other words, to be cut off from your body and your emotions.
If you feel stuck, if something needs to shift and you’re not sure, dance therapy can help you get past the stuck points and figure out what’s next in your life. Your body has so much information about your lived experience. In order for you to live your most authentic life, and to build a path of your choosing, you have to be able to access what your body holds.
If you already engage in physical activities, do yoga, go for walks, find yourself dancing when you’re at the club. Your body is ready to talk to you through movement.
Embodied. Empowered.
In a few short months, you will already be noticing the information that your body is sending you and the changes in how you can respond to that information. You may feel reactions to things, like a tightness in your chest, or an opening in your heart, or notice that you can take a deep breath with your whole body and feel relaxed. You will feel relief when you stretch or invigorated when you walk. You will find your body telling you when situations don’t feel right.
As our journey continues, you will develop a whole new repertoire of movements, capacities, and tools to help you experience life in a way that you choose, and to be your full vibrant self.
What happens in a session?
We will start by connecting with your body, your self, and your experiences. We start with breathing and becoming aware, in the moment. We will take a minute to get grounded and to just be in the space. You will notice your body—how it feels in this moment, explore how it feels. Then we will talk about what you’re bringing in the room, what’s affecting you right now, how it sits in your body, and what feedback you are getting.
We will practice exercises to feel and to accept who you are, to connect your brain to your body, whether that is through talking or practicing techniques you can use later on. Or maybe we throw on some dance music and you move until you’re exhausted, and we can get to what’s hiding under your anxiety. Throughout the session you will expand your awareness and understanding. You will understand how you react to certain situations, and we will find appropriate ways to respond, and strategies to cope. By the end of the session, we will wrap it up feeling more integrated and whole than when you walked in.
In-person dance/movement therapy for LGBTQ+ Adults in Los Angeles looking to reconnect to themselves.
If you are located in Los Angeles, our office are conveniently in the Silver Lake neighborhood.
If you are outside of the Los Angeles area, or just don’t want to drive. We offer telehealth sessions through out California.
OSTC is a LGBTQ+ therapy collective, where you never need to educate your therapist on who you are.