Heal Through Movement
Add the Dance/Movement Therapy concentration to your Couple and Family Therapy degree to expand upon your capabilities of improving the lives of others. By pairing comprehensive clinical training with a strong theoretical framework, you will be uniquely positioned to leverage dance/movement therapy in a clinical setting. Empower your therapy clients to express themselves verbally and through visual art in order to treat a multitude of developmental, emotional, and psychological problems or disorders.
As dance/movement therapists, we believe that a person’s lived bodily experience is central to the therapeutic process, and that dancing is life-affirming. Relational bodily action is the primary agent of change. The DMT program presents both nonverbal and verbal approaches, enhanced by training in CFT. Students determine the methods that resonate with their professional identity as dance/movement therapists, and best serve a diverse clientele.
The DMT program holds an abiding commitment to social justice, multicultural inclusion, and anti-oppressive practice by working to transform relationships of power.
This degree is offered by AU Seattle.
Program Overview
The MA in Couple & Family Therapy degree has a Dance/Movement Therapy specialization combined with Couple and Family Therapy (CFT). You receive comprehensive clinical training, making it one of the few degree programs in the U.S. featuring dance/movement therapy with a clinical focus.
Service-Based Experiential Learning
Students integrate theory and practice in a small classroom setting concurrent with a broad range of fieldwork experiences:
- 2nd-year DMT practicum (100 hours total/ 40 direct contact hours)
- 3rd-year internship (DMT/CFT)
- Board-Certified Dance/Movement Therapist (BC-DMT) supervised 700-hour internship
- LMFT supervised 300 clinical hours
Dance/Movement Therapy and Social Action
Dance can be a conduit for lifting the voices of marginalized persons and empowering communities. Our initiatives include:
- One Billion Rising – DMT students use dance to bring awareness to gender-based violence.
- Annual Dance Recital – DMT and other students celebrate personal experiences in-community through dance.
- Conferences – Students are encouraged and supported to present on their social locations and experiences.
Other Program Benefits
- Alternate Route Drama Therapy Training: A student can opt to complete additional credits to become a registered drama therapist according to the National Association for Drama Therapy (NADT) Alternate Training Guidelines. AUNE offers up to 84% of the credits required.
Degree Requirements
Coursework
Antioch University Seattle’s Dance/Movement Therapy specialization is combined with the MA in Psychology with Couple and Family Therapy (CFT). The degree offers you comprehensive clinical training for a career as a licensed marriage and family therapist. With a focus on developing multicultural counseling competencies, students accomplish these goals through a combination of required coursework, electives, and a supervised internship.
The Dance/Movement Therapy program is in quarter credits and students may begin the program in either summer, fall, or spring.
Core Clinical Courses:
- Family of Origin & Creative Arts Therapy (Taken 1st quarter)
- Multicultural Perspectives & Creative Arts Therapy* (Taken 2nd quarter)
- Systems Perspectives in Family Therapy (taken 1st or 2nd quarter)
- Individual Therapy in the Family System *
- Applied Couple Therapy*
- Applied Family Therapy, Part I (Children & Parenting)*
- Applied Family Therapy, Part II (Adolescents & Family Therapy)*
- Theories of Couple & Family Therapy *
- Beginning Clinical Skills for CFT (this class is COUN5060: Communication and Counseling Skills for summer quarter only) (taken 1st or 2nd quarter)
- Psychopathology
- Assessment, Diagnosis, and Treatment Planning in Couple and Family Therapy
- Human Sexuality
- Human Development in the Family Life Cycle
- Ethics in Creative Arts Therapy
- Ethics in Family Creative Art Therapy
- Competency Assessment I (taken 1st quarter)
- Competency Assessment II (taken 2nd quarter)
- Competency Assessment III (taken quarter before internship)
- Internship Prep (Required 3 quarters before internship)
Core Dance/Movement Therapy Courses
- Core Dance/Movement Therapy Courses:
- Psychomotor Assessment of Children
- Theory & Practice of DMT I: Theoretical Origins
- Social Cultural Diversity
- Theory & Practice of DMT II: Special Populations
- Group Work in DMT
- Psychomotor Assessment of Adults
- Advanced DMT Seminar: Professional Identity
- DMT & Systemic Approaches to Crisis & Trauma
- Research and Evaluation
- Practicum in DMT I
- Practicum in DMT II
- Elective Course: Abusive Relationships or Survey of Addiction: Introduction to Addiction Counseling Fundamental
Internship Courses
- Competency Assessment IV (Taken final quarter of internship)
- Master’s Project or Thesis (Completed during internship)
- CFT/AT Internship & CC Q1-4
- CFT/AT Internship & CC Q1-4
- CFT/AT Internship & CC Q1-4
- CFT/AT Internship & CC Q1-4
- CFT/AT Internship & CC Q5+** (if needed)
Internship Experience
All students participate in an internship in a professional setting. This experience will enable you to validate and clarify the theory you acquire in the classroom as you develop your own role as a clinician.
Internship Site Examples
- College counseling centers
- Community centers
- Group homes
- Homeless shelters
- In-patient psychiatric hospitals
- Jails
- Penitentiaries
- Public mental health clinics
- Youth and family services
Program requirements and course offerings are subject to change. For detailed curriculum, degree requirements, and course descriptions, please visit the AUS catalog.
Career Outlook
Dance/movement therapists work with individuals, couples, families, and groups in a variety of settings including psychiatric, VA, medical, rehabilitation, pediatric hospitals; community mental health facilities; schools; residential treatment centers for children, adolescents, elders; correctional facilities; private practice, and group practices.
Admissions / Cost / Aid
Admissions
Prerequisites
In accordance with the ADTA (American Dance Therapy Association) admissions standards,
- We look for candidates with an undergraduate degree in diverse backgrounds such as liberal arts, dance, psychology, biology, engineering, etc. (A degree in psychology and/or dance is not required.)
- Significant experience in at least two different dance/movement forms (such as ballet, modern, jazz, improvisation, popular/street/indigenous, liturgical, ballroom, traditional/ethnic/folk, African, Caribbean, Korean, Latin, Middle Eastern, Native American, Tai-chi, Aikido, etc.) and in-depth knowledge of one of them is required.
- Teaching, performing, and/or choreography experience is preferred.
- College-level psychology courses are recommended.
How to Apply
- Completed online admissions application.
- A Bachelor’s degree from a regionally accredited institution is required.
Submit official transcripts from ALL colleges/universities you have attended to the Admissions Office. Transcript evaluations are required for all coursework completed outside of the U.S. or Canada (except Quebec). See Transcript Evaluation section on International Students webpage for details. - Two recommendations using this downloadable Recommendation Form. Recommenders should include people who can best assess your capabilities and readiness to enter a graduate clinical training program. These include social science instructors that you may have had in college as well as professionals who have provided supervision of work you have been involved in a helping role with people in mental health, social service, or educational settings. Recommendations from friends, relatives, or personal therapists are not acceptable.
- Dance video
- Writing Assessment. For applicants selected for an interview, a Writing Assessment will be required on your interview day. The assessment will be proctored online via Zoom, a free video-conferencing application. Alternatively, students may opt out of the Writing Assessment and register for Writing in Psychology – 6110 and labs if accepted.
- International Students have additional admission requirements. See the International Students page for details.
- Select applicants may be invited to participate in an interview with faculty.
Cost
| MA in Psychology – Drama Therapy (CMHC or CFT) | Cost |
|---|---|
| Cost per Credit | $797 |
| Full-Time Credits per Quarter | 6 |
| Total Program Credits | 90 |
Financial Aid
Financial Aid is also available to most students.
LEARN MORE ABOUT FINANCIAL AID
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