استعاره جنبش به عنوان میانجی: یک مدل برای روند رقص/حرکت درمانی

The English language is rich with somatic and movement metaphors that describe emotional states. ‘He looks as though he’s carrying the world on his shoulders’ describes emotional burden. ‘She’s cracking up, falling apart, breaking down’ describes the emotional turmoil often associated with mental illness. Having a ‘gut feeling’ implies having a hunch or an intuitive idea. I have found myself particularly attracted to the symbolic nature of movement in my practice using dance/movement therapy with groups of people who suffer from schizophrenia and other psychotic conditions, in rehabilitation settings. In this paper, I will describe a schema for understanding how the movement metaphor can act as a mediator in the therapeutic process. Dance/movement therapy and symbolism Certain principles underlie my use of movement in therapeutic work. Like other dance/movement therapy practitioners, I hold the belief that we experience ourselves, others, and the world through our bodies. I believe there is an inter-relationship between mind and body, and that there is a recursive relationship between movement and emotion. Not only is movement a medium for experiencing, expressing, and communicating, but action itself can create meaning through physical expressive and symbolic realms Best 2000, Chodorow 1991, Meekums 2000, Schmais 1985 and Stanton–Jones 1992. Various theoretical approaches consider symbolic material differently. For those allied with psychoanalytical approaches, symbolic movement is seen as representing unconscious experience, conflicts, and defenses Siegel 1995, Stanton–Jones 1992 and Dosamantes–Beaudry 2000. From a Jungian approach, individuation is achieved through a process of ‘active imagination,’ where archetypal themes from the ‘collective unconscious’ present themselves in symbolic form. In the case of Dance/Movement Therapy (DMT), memories from the unconscious are stored kinesthetically and emerge in ‘authentic movement’ Chodorow 1991, Hyde and McGuinness 1992 and Kovel 1991. Social constructionists see language (verbal and nonverbal forms) as symbolic. According to Erfan and Clarfield (1992) “words and symbols are ways of experiencing ourselves in the context of a community” (p. 212). Meanings are co-created, shaped and reshaped though interactions with others (Best, 2000). Symbolism and metaphor have been recognized as a vehicle for understanding and change in psychotherapy (Hobson, 1985). Gorelick (1996) argues that metaphor itself is the specific change agent that distinguishes the Creative Arts Therapies from other models of psychotherapy. Central to DMT lies the movement metaphor, a form of nonverbal communication, which, if examined, can provide useful insights into a person’s patterns of behavior, beliefs, relationships, and emotional state (Meekums, in press). Metaphors serve many purposes. They convey and link the basic elements of our nature. They present one thing in the semblance of another. Metaphors can carry us across transitions through ritual. They allow us to entertain new possibilities, can change our perception of events and the interpretation we give our experience. They enable the exploration of our unconscious. When thoughts are jumbled or confused, metaphor can give them form and direction. They can create a mask for feelings that are too frightening or painful to acknowledge. Metaphor can be a form of intimate communication (Gorelick, 1996).

The English language is rich with somatic and movement metaphors that describe emotional states. ‘He looks as though he’s carrying the world on his shoulders’ describes emotional burden. ‘She’s cracking up, falling apart, breaking down’ describes the emotional turmoil often associated with mental illness. Having a ‘gut feeling’ implies having a hunch or an intuitive idea. I have found myself particularly attracted to the symbolic nature of movement in my practice using dance/movement therapy with groups of people who suffer from schizophrenia and other psychotic conditions, in rehabilitation settings. In this paper, I will describe a schema for understanding how the movement metaphor can act as a mediator in the therapeutic process. Dance/movement therapy and symbolism Certain principles underlie my use of movement in therapeutic work. Like other dance/movement therapy practitioners, I hold the belief that we experience ourselves, others, and the world through our bodies. I believe there is an inter-relationship between mind and body, and that there is a recursive relationship between movement and emotion. Not only is movement a medium for experiencing, expressing, and communicating, but action itself can create meaning through physical expressive and symbolic realms Best 2000, Chodorow 1991, Meekums 2000, Schmais 1985 and Stanton–Jones 1992. Various theoretical approaches consider symbolic material differently. For those allied with psychoanalytical approaches, symbolic movement is seen as representing unconscious experience, conflicts, and defenses Siegel 1995, Stanton–Jones 1992 and Dosamantes–Beaudry 2000. From a Jungian approach, individuation is achieved through a process of ‘active imagination,’ where archetypal themes from the ‘collective unconscious’ present themselves in symbolic form. In the case of Dance/Movement Therapy (DMT), memories from the unconscious are stored kinesthetically and emerge in ‘authentic movement’ Chodorow 1991, Hyde and McGuinness 1992 and Kovel 1991. Social constructionists see language (verbal and nonverbal forms) as symbolic. According to Erfan and Clarfield (1992) “words and symbols are ways of experiencing ourselves in the context of a community” (p. 212). Meanings are co-created, shaped and reshaped though interactions with others (Best, 2000). Symbolism and metaphor have been recognized as a vehicle for understanding and change in psychotherapy (Hobson, 1985). Gorelick (1996) argues that metaphor itself is the specific change agent that distinguishes the Creative Arts Therapies from other models of psychotherapy. Central to DMT lies the movement metaphor, a form of nonverbal communication, which, if examined, can provide useful insights into a person’s patterns of behavior, beliefs, relationships, and emotional state (Meekums, in press). Metaphors serve many purposes. They convey and link the basic elements of our nature. They present one thing in the semblance of another. Metaphors can carry us across transitions through ritual. They allow us to entertain new possibilities, can change our perception of events and the interpretation we give our experience. They enable the exploration of our unconscious. When thoughts are jumbled or confused, metaphor can give them form and direction. They can create a mask for feelings that are too frightening or painful to acknowledge. Metaphor can be a form of intimate communication (Gorelick, 1996).