The Arts in Psychothcrqy. Vol. 19. pp. E-85. 1992
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Printed in the USA. All rights reserved.
A BRIEF REVIEW OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING IN DANCE/MOVEMENT
THERAPY IN THE UNITED KINGDOM (UK)
LAURENCE
Dance/Movement therapy is the youngest of the
arts therapies in the United Kingdom (UK). The As-
sociation for Dance/Movement Therapy (ADMT) has
approximately 100 members, not all of whom are
practitioners. However, with the establishment of
three formal postgraduate training courses at educa-
tional institutions since 1985. this situation is chang-
ing rapidly.
Kedzie Penfield is probably the pioneer of dance/
movement therapy education in the UK. Trained un-
der Irmgard Bartenieff in Laban Movement Analysis,
she applied this to her work with psychiatric patients
at Dingleton Hospital in Scotland. As early as 1976
she provided input to the Dance in Special Education
courses at the Laban Centre in London where she had
an important influence on several students who later
became founder members of ADMT. Kedzie Penfield
continues to provide teaching input to the current
dance/movement therapy diploma course at Hertford-
shire College of Art and Design and has made signif-
icant contributions to developments in the profession
in the Netherlands and Germany.
ADMT and its members have been influential in
promoting awareness of the profession and the estab-
lishment of training courses in the UK. The Associ-
ation grew out of a series of support group meetings
organized by a small group of professionals from
dance backgrounds with an interest in dance/
movement therapy. These meetings, inaugurated in
September 1978, addressed practical and theoretical
issues arising from work with clients in special edu-
*Laurence Higgcns is a dance/movement therapist working with adult psychiatric inpatients at Springfield Hospital and with outpatients in
community based groups. He is also a lecturer on the Dance/Movement
of the Association for Dance/Movement Therapy in Britain.
01974554!9? 55.00 + .
Copyright 0 1992 Pergamon Press Ltd.
HIGGENS, ME, MCAT*
cation, psychiatry, health and social services. A paper
by Helen Payne-West (1983) describes those early
years and also presents the rationale for the title
“dance/movement” rather than either dance or move-
ment therapy.
ADMT was formally registered as a company in
April 1982 and immediately set up working parties to
examine (a) criteria for professional membership, (b)
training and education, and (c) research. Events
moved more quickly than many expected. Largely
due to the initiative of Dr. Marion North, Director of
the Laban Centre for Movement and Dance in Lon-
don, a collaborative program was set up in 1985 with
Hahnemann University in Philadelphia. USA. Hah-
nemann was running an established masters degree in
dance therapy, approved by the American Dance
Therapy Association as meeting their requirements
for registration. Under the joint program arrange-
ment, students were able to enroll for the Hahnemann
degree and attend lectures in either London or Phila-
delphia. Dianne Dulicai, the course Director spent
two academic terms each year in London while con-
tinuing with teaching responsibilities in Philadelphia.
Since 1985 there has been a steadily increasing con-
tribution from UK professionals to this course. It has
been developed to meet the requirements for a British
Masters Degree, and was validated in 1989 by the
Council for National Academic Awards (CNAA).
The modular format allows students a choice of either
postgraduate diploma or masters degree courses in
DMT. These are of I and 2 years duration full-time
Therapy MA program at the Laban Centre. London and Chairperson
83
84 LAURENCE
study respectively, but may be taken over 2 or 4 years
part-time.
September 1987 saw the first intake of students on
the postgraduate diploma course at Roehampton In-
stitute of Continuing Education, situated at Froebel
College in South West London. This two-year part-
time diploma in dance/movement therapy, set up with
the support of Roehampton’s well established Depart-
ment of Dance. was the joint initiative of Gay Parker,
course Director, and Dr. Marcia Leventhal, Professor
of dance therapy at New York University. Dr. Lev-
enthal visited three times each year to give intensive
instruction. The course is supported by several other
UK professionals, including Gillian Parker. a re-
spected psychoanalyst and training consultant. This
diploma was internally validated by Roehampton In-
stitute. It is currently being restructured to become
part of a joint Roehampton-Surrey University school
of dance.
Parallel to these developments, a new British
course was evolving at Hertfordshire College of Art
and Design alongside existing courses in and art and
drama therapy. Helen Payne-West. the first chairper-
son of ADMT, was the driving force behind the de-
sign and implementation of this postgraduate diploma
(1985). A pilot introductory-foundation course was
initiated in January 1987. The CNAA gave their ap-
proval for a 2-year part-time postgraduate diploma
course in May 1988 and this course was launched
with a first intake of students in September 1989.
It is important to make a distinction between the
academic validation of these courses, confirmed by
either the CNAA or the educational institution itself,
and their validation by the profession as an acceptable
component of training leading to registration as a
qualified practitioner. Within the art and music ther-
apy professions in the UK, postgraduate diploma
courses are validated by their respective professional
associations (BAAT and APMT). ADMT envisages a
similar arrangement for dance/movement therapy in
the future. At present, ADMT has no mechanism for
evaluating the existing academic training courses, and
none have been approved in any way. However, some
progress has been made in this direction.
During 19861987, an ADMT working party was
set up to discuss and develop guidelines for academic
courses in DMT in the UK. This group consisted of
representatives from ADMT. Hertfordshire College
of Art and Design, Roehampton Institute. Surrey Uni-
versity, and an independent professional. A series of
meetings culminated in a report in July 1987 that
HIGGENS
recommenced minimum course components and pre-
requisites for entry to courses.
The ADMT working party agreed on several fun-
damental principles, including:
1. that training should be postgraduate;
2. that it might include diploma, masters and PhD
levels;
3. that entry to courses would be on the basis of a
degree or professional qualification;
4. that candidates should normally be over the age
of 25. have work experience in the caring pro-
fessions, and must demonstrate both interest
and practical experience in the field of dance;
5. that candidates be highly encouraged to un-
dergo individual or group psychotherapy.
The recommendations for courses specified major
areas of study to the level of course component titles
only. Detailed content of the various subject compo-
nents was not specified. Course component titles were
as follows:
I. MOVEMENT
(a) Movement Development
(b) Movement Observation
(c) Dance/Movement Therapy Theory
(d) Dance/Movement Therapy Practice
2. PSYCHOLOGY
(a) Developmental Psychology
(b) Psychopathology and Psychiatry
(c) Psychotherapeutic Theories
3. PLACEMENT
(4 A period of observation and familiarization
with a range of client groups across the age
ranges, including institutionalized and nonin-
stitutionalized clients;
(b) Preparation for professional practice;
(c) Supervised placement experience in which the
student gradually takes full responsibility for
running a dance/movement therapy session.
Looking to the future, ADMT plans to set up a new
Education and Training Committee, which will work
in close liaison with the educational institutions in-
volved, to provide a more comprehensive description
of course requirements and to set up a mechanism for
course validation. This work is proceeding slowly at
present, partly because many of the senior members
of ADMT are themselves involved as faculty in es-
tablishing these new courses, and partly because the
Association has given priority to two other related
 DANCE/MOVEMENT THERAPY
initiatives, the Code of Professional Practice, and the
Criteria for Professional Membership.
At present, dance/movement therapy is an unreg-
ulated profession in the UK. In theory, any person
using dance or movement for its therapeutic benefits
could claim to be a dance/movement therapist. In line
with its aims, ADMT is striving to establish dance/
movement therapy as a clearly delineated profession
recognized by other professionals. and employers,
particularly those in health care, education. and social
services. Toward this end, the Professional Member-
ship Sub-Committee has been working for the past
year on formulating criteria for entry to a register of
practitioners and to professional memberships of the
Association. Sub-Committee members have reviewed
registration criteria for the other arts therapies in the
UK, as well as the requirements of several organiza-
tions involved in the training of psychotherapists in
this country.
Although the criteria themselves cannot be pub-
lished at this stage, some indication of the current
thinking of this Sub-Committee can be given. It is
likely that candidates will be required to show:
I, evidence of familiarity with DMT theory and
skills (e.g., through graduation from a post-
graduate diploma course or through indcpcn-
dent modular study):
2. evidence of a minimum number of hours of
clinical practice under qualified supervision;
and
3. to have undergone personal psychotherapy.
Questions concerning the type of personal therapy,
whether individual or group, the qualifications of the
therapist, and the duration of therapy have all been the
subject of extended discussion within the Sub-
Committee.
It can be seen from the foregoing that while com-
pletion of a postgraduate diploma course may be an
excellent foundation for a career in dance/movement
therapy, it is unlikely to meet all the requirements for
practitioner registration, as is the case in many other
professions. The register of practitioners will enable
the Association to help put potential clients in touch
with practitioners, while protecting the status of the
IN THE UNITED KINGDOM
profession and our clients. The Association has al-
ready taken steps in this direction through the prepa-
ration of a Code of Professional Practice. This was
formally adopted at the Annual General Meeting in
1989 and is binding on all practicing members.
The Association is aware that education and train-
ing do not stop with admission to the register of prac-
titioners. There is a great need for development of
theory and research in DMT to ensure our survival in
the increasingly cost-conscious health and education
services in the UK today, and to improve our effec-
tiveness as therapists. Dance/movement therapists
work with a greater variety of populations than do our
colleagues in psychotherapy, and require a greater
diversity of facilitatory styles to meet these diverse
needs. The educational institutions will need to work
alongside ADMT if this profession, now in its in-
fancy, is to grow to maturity and make its full and
valuable contribution to health care in Britain. The
colleges will need to continue to develop and improve
existing courses and to provide opportunities for fur-
ther study to masters degree and doctoral level. The
Association for its part proposes to establish a journal
to encourage needed publications in this field. It will
continue to develop the quarterly seminar meetings,
and to provide training workshops that have been a
feature of ADMT since its inception. ADMT will also
continue to work alongside the other arts therapies
professions in the UK both through the standing Com-
mittee for the Art Therapies Professions and the Re-
search Committee. The latter has already organized
two national conferences on arts therapies research.
We are just beginning, as the theme of this conference
suggests, to look toward Europe for an exchange of
ideas and practices. The future work of the Associa-
tion will be much involved with helping our European
counterparts establish their own national education
and training standards and moving together toward
harmony in our diversity.
References
Payne-West. H. (1983. Winter). The development of the Associ-
ation for Dance/Movement Therapy. New Dance. 27, 17-19.
Payne-West, H. (1985. Winter). An innovation in education: A
proposed course in dance/movement therapy (postgraduate).
Scottish Journul of Physical Educarion. 13 (4).