Body, Movement and Dance in Psychotherapy

An International Journal for Theory, Research and Practice

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The body as cultural home: exploring, embodying,

and navigating the complexities of multiple
identities

Laia Jorba Galdos & Marcia Warren

To cite this article: Laia Jorba Galdos & Marcia Warren (2022) The body as cultural home:
exploring, embodying, and navigating the complexities of multiple identities, Body, Movement and
Dance in Psychotherapy, 17:1, 81-97, DOI: 10.1080/17432979.2021.1996460

To link to this article: https://doi.org/10.1080/17432979.2021.1996460

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BODY, MOVEMENT AND DANCE IN PSYCHOTHERAPY
2022, VOL. 17, NO. 1, 81–97
https://doi.org/10.1080/17432979.2021.1996460

The body as cultural home: exploring, embodying,

and navigating the complexities of multiple
identities
a b
Laia Jorba Galdos and Marcia Warren
a
Sensorimotor Psychotherapy Institute, Broomfield CO 80020; bEmbodied Culture, Boulder CO
80302

ABSTRACT
The increasing number of clients with multicultural backgrounds pose a chal­
lenge for a mental health field that has mostly addressed the psychological
needs of culturally diverse clients in a monolithic and linear fashion. In addition,
the body’s role in identity development and expression has not been fully
integrated in either the theory or practice of counselling. This article addresses
these gaps by advocating for a somatic psychotherapy process of identity
exploration and negotiation of individuals with multiple cultural backgrounds.
This process is meant to support not only more congruent hybrid identities, but
also transform the vulnerabilities of this population in increased resiliency and
strength. A composite case is used to illustrate this clinical approach.

ARTICLE HISTORY Received 27 April 2021; Accepted 5 October 2021

KEYWORDS Identity development; somatic identity; hybridation; code-switching; embodied culture;

resiliency; multiple identities

One consistent trend in the last several decades has been the increasing
number of multiracial individuals in the United States (Jones et al., 2021;
Parker et al., 2015). Although part of this trend is due to the redesign of
census measurements, it also reveals deeper ongoing transitions: a demo­
graphic shift in the population (Jones et al., 2021; Parker et al., 2015), a
cultural change leading to less stigma around multiracial identities
(Townsend et al., 2009; Yazdiha, 2010), and a centring of public discussions
on identity and race in the United States (Marshburn et al., 2021).
In parallel, a growing body of research shows specific mental health vulner­
abilities for this demographic group (Binning et al., 2009; Downie et al., 2004;
Shih et al., 2010; Suzuki-Crumly & Hyers, 2004; Townsend et al., 2009; Villegas-
Gold & Tran, 2018). However, there has been little emphasis on the therapeutic
approaches and treatment to address these challenges; instead, the research

CONTACT Laia Jorba Galdos l.jorba@sensorimotor.org 100 Arapahoe Av, Unit 9, Boulder, CO
80302, USA
© 2021 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.
This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-
NoDerivatives License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/), which permits non-commercial re-use,
distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited, and is not altered,
transformed, or built upon in any way.
82 L. JORBA GALDOS AND M. WARREN

‘has focused largely on the documentation of racial identification, analysis of

psychological adjustment, and understanding the broader political conse­
quences of mixed-race identification’ (Rockquemore et al., 2009, p. 13).
Additionally, the diversification of the population is in high contrast with
the homogeneity of the counselling field, which continues to be predomi­
nantly white (Lin et al., 2018). It has also been shown that therapist’s identity
development is positively correlated with multicultural competences (Vinson
& Neimeyer, 2003); this could be a challenge for white therapists who tend to
be less aware of their own cultural and identity background (Hays et al., 2008).
It follows the need to further develop the counsellors’ sense of identity so
they can offer culturally sensitive interventions, including facilitating pro­
cesses of identity development and expression for their clients. After all, as
Ratts and colleagues posed: ‘The social construction of identity is a more
dynamic and complex social phenomenon than had been originally concep­
tualized by the nascent multicultural counselling literature’ (2016, p. 31). New
approaches in multicultural counselling will need to count less on gathering
knowledge and clinical skill about specific groups, and more on capacities to
engage in an open process of exploring intersectionality of identities.
Furthermore, with few exceptions (Caldwell, 2016; Pass Erickson, 2020; Pope,
2020; Warren Edelman, 2018) the available research on identity development and
expression has not provided enough focus on its somatic and non-verbal aspects.
Not only is the first experience of the self somatic (Fogel, 2009), but also the non-
verbal interactions with others assert and define who the person is and what their
position is in the social hierarchy (Johnson, 2015; Johnson et al., 2018).
This article advocates for a clinical and applied focus on clients’ develop­
ment and expression of multiple identities in a situational context, and for the
inclusion of sensorial and somatic elements in examining and negotiating
those identities. These processes aim at facilitating identity integration, redu­
cing mental health and physical costs, as well as increasing the resiliency and
opportunities available to this specific population. A composite case is used
to illustrate this clinical approach and interventions.

The body as self: sensorial and somatic markers of identity(ies)

Although Cartesianism galvanised the birth of modern science and medicine,
it also established the hierarchical position of reason over body, fostering a
legacy of little understanding on how somatic experiences contribute to
psychological processes (Mehta, 2011). This can be seen in early models of
identity development, which mainly focused on cognitive processes as foun­
dation of the self (Caldwell, 2016). More recently, efforts have been made to
claim the importance of sensorimotor processes as defining factors of identity
formation and expression throughout the lifespan (Caldwell, 2016; Pass
Erickson, 2020).
 BODY, MOVEMENT AND DANCE IN PSYCHOTHERAPY 83

Earlier work shows that the development of an embodied cultural identity

unfolds through ongoing sensorimotor exposure and interaction within one’s
own community of belonging (Dosamantes-Beaudry, 1997; Foster, 2014); this
identity is both perceived, shaped and mostly expressed without conscious
awareness. For Bennett and Castiglioni (2004), embodying a culture is an
experience, which rests on becoming aware of the sensorial stimuli one
receives from the space and people around. Such environmental cues can be,
for example, sounds like water being sprinkled on an earth floor; the blended
smell of gasoline from cars and trash in the streets; the distance between
people when greeting each other; the length of eye contact in a conversation;
or perhaps, the level of touch between two people – all non-verbal signals
letting a person know they are in a particular cultural context. Embodying a
culture also involves an implicit body memory that unfolds in dialogue with
these environmental cues, shaping unique movement gestures and styles that
are culturally bound (Cohen & Leung, 2009). As Dosamantes-Beaudry
described, ‘The latent aspects of a culture are most readily revealed through
non-verbal modes of expression – through the way members of a particular
culture use their senses, gesture, move, organize themselves spatially, create
interpersonal distances and create synchronous rhythms’ (1999, p. 227).
These implicit somatic memories become the foundation of categorisation
processes of what feels ‘familiar’ and ‘unfamiliar,’ and contribute to an uncon­
scious classification of ‘me’ versus ‘not me’ (Dunham et al., 2008; Ogden et al.,
2021). Because these categories are not only defined by the immediate context
of the individual, but also by the socio-political environment, they are also
linked with social norms of ‘good’ and ‘bad.’ The associations between somatic
perceptions of others (for example, specific movement styles, speech and
gestures) and a societal moral valance constitute the subliminal basis of inter­
group prejudices (Moore & Yamamoto, 2012).
In addition, non-verbal communication is one of the most hidden aspects of
socio-political dynamics (Ellyson & Dovidio, 2012; Johnson et al., 2018). Johnson
(2009, 2015) and Gard (2003), for example, highlight the importance of non-verbal
messages in the subjection of marginalised groups, accomplished through repe­
titive gestural reminders, which often go unnoticed and become internalised
conventions. These conventions define who can speak/interrupt first, initiate
touch, have larger kinespheres, move with less formality, etc. (Johnson, 2009,
2015). In this sense, the repertoire of movement available to each identity
category in a particular context is socially and dialogically constituted.

Identities in multiple contexts and the negotiation of the self

Some critiques of traditional identity developmental models make overt their
individualistic focus over collectivistic views (Schachter, 2005); or their focus
on developmental trajectories of people of the dominant group (read white),
84 L. JORBA GALDOS AND M. WARREN

which tends to relegate aspects of racial/ethnic development to the side

(Harrell & Gallardo, 2008). There have been already a few contributions to
study the development of multiracial identities (McClain, 2004; Poston, 1990;
Renn, 2000; Rockquemore & Brunsma, 2002). One of the critical foci of this
literature is how the different ethnic/racial identities are negotiated and in
what degree do they integrate. In what follows, the article focuses on this
process of identity negotiation in a situational context.
The shifting between particular cultural/ethnic aspects of the self, known as
code-switching, initially arose in the field of linguistics as a way to describe the
unique decision-making processes that occurred for bilingual or multilingual
individuals as they chose which language to use in particular contexts (Heller,
1988). This concept was applied and extended to the mental and behavioural
shifts experienced by individuals with two or more cultural backgrounds in
response to environmental cues, which is now being referred as cultural frame
switching (Benet-Martínez et al., 2002; Hong et al., 2000). These concepts have
already begun to be applied to body psychotherapy (Warren Edelman, 2018)
and to dance movement therapy (Desmond, 1997; Hanna, 1990; Pope, 2020) to
define the lived experience of alternating between two or more somatic codes.
While somatic code-switching or body bilingualism presupposes concrete
and discrete categories of identity that are turned on and off depending on
the environmental cues, the notion of hybridisation evokes more fluid,
dynamic and continuous dialogues (Hall & Nilep, 2015; Yazdiha, 2010;
Zentella, 1997). This process describes how direct and indirect exposure to
multiple cultures and subcultures leads to unique combinations and fusions,
as well as the creation of new forms, practices and styles of movement
(Herman & Kempen, 1998). However, as highlighted by Benet-Martínez et al.
(2002), the outcome of this somatic hybridisation depends to a large extent
on the congruence or opposition of the different identities of the individual.
Immigration trajectories present additional nuances on processes of hybri­
disation (McDonald, 2010; Morariu, 2020). When a migrant interfaces with the
host cultural environment, hybridisation processes are also dependent on the
identity developmental stage of the individual (for example, emigrating as a
child is not the same as doing so as an adult), the reasons to emigrate, the
length of time since emigrating and the level of homogeneity/diversity of the
community where the person resides, among other things (Huynh et al., 2011;
McDonald, 2010). Additionally, the longer the time the person is away from
their own culture, the more distant is the lived experience of those origins,
while simultaneously lacking a felt sense of belonging to any of their affiliated
cultures. This state of ‘cultural homelessness’ (Vivero & Jenkins, 1999) can
arise not only for long-term migrants, but also for mixed raced individuals as
well as adoptees that hold identities from non-dominant races/ethnicities.
 BODY, MOVEMENT AND DANCE IN PSYCHOTHERAPY 85

These individuals face the ongoing perception in both the host and/or
dominant society, as well as their cultures of origin, as being ‘other’ or
‘different,’ never completely finding acceptance in any one cultural context.

The costs to the cultural body and embodiment as a resource

Several studies have highlighted the harmful costs of holding multiple iden­
tities in a hierarchical society where they do not conform with the acceptable
norm. Impacts identified include increased levels of anxiety and depression,
decreased cognitive and emotional flexibility and a permanent state of low
hypervigilance (Binning et al., 2009; Downie et al., 2004; Rockquemore et al.,
2009; Shih et al., 2010; Suzuki-Crumly & Hyers, 2004; Townsend et al., 2009;
Vivero & Jenkins, 1999). This also correlates with poorer physical health, such
as higher stress, and increased heart rate and blood pressure (Harrell et al.,
2003; Paradies et al., 2015).
Not only is the body the first foundation of one’s ethnic/racial/cultural
identities, as well as the locus of negotiation of societal norms, but it is also
the first responder to trauma (Ogden et al., 2021; Walters et al., 2011). When a
person detects danger, it is often first neurocepted through non-verbal cues
such as a threatening posture, flat or low-pitch vocal tones, and lack of facial
expressions (Porges, 2017). This estimation of danger happens outside of
consciousness, an appraisal done in mere moments that directly affects
how the nervous system prepares the body to respond (Ogden & Minton,
2000). In a hierarchical society, these responses to danger may also be
triggered by cultural introjections of difference (Ogden et al., 2021).
When there is little awareness of these somatic reactions to threat or cues
for safety and belonging, the mind fills the blanks with narratives often drawn
either from former traumatic experiences and/or societal prejudices (Ogden
et al., 2021). Additionally, being unaware of and not knowing how to process
automatic and defensive reactions can result in a sense of puzzlement,
confusion, and exhaustion, which depletes energy and produces chronic
movement and body tensions, eventually unfolding in both physiologic and
psychological chronic ailments (Ogden & Minton, 2000).
However, the body can also be the source of medicine and metabolisation
of these experiences (Ogden et al., 2021), as well as the locus to hold more
congruent identities (McDonald, 2010; Morariu, 2020). Individuals with multi­
ple cultural backgrounds can develop a unique resiliency emerging from the
need to move between communities (Dokter, 1998; Vivero & Jenkins, 1999;
Warren Edelman, 2018). At the same time, individuals of the non-dominant
culture/race can mediate many of those highlighted negative impacts
through embodiment practices (Leighton, 2018; Menakem, 2021) and the
development of racial identity and pride (Utsey et al., 2008). Bringing aware­
ness both to an individual’s somatic identity and safety cues helps them
86 L. JORBA GALDOS AND M. WARREN

gauge personal responses to their environment. This prevents reacting beha­

viourally in a prejudiced or fearful manner by consciously utilising somatic
resources to ground the self, metabolise different levels of activation and
make decisions around protection and resourcing.

Clinical approach and interventions to work with multiple

identities
In what follows, the authors describe a clinical approach to support clients in
developing a multiracial identity that moves towards integration (Poston, 1990),
blendedness (Lilgendahl et al., 2018) or hybridation, while being situated in
specific contexts (Renn, 2000). In addition, from a somatic counselling lens, the
authors intend to frame this process as a culturally responsive embodied explora­
tion. The understanding is that developing an embodied multicultural identity has
a positive impact on the well-being and resiliency of the client. A composite case is
used to illustrate the process of a) mapping identities: identifying somatic markers
of different heritages; b) moving identities: negotiating the foreground-back­
ground dynamics between different cultural contexts; c) integrating identities:
exploring the hybridisation of somatic codes of movement and new forms of
expressing the self; and d) resourcing identities: finding somatic resources to
regulate the costs of multiple identities and oppression dynamics.

Composite case study: Yatzil

Yatzil was a cisgender female-identified client in her mid-forties. She was
mixed-race born in the United States, and currently lived in Denver, Colorado.
Her mother was a Latina born in Oaxaca, Mexico, who emigrated as an adult,
and her father was a white man from Iowa, United States. She was the third
child of four siblings: quiet, sensitive, alert to others’ needs around her, and
among all, the one that matched her mother’s darker skin. She worked as a
teacher in a private high school with a predominantly white demographic for
both students and teachers, lived in the same neighbourhood as her mother’s
and relatives from Oaxaca, and was single. She came to therapy to address
depressive symptoms, the hurt from multiple racial microaggressions experi­
enced throughout her life and more recently at work, and a sense of not
belonging anywhere.

Mapping somatic identities

As part of the initial intake, it was relevant to explore with Yatzil how her
identities and cultural contexts had shaped the symptoms she was pre­
senting in therapy. Although Yatzil was acutely aware of her racial
identities and how they impacted her daily life, she was disconnected
 BODY, MOVEMENT AND DANCE IN PSYCHOTHERAPY 87

from her own somatic experience of these realities. This became one of
the first goals in therapy. The therapist led the client into a guided
imagery exercise to identify: a) body posture and kinaesthetic or physical
movement qualities associated with specific identities; b) sensorial com­
ponents of her identities; and c) the differential use of personal, inter­
personal and public space (proxemics).
Yatzil, with the support of the therapist, would recall different scenes to
study how she moved and interacted in a particular social space, as if it were a
silent movie. Through this experiential exercise, Yatzil connected specific
movements, gestures, and senses to her Mexican or white identities. She
also studied how she showed up and expressed herself in her workplace
using this visualisation exercise. As Yatzil went through recalling these differ­
ent contexts, she began identifying qualifying words, affective tones and
internalised messages for each space, which were drawn in a map for future
reference in therapy (see Figure 1).

Figure 1. Mapping somatic identities.

88 L. JORBA GALDOS AND M. WARREN

Moving identities
After the map was drawn, the therapist supported Yatzil’s embodied
exploration of these identities by using an experiential movement exer­
cise (See Figure 2), adapted from the Identity Expression Infinity Loop
(Warren Edelman, 2018). They focused first on the differences between
the maternal and paternal sides of her family. Yatzil was invited to
choose two places in the room separated by at least 5–10 steps, with
one location symbolising her mother’s family (Point A) and another her
father’s (Point B). The therapist guided her to place herself in the middle
of the two points (Neutral Space), and to mindfully explore what she
noticed in her somatic reactions, emotional responses and cognitions
when she oriented her body towards each point: Yatzil was able to
look comfortably and directly towards Point A, and felt an inner pull
through a reach impulse in her arms and hands, while also sensing a
slight discomfort in her upper body, which she associated with ‘too much
energy.’ In contrast, when orienting towards Point B, Yatzil retreated
slightly, and noticed an internal slower pace, with a shallower breath,
which was both easier and slightly more uncomfortable. By switching
between each of these contrasting reactions, Yatzil observed how her
body unconsciously reacted to specific racial environment/cultural con­
text in a unique way, with different somatic responses, movement
impulses, and internalised beliefs.
Over the course of a number of sessions, Yatzil deepened this experi­
ence by introducing different movement qualities as she physically alter­
nated between Points A and B. She was encouraged to let her body
inform her present moment awareness with more somatic details, and to
allow her movements to unfold their own narratives, while the therapist
mirrored with movements and supported with verbal reflections. Yatzil
described the felt sense of her Mexican identity as expansive, which she
noticed in the way she moved her body: her movement style in that
familial context was looser and filled a larger kinesphere. She also
observed an increased pattern of touching and showing affection,
which she loved. However, Yatzil shared that sometimes being with her
Mexican relatives also felt overwhelming, specifically the loud and quick
pace of the speech. When the therapist supported the client in accessing
felt sense memories of her white side of the family, Yatzil noticed inner
shifts in her body and behaviour. She reported an internal respite and
quiet, was able to feel a slower pace and less stimulus from the environ­
ment, which resulted in a calmer nervous system. She also shared long­
ing for more capacity to move freely and connect through touch, as she
felt slightly more restricted, as if she was hiding.
 BODY, MOVEMENT AND DANCE IN PSYCHOTHERAPY 89

Figure 2. Moving identities loop.

Integrating identities
After exploring her response to both environments, Yatzil was asked to notice
the physical modifications that occurred while transitioning between Points A
and B, including what she was repressing or expressing. Through moving
between these two cultural contexts, Yatzil gained insight into this unique
state of not belonging and became aware that she was not feeling ‘at home’
in either place. With the support of the therapist, Yatzil started breaking down
her ‘either-or’ expectations of identity by exploring her felt sense of ‘home.’
Through repetition, practice and increased awareness, Yatzil gained com­
fortability with the transitions between those two contexts. She began to
identify not only elements that were constant, but also a new way of moving:
a personal hybridisation form or third language that talked about who she
was, transcending altogether the binary cultural frame switching. Yatzil
noticed a certain tilt of the hip that was less rigid, and a sense of expansive­
ness (specifically an elongation of the neck), combined with fluid movements
of the arms within a medium kinesphere (neither too large nor too small) and
a slight vertical presence. She mentioned that she was feeling both calm and
playful, and she could ‘touch’ others with her words of affection. These subtle
embodiments were both part of her movement style, as well as the hybrid
embodiment that encompassed parts of her Mexican and white backgrounds
(Figure 3).
90 L. JORBA GALDOS AND M. WARREN

Figure 3. Integrating hybrid identities.

By taking the time to play and embody somatic cues and movements,
Yatzil gained a sense of uniqueness, an increased feeling of belonging (even
though never fully) in both communities, and an identity pride that made her
feel stronger. She was at peace with her mixed expression of cultures; she had
found her cultural home in her own body.

Resourcing identities
Because, as it has been pointed out, multiple identities in unequal societies
are associated with higher costs to the body, a big focus of the therapy was
on resourcing the client, especially at her workplace, a predominantly white
high school. With the support of the therapist, Yatzil worked on recognising
what helped her the most in different cultural contexts, specifically identify­
ing a somatic resource that felt unique to her. She noticed an extension of her
neck as part of her ‘third code,’ which after being asked by the clinician, she
associated with the belief ‘I can be here.’ She took that resource and started to
practice bringing it into more hostile environments, for example, her work­
place. While noticing her neck elongating, Yatzil could also keep the rest of
her body protected with a slight increase on muscle tone (less expansive
movements and more contained gestures), which felt less vulnerable.
At the same time, while exploring her body adaptations to different
cultural contexts, Yatzil was also able to find consistent expressive elements.
In both places, she described herself as a quiet and bright person, eager to
support others, while having a kind and gentle presence. She talked about
this internal state as a ‘warm sun that is always with me if I pay attention,’
 BODY, MOVEMENT AND DANCE IN PSYCHOTHERAPY 91

even as she moved into more hostile environments. She was happily sur­
prised to share that she had the power to turn down the intensity of that sun
or to turn it up, but that it was always ‘there.’
Therapist and client practiced how to embody these resources by both
visualising future situations that the client was nervous about. She worked
with the support of the therapist to explore the negative impact of racism and
microaggressions on her body at her workplace, specifically studying the
somatic responses she noticed at her faculty meetings. In this case, Yatzil
realised how her white faculty colleagues interrupted her more often than
others and quickly diminished her contributions as non-important. In those
instances, her immediate impulse was to lower her head towards the right,
averting the eyes and retreating into silence. She reported feeling shame,
which was paired with the belief ‘I am stupid.’
Through conversations with the therapist that helped her contextualise
those gestures as non-verbal societal norms, Yatzil was able to also see how
her colleagues were occupying and colonising the space while silencing her.
She also identified her automatic introjected racism, expressed through the
posture of submission and her negative self-belief. With this awareness and
the resources built in therapy, Yatzil started to regulate her internal states by
bringing her ‘internal sun’ and the somatic resources she had identified. This
increased her capacity to make choices regarding when to advocate for
herself in the faculty meetings or with other peers and when to choose
protection and withdrawal. Through this somatic exploration in context,
Yatzil also recognised how this submission pattern had played throughout
her life and how it was reinforced every time she experienced a microaggres­
sion or a racist behaviour. With this framework of reference, Yatzil was more
able to identify somatic triggers when facing lack of safety, increasingly
trusting herself to regulate her body and choose appropriate responses (e.
g., sometimes calling others out, sometimes removing herself from the situa­
tion), while uncoupling these reactions from her introjected racism and
negative self-perceptions. The therapist and the client also practiced transi­
tioning through movement loops between oppressive situations and safe
situations, to increase the capacity for the body to take action. After a few
months, Yatzil reported decreased powerlessness, confusion and exhaustion
in daily interactions, as well as reduced body tensions that she was not aware
she had been carrying for so long, paired with increased self-esteem and
pride, while starting to consider a job change.

Conclusion
In recognition of the increasing numbers of individuals with multiple cultural
backgrounds, this article has highlighted the need to conceptualise the
development and expression of identity throughout the lifespan and
92 L. JORBA GALDOS AND M. WARREN

incorporate this process in the therapy room. This presents counsellors with
an opportunity to foster cultural sensitivity and increase their capacity to
support clients in their unique exploration on how these identities dialogue
and intersect with each other in a situational reality. Past literature on identity
development and expression has neglected the role of the body: this article
has advocated for placing the body in the foreground for housing cultural
identities, but also as a fundamental therapeutic avenue to provide cultural
cues and resources to support the expression of those identities in complex
societies. The process of ‘mapping’ and ‘moving’ identities provides an ave­
nue towards cultural embodied expression by bringing awareness to the
unconscious nature of the movement and body qualities of identity.
Additionally, these tools also facilitate the identification of non-verbal expres­
sion of societal norms and a bottom-up understanding of how individuals
perpetrate or respond to microaggressions, as well as its relationship to
internal biases. This, in turn, increases perspective and facilitates differentia­
tion, decolonisation of bodies from external impositions, metabolisation of
stress on the body and building somatic resourcing templates for the client.
In sum, these tools help transforming the challenges and costs of subjugation
into intercultural flexibility and resiliency.

Limitations and future directions

While the article focuses on race and ethnicity dynamics, the authors have also
been applying this approach to other identities. Furthermore, although the
composite case study centres the client’s identity exploration, it is important to
acknowledge that the therapist-client dynamic in the therapy room is a process
of co-creation. It will be important in the future to expand this framework to the
therapist’s awareness of their own identity, as well as to how societal re-
enactments can occur from body-to-body exchanges in the therapeutic
room. The authors believe these skills and framework will increase counsellors’
cultural sensitivity and capacity to work with diversity and intersectionality by
increasing their ability to dialogically negotiate body-to-body how to welcome
all parts of one’s own self and to be human with each other.

Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes on contributors
Laia Jorba Galdos, LPC, PhD (she/ella), is a Catalan lecturer, counsellor, supervisor and
mentor, originally from Barcelona and migrant by choice to the United States. She
holds a MA in Somatic Counseling from Naropa University and is a faculty member at
 BODY, MOVEMENT AND DANCE IN PSYCHOTHERAPY 93

the Sensorimotor Psychotherapy Institute. Laia works with community-based pro­

grammes and has a private practice, focusing on embodied experience of migration
and somatic trauma. She has taught nationally and internationally.
Marcia Warren, LPC (she/her) provides counselling, consulting, and training in the
areas of cultural awareness, embodied identity, equity and inclusion, and intercultural
communication. She holds a MA in Somatic Counseling from Naropa University and is
the creator of her own therapeutic model, Embodied Code-Switching ®. Marcia is
proud of her heritage and identifies herself as an enrolled member of the Santa Clara
Pueblo, an indigenous (or Tribal) nation in New Mexico, and as Brazilian-Italian.

ORCID
Laia Jorba Galdos http://orcid.org/0000-0003-1695-0337
Marcia Warren http://orcid.org/0000-0001-8130-9330

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