Am J Dance Ther (2013) 35:142–168

DOI 10.1007/s10465-013-9158-x

Moving Grief: Exploring Dance/Movement Therapists’

Experiences and Applications with Grieving Children

Ellen Philpott

Published online: 16 August 2013

 American Dance Therapy Association 2013

Abstract Current studies in children’s grief and bereavement illuminate that

creative arts therapies may support children in the sharing and healing of their
experiences with a death loss. However, theories or models suggesting the specific
role of dance/movement therapy as a possible creative intervention for this popu-
lation have not yet been published. This qualitative study is designed to explore the
experiences of dance/movement therapists who have worked with children grieving
a death loss. Second, this research seeks to elucidate how dance/movement thera-
pists’ experiences with this population may inform their choices to use specific
clinical interventions. The results of this study highlight themes that may be relevant
in dance/movement therapy applications with grieving children, and is meant to
provoke further discussion and continued research that may allow for the devel-
opment of new dance/movement therapy models within grief studies.

Keywords Dance/movement therapy
Grief
Children
Bereavement
Death

Introduction

Change is inevitable throughout the lifespan of human experience. Every movement

of the body incorporates transformation and death on varying levels. Whether these
changes occur when a toddler develops from crawling into the mastery of walking,
or as the heart rate slows when one is drawing their last few breaths, the emotional
impact of these bodily shifts can be, paradoxically, what shapes the journey of
living.
For many people, the death loss of a loved one raises existential questions that are
ripe for exploration in a therapeutic setting. Within the fields of grief studies, grief

E. Philpott (&)
Dance/Movement Therapy, Somatic Counseling Psychology, Naropa University, Boulder, CO, USA
e-mail: ephilpott@students.naropa.edu

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counseling, and psychotherapeutic literature, several models for working with

grieving clients are offered. However, when children grieve, they may not be able to
verbalize their processes in ways that traditional talk therapies support. Creative arts
therapies have been utilized with this population; however, suggestions for
specifically incorporating dance/movement therapy as a creative intervention with
grieving children have not yet been illuminated in theoretical discussion or research
studies. Thus, this qualitative research study seeks to explore and uncover three
dance/movement therapists’ experiences with grieving children, as well as possible
themes and clinical interventions specific to dance/movement therapy that may be
integral when working with this particular population.
For the scope and nature of this article, it is important that specific concepts are
clarified. Grief and grieving used in this research refer specifically to ‘‘the process of
experiencing the psychological, social, and physical reactions to your perception of
loss’’ (Rando, 1988, p. 11). This study focuses its exploration of grief and grieving
specifically on children’s losses of loved ones due to death. Types of death loss that
are mentioned in this study vary, depending upon what the interviewed dance/
movement therapists recalled about the children with whom they worked. The term
bereavement refers to the ‘‘state of having suffered a loss’’ (Rando, 1988, p. 12).
Within this study, client/s includes the children in this particular bereaved state who
are suffering the loss of a loved one due to a death.
The term children is distinguishably broad in this study, due to the dance/
movement therapists’ experience with bereaved populations ranging in ages from
three through 24. The wide span of childhood ages included in this research may
more accurately reflect studies on the developmental stages of children who are
grieving. Fleming and Adolph (1986) present a model suggesting that the
development of bereaved children, as opposed to children who have not experienced
a death loss, may be quite ‘‘different’’ and ‘‘distinct’’ because the ‘‘conflicts of
grieving collide with those of ego development’’ (pp. 102–103). Balk (2011) also
points to Blos’s (1979) study that later adolescence for any teenager extends into
age 22, with the reminder that ‘‘reaching the age of 22 does not propel one
automatically out of the phase of later adolescence and into conscientious
adulthood’’ (p. 3). Balk’s concluding argument suggests that bereaved children
may reach differing levels of maturity and empathic ability at different points than
their peers who have been unaffected by loss.
This study refers to dance/movement therapy (DMT) as defined by the American
Dance Therapy Association (2009): ‘‘The psychotherapeutic use of movement to
further the emotional, cognitive, physical, and social integration of the individual’’
(‘‘About dance/movement therapy,’’ para. 1). The specific psychotherapeutic use of
movement, as stated above, is also referred to in this study as DMT skills,
applications, and clinical interventions.
Within this research, semi-structured interviews of three dance/movement
therapists who have worked, or are currently working, with grieving children were
conducted. A variety of questions were posed to allow each dance/movement
therapist to share his and her experiences and to reflect on if, and how, these
experiences inform the clinical interventions chosen with this population. General
and open-ended in their nature, the questions first collected demographics about the

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participants and then developed into conversations that were guided and informed
by the researcher’s proposal to gather an initial understanding about how dance/
movement therapists work with children and grief. Questions delved into areas of
the participants’ experiences and interventions, competencies that they feel may be
unique to working with children and/or grief, and the concept of empathy.
Major themes from the transcribed interviews were extracted through a multi-
step coding process. The results from this study highlight the nascent understanding
of how dance/movement therapists may use their own body-based knowledge and
clinical DMT skills to provide a safe therapeutic environment that may offer
important outlets for expression and possible healing for the grieving child.

Literature Review

The literature for this study is grouped into themes based on contributions from grief
studies, grief counseling, creative arts therapies, and DMT. The first theme explores
universal stages and the individual experiences of grieving populations. Next,
research is grouped based on theories and applications of therapeutic work and
counseling with grieving populations, particularly children. Additionally, further
research findings illustrate how the process of grief may have somatic symptoms.
Finally, the limited amount of DMT research that relates to grief suggests that the
body and its experiences are often overlooked as important sources of knowledge.
This researcher constructs her questions around how the process of children’s
grieving may be further understood and supported by exploring possible DMT
applications.

Overview of Grief Theory and Models

A preliminary evaluation of grief theory offers a variety of views on how one

grieves. In her seminal work, On Death and Dying, Swiss psychiatrist Elisabeth
Kübler-Ross (1969) proposed that there are five universal stages of grief among
those who are dying: denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance. This
writing shed new light on grief, however it did not address the process that bereaved
populations may experience.
In more recent years, criticism has responded that while death is universal,
individuals experience and express grief in diverse ways (Center for the
Advancement of Health, 2004; Doughty & Hoskins, 2011; Doughty Horn, Crews,
& Harrowood, 2013; Humphrey, 2009; Konigsberg, 2011; Sponagle, 2012).
Additionally, it is important to note that Kübler–Ross did not intend for her theory
to be applied to bereaved populations, and that its misapplication may actually be
harmful (Shallcross, 2012). Researchers Maciejewski, Zhang, Block, and Prigerson
(2007) conducted a longitudinal study examining the application of this ‘‘stage
model’’ of grieving with 233 bereaved individuals. Results indicated that grief
models accounting for the ‘‘rise and fall of psychological processes’’ might provide
more clear indicators for identifying normal stages of grief (Maciejewski et al.,
2007, p. 716).

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Additionally, Doughty (as cited in Shallcross, 2012) noted that when therapists
incorporated interventions from stage models of grief, clients often fixated on fitting
into a particular experience or tried to find an end point to their grieving; neither
option allowed for their own natural processes. Doughty (2009) conducted research
that evaluated Martin and Doka’s (2000) concept of adaptive grieving styles. Using
the Delphi method, a systematic process that seeks a consensus of opinion from a
panel of experts, Doughty found agreement that supports the use of adaptive
grieving styles. This style affirms:
There are multiple factors that influence the grieving process (i.e., culture,
personality, and gender), that most bereaved individuals use both cognitive
and affective strategies in adapting to bereavement, and that bereaved
individuals experience both internal and external pressures to grieve in
particular ways. (Doughty, 2009, p. 462).
Thus, the newer model of adaptive grieving styles may support Konigsberg’s (2011)
suggestion that humans actually have a need, and are well equipped, to overcome
loss through individual expression. She further notes, ‘‘Humans have an innate
resilience,’’ (Konigsberg, 2011, p. 1) possibly affirming the notion that healing may
come from a deeper, instinctive place.

How Do Children Grieve?

Bereaved children and adults may go through similar stages of grief, however, it can
be exceptionally challenging for children to find satisfying expressions of their
feelings surrounding the loss of a loved one (Freeman, 2005; Rando, 1988). Hensley
and Clayton (2008) note that, ‘‘A child’s developmental stage plays a major role in
how a child reacts to the loss of a loved one’’ (p. 653). Depending on their age and
development, children may react to grief through new behaviors, including
confusion and defiance, because they may not yet have the cognitive and verbal
skills to process their emotions with another (Freeman, 2005; Sood, Razdan, Weller,
& Weller, 2006).
Additionally, children may grieve intermittently because they ‘‘must be certain
that their physical and emotional needs are going to be met before they can give into
their grief’’ (Rando, 1988, p. 201). Studies show that children need to be given
opportunities for play, where themes of their grieving process can emerge
organically with non-verbal expression and the use of metaphor (Doka & Tucci,
2008; Freeman, 2005; Rando, 1988; Webb, 2003). In their research of healing
among bereaved populations, Bonanno and Mancini (2008) define resilience as the
ability to ‘‘maintain relatively stable, healthy levels of psychological and physical
functioning, as well as the capacity for generative experiences and positive
emotions’’ (p. 371). These two researchers reported a 50 % resiliency rate among
the studied adults who experienced a death loss, and they called attention to the need
to extend and apply resiliency definitions and models to grieving children.
In the Harvard Child Bereavement Study, Worden and Silverman (1996)
conducted longitudinal research with a group of 125 children, ages 6–17, in their
natural course of bereavement at 3, 13, and 25 months after the death loss of a

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parent. The study measured their ‘‘wellness’’ in comparison with control groups of
non-bereaved children, using extensive diagnostic tests to assess behavioral/
emotional problems, self-efficacy, self-esteem, and their understanding of death at
the various intervals. Based on these quantitative results, the study found that
children who were coping well after 2 years had more cohesive family structure,
could communicate about their dead parent with ease, and ‘‘came from families that
tended to cope actively rather than passively and that could reframe and find
something positive in the difficult situation’’ (Worden, 2008, p. 126). Interestingly,
the study did not define ‘‘active’’ and ‘‘passive’’ coping skills. Instead Worden
(2008) suggested the benefits of active coping because it ‘‘helped the children
experience higher levels of self-efficacy and believe that they could affect what was
happening in their lives’’ (p. 126). Worden (2009) also emphasized ‘‘childhood grief
is best facilitated in the presence of a consistent adult who is able to meet the child’s
needs and help the child express feelings about the loss’’ (p. 233). From the
assertions within Worden’s multiple writings, it might be concluded that ‘‘active’’
coping skills may allow for expression of feelings and the growth of self-efficacy,
with the presence of a consistent adult in support of these needs. In their summary of
research that has offered bereavement counselors suggestions for working with
grieving children, Haine, Ayers, Sandler, and Wolchik (2008) affirmed this
assertion, ‘‘Children’s use of active coping strategies and possession of high levels
of coping efficacy have been associated with positive outcomes following the death
of a parent’’ (p. 147). The researchers name some active coping interventions as
‘‘problem-solving,’’ ‘‘positive reframing,’’ and ‘‘support-seeking’’ (Haine et al.,
2008, p. 147). Thus, it is apparent that many studies highlight the importance of
‘‘active’’ interventions to support grieving children, however, none highlight the use
of movement as a potential outlet of expression for grieving children. Yet, theory
does support the larger umbrella of creative arts therapies as active interventions,
which offer tools for self-expression and self-efficacy among grieving children.

Utilizing Creative Arts Therapies with Grieving Children

The individual expression that the model of adaptive grieving styles supports, in
addition to providing children opportunities to play, along with offering support for
resiliency through generative experiences and positive emotions, may possibly be
found in the application of creative arts therapies with grieving children. Scientific
studies correlating the possible benefits of creative arts therapies with grieving
children are extremely limited; however, theory and case studies highlight how
these active applications may be supportive.
Fischman (2009) writes about DMT as an ‘‘enactive approach,’’ suggesting,
‘‘individuals know the world through their own actions’’ (p. 35). Additionally, art
therapist Cathy Malchiodi (2008) writes that creative interventions with grieving
children offer many benefits, including ‘‘pleasure in making, doing, and inventing;
play and imagination; and enhancement of self-worth through self-expression’’
(p. 19). Additionally, Malchiodi suggests that creative expression supports
containment and control with traumatic material, through ‘‘active’’ participation
in therapy. Also, in addressing what theorists have written about grieving children

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needing different outlets for expression of their feelings, rather than just
verbalization, Malchiodi (2008) notes, ‘‘art, play, music, or movement can provide
the necessary means to reenact the feelings and sensations associated with traumatic
experiences’’ (p. 19). In her own case studies and personal experience, Webb (2003)
notes that creative arts therapies have rationale in working with grieving children
because ‘‘feelings are often released more readily in non-verbal form’’ (p. 406).
Additionally, in Peng’s (2010) case study with a child who lost loved ones in an
earthquake, she found that ‘‘through the utilization of expressive materials, children
may reveal their inherent thoughts and feelings, learn to deal with terrible emotions,
find solutions to their concerns, and then activate the healing process’’ (‘‘The
application of expressive art materials,’’ para. 1).
Within active interventions one important concept mentioned earlier is the
inclusion of a consistent adult who can support a grieving child’s self-expression
and needs. Typically, this might include a surviving parent or caregiver, but it is also
important to note how practitioners working with grieving children can offer their
own active interventions through the empathic therapeutic relationship.

Active, Empathic Role of a Therapist

The empathic therapeutic relationship is named as an important intervention within

grief counseling literature. For example, in Hedman’s (2012) sampling of 123
college-faculty’s attitudes toward grieving students and their likelihood to provide
referrals and course accommodations, it was determined, through scientific
measurements, that empathy was one of the significant predictors. Also, Donna
Schuurman (2008), past President of the Association for Death Education and
Counseling, states, ‘‘Our role—whether as play therapists or counselors, grief
support practitioners or psychologists, funeral directors or medical staff—is to help
the children and families we serve to make meaning through feeling felt’’ (p. 258).
Additionally, grief counselor and theorist Alan Wolfelt (2005) makes a distinction
between resolving grief and serving as a companion to the grieving process, through
companioning, an intention is made to stay with the bereaved person’s pain and
honor it, rather than trying to ‘‘fix’’ them.
Within DMT, several interventions are utilized to promote emotional resonance
between the therapist and client. One specific active intervention is mirroring, which
‘‘involves imitation by the therapist of movements, emotions, or intentions implied
by a client’s movement, and is commonly practiced in order to enhance empathy of
the therapist for the client’’ (McGarry & Russo, 2011, p. 178). Additionally, Berrol
(2006) notes that the DMT concept of mirroring is beginning to hold scientific merit
as researchers have discovered that ‘‘identical sets of neurons can be activated in an
individual who is simply witnessing another person performing a movement as the
one actually engaged in the action or the expression of some emotion or behavior’’
(p. 302).
In their own exploration of creating cohesive therapeutic groups, dance/
movement therapist Joan Wittig and art therapist Jean Davis (2012) incorporated
the ‘‘Chacian circle,’’ referring to a structure that dance/movement therapist pioneer
Marian Chace utilized. Marian Chace was known for working with schizophrenic

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and psychotic patients at St. Elizabeth’s Hospital beginning in the 1940s. She
introduced the therapeutic concepts of mirroring and movement in a circle, creating
‘‘sensitive awareness of the symbolic movement expressions that were offered and
to which there was validation and response’’ (Chaiklin, 2009, p. 7). Wittig and
Davis (2012) noted, ‘‘One way that we support a deeper entering and greater
intimacy in the group is through the use of Chacian circles,’’ and that the ‘‘use of
mirroring as a way of making relationship in improvisational movement groups
provides opportunities for individual group members to have a sense of belonging to
the group’’ (pp. 169–170).
The concept of kinesthetic empathy has also been discussed as a primary and
active component of DMT. For instance, Levy (2005) defines kinesthetic empathy
as the ‘‘therapists’ awareness of their emotional reactions to a client’’ (p. 182).
Fischman (2009) adds to this idea:
Kinesthetic empathy is a form of knowledge, of contact and shared
construction that may take many forms. It might appear through direct
mirroring and affective attunement in the dance therapist’s movements…. It
might also make use of analogy, metaphor, the telling of…story with the
movement or the patient’s verbalization (p. 48).
A dance/movement therapist’s emotional reactions to a client, as well as the active
tools which promote understanding in the therapeutic environment, can be described
as ‘‘kinesthetic,’’ possibly because they are happening consciously with awareness
of one’s bodily experience. Again Fischman (2009) notes, ‘‘The dance therapist gets
empathically involved in an intersubjective experience that is rooted in the body’’
(p. 34).
In addition, as dance/movement therapists mirror clients’ affects, they also take
active roles as witnesses. In her description of the practice of Authentic Movement,
Janet Adler (2009) suggests, ‘‘The attitude of the witness toward the mover is
nurturing, protective, empathic, and parental at times. The witness honors the
mover’s dependency on her and understands its value…sharing can reduce tension
and expand the understanding of both people’’ (p. 147). Fischman (2009) also
affirms the emotional expression of clients that is supported through this role of
witnessing: ‘‘The dance/movement therapist in the role of an observer who
participates, becomes the necessary relationship within which new emotional
experiences can develop in a safe environment of respect and trust’’ (p. 40). With
the possibility that DMT is an active intervention that may support grieving
children’s needs, it is also valuable to take note of what may be happening on a
bodily level for children who have lost a loved one due to death.

Somatic Symptoms of Grief

In addition to the studies that point to the need for emotional expression of grief, a
multitude of research also highlights somatic symptoms as a part of the grieving
process. Lieberman and Jacobs (1987) offer that ‘‘normal’’ grief includes somatic
symptoms, while ‘‘pathological’’ grief can involve changes in immune functions as
well as dysfunction within the autonomic nervous system (p. 23). Talbot (2001)

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affirms, ‘‘grief is a curiously somatic experience…the body can register sorrow as

sensitively and as involuntarily as a seismograph, that sorrow can make you sick’’
(p. 62). Scharlach and Fredriksen (1993) as well as deVries, Davis, Wortman, and
Lehman (1997) present research on grieving children who have lost their parents, as
well as grieving parents who have lost their children. Both articles report that these
populations suffered from ‘‘somatic’’ effects and symptoms up to 5 years after the
death of their loved ones. Based on their research with emotions and critical life
events, Biondi and Picardi (1996) reported that, ‘‘Emotional events may be
transduced into long-lasting brain changes, involving neurotransmitters, neuropep-
tides and receptors’’ (p. 229). Other studies suggest that somatic symptoms for
grieving children may include headaches, stomachaches, difficulty sleeping or
excessive sleeping, changes in appetite, agitation, rashes, and in extreme versions,
higher cortisol (stress) levels, and dysregulation of the hypothalamic–pituitary–
adrenal axis of the brain (Aldrich, 1995; Hagan, Luecken, Sandler, & Tein, 2010;
Wolfelt, 1996). Thus, it seems evident that grief may have lasting impact on the
physical body.
It is apparent that many studies refer to the physical, body-based symptoms of
grieving as somatic. However, this current research seems to pathologize the
somatic symptoms, rather than regarding them as meaningful cues signaling the
need for movement or expression. Researchers Lorenzi, Hardoy, and Cabras (2000)
do point out the concept of bodily involvement as important in healing life crises,
including the mental representation of the body. The authors also use the term ‘‘the
experienced body’’ to refer to how people feel their own sense of ‘‘self-identity
construction and maintenance, especially when, as in some existential critical
periods, identity physiologically faces significant modifications and hazardous
movements’’ (Lorenzi et al., 2000, p. 283).
One study by Bugge, Haugstvedt, Røkholt, Darbyshire, and Helseth (2012) notes
that while bereavement has been researched considerably in children and
adolescents, ‘‘its somatic and embodied dimensions in young people are less well
understood’’ (pp. 2160–2161). They also affirm, ‘‘Bodily reactions, physical
discomfort and somatic symptoms can reflect underlying disturbances’’ (Bugge
et al., 2012, p. 2161). These researchers implemented a Body Awareness
Programme to support bereaved adolescents to better understand and cope with
their physical sensations and experiences associated with grief. This program
included ten meetings with seven consenting adolescents, incorporating theoretical
foundations in movement, phenomenology of the body, Gestalt principles, and
bereavement studies. Researchers interviewed the participants and also taught them
tools for tracking and describing their somatic experiences, including breathing
exercises, relaxation techniques, and cognitive tools for supporting focus and
control. Results illustrated that the adolescents valued the opportunity to ‘‘focus on
their embodied experiences of ‘what their body was telling them,’’’ (Bugge et al.,
2012, p. 2166) and that they wanted to implement these techniques into their daily
lives. The researchers do note that the sample was quite small and that their study is
not generalizable, however, they also mention the significance of each adolescent
finding it easier and more valuable to speak about their grief from a lens of being
‘‘empowered’’ and in control of their bodies. These results make a case for the

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importance of including awareness of one’s bodily experience as a supportive tool

for gaining control within the grieving process. DMT may be an intervention that
has the capacity to bring in this awareness through active, non-verbal techniques.

DMT Suggestions for Working with Grief

Research on grief in the field of DMT is limited, and does not directly illuminate the
needs of bereaved children and specific interventions used to support their
processes. However, in their qualitative pilot study dance/movement therapists
Dillenbeck and Hammond-Meiers (2009) found themes relating to the needs,
experiences, and understanding of people who are dying and their caretakers. This
research may provide insight for how dance/movement therapists can work with
grieving children. One key factor in their article explains that while the body is often
a ‘‘focal point’’ in palliative care, ‘‘caretakers commented on how little discussion
takes place pertaining directly to the experience of the body’’ (Dillenbeck &
Hammond-Meiers, 2009, p. 105). Yet, the authors do offer suggestions for
prompting support and expression of the grieving process for both dance/movement
therapists and a grieving client. Interventions used in their study that may also apply
to grieving children included: witnessing the experiences of the clients to help ease
their burdens, using active imagination and fantasy to work with repressed
emotions, educating individuals on acceptance of their bodily experiences, and
using a variety of movement techniques and styles to support ‘‘new ways of being in
the world’’ (Dillenbeck & Hammond-Meiers, 2009, p. 109). The study also notes
how a dance/movement therapist who is ‘‘comfortable with her own expression and
exploration’’ around themes of ‘‘grief, loss, death, and dying is better equipped’’ to
work with clients who are themselves working with these concepts (Dillenbeck &
Hammond-Meiers, 2009, p. 110).
Another study by dance/movement therapist Callahan (2011) focused on parents
who were grieving the death loss of a child. The researcher established a DMT
group with bereaved parents, and then created a performance based on themes that
arose throughout the process. The author noted that some of the interventions within
the group included breathing exercises, writing letters to the person who died, acting
out narratives, enhancing symbolic thinking, as well as drawing, and then walking,
along a grief pathway. Callahan (2011) also recognized the value of group members
witnessing the final performance, as it allowed their internal experiences to be
outwardly expressed. Additionally, the author noted that these interventions allowed
for expression of feelings that are normally repressed on a larger societal scale.
DMT literature does not mention specific applications in working with grieving
children; thus, there is need for this research. The experience of the body and the
awareness one brings to the body may indeed affect one’s ability to express
emotions throughout the grieving process. As the research above suggests, grief has
somatic resonance, and expression of these feelings and sensations may be valuable
for the healing process. However, few studies explore the interventions that have the
potential to support children as they cope with the loss of a loved one. Having a
greater understanding of these factors can be seen as important to the field of DMT
and with grief work as well, as it may support children grieving the death loss of a

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loved one—and possibly extend to other populations—to trust, and refine, their
innate expression and bodily capacity to heal.

Methods

Qualitative inquiry was implemented in order to explore the experiences of dance/

movement therapists who have worked with, or are working with, grieving children,
and how these experiences may inform the clinical interventions they choose. The
researcher pulled qualitative methods from the principles of grounded theory by
Glaser and Strauss (1967), which allows for the ‘‘discovery’’ of data from
qualitative research, rather than identifying concepts to study from the outset.
Seidman’s (2006) in-depth interviewing guide informed the interview process, as
the researcher had strong ‘‘interest in understanding the lived experience of other
people and the meaning they make of that experience’’ (p. 9).

Participants

Convenience sampling was identified as the most effective tool for recruitment and
choosing of participants, because the researcher found during the process that the
number of dance/movement therapists working with grieving children on a regular
basis is limited. The researcher chose three participants with whom to conduct the
interviews, based on their experience as dance/movement therapists, and the criteria
that they have worked with populations of grieving children. All three participants
identified as female, and range in age from their late 20’s to late 50’s. Two
participants confirmed their racial identity as Caucasian, and one as Hispanic. The
participants have worked with grieving children either individually or in groups at
specialized grief camps, in psychiatric settings, in community health agencies,
through hospice organizations, in private practice, or a combination of the above.

Procedure

Each participant answered a series of questions lasting from 45 to 60 min (see Table 2
in the Appendix for interview questions). After the demographics at the onset of the
interview, questions led the participant toward recalling significant experiences
from her work with grieving children, as well as speaking about clinical
interventions implemented, and how she chose those interventions. Other questions
asked the participant to share skills she thought might be necessary in working
specifically with children, and with grief, as a dance/movement therapist. Each
interview closed by bringing more attention to the nature of the therapeutic
relationship in grief counseling, in addition to what might be most important for
dance/movement therapists and other clinicians to know, as a way to foster greater
understanding and improved clinical skill when working with populations of
grieving children. While each question was set, but there was allowance for natural
conversation and inquiry to arise between the researcher and participants.

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Each interview took place either over the phone or through Skype, and was audio
and video recorded. All interviews were then transcribed, read exhaustively, and
coded through a multi-layered process that included: brief attribute coding, to gather
demographics; in vivo coding, to organize direct quotes; descriptive coding, to
summarize main themes and ideas from passages within the text; and finally,
affective coding, to allow for investigation of the subjective human experience that
gives direct acknowledgment to the feelings participants may have experienced
(Sadalña, 2009). This researcher also used analytic memo writing to reflect on how
she personally related to the process of interviewing and coding, as a way of
tracking her own biases and subjective experience. Through the process of coding
and memo writing, categories were grouped into major themes that speak to dance/
movement therapists’ experiences and interventions when working with grieving
children. The results from this study attempt to offer plausible models for
supporting grieving children, as well as further developing the fields of DMT and
grief studies.

Results

Through the collection of results from the three participants’ interviews, four major
categories were garnered with eight total themes nested within, creating a nascent
understanding of the proposed research questions:
• What are dance/movement therapists’ experiences in their work with grieving
children?
• How do these experiences inform their clinical interventions with grieving
children?
Figure 1 illustrates how the four categories build upon one another: weaving the
experiences of the (1) Dance/Movement Therapist and the (2) Grieving Child into a
(3) Dynamic of Togetherness, which may further support (4) Moving Grief
Approaches that utilize DMT interventions and are informed by these experiences.
Eight themes most prevalent from all three interviews are highlighted and connected
to the participants’ experiences as dance/movement therapists and the interventions
that they use when working with populations of grieving children. While each
category and theme is interrelated and addresses both research questions, results are
structured to emphasize how categories one and two coincide mostly with the first
research question, while categories three and four brings greater illumination to the
second research question. (See Table 1 for an entire summary of results, grouped by
categories, themes, and sub-themes.)

Category One: Dance/Movement Therapist

The first category begins to offer a response to the first research question: What are
dance/movement therapists’ experiences in their work with grieving children? As
the researcher compiled themes from interviews that were most frequently reported,
it became clear that dance/movement therapists’ own experiences in their work with

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Fig. 1 Four emergent categories and eight nested themes, compiled from interviews with three dance/
movement therapists who work with grieving children

grieving children comprised the first two out of eight total themes. The first theme
included the participants noticing their own emotional and somatic responses to
their work with grieving children. The second theme was generated from how the
participants navigate the countertransference that arises from their emotional and
somatic responses.

Theme One: Emotional and Somatic Response

The word most often used when participants spoke about their emotional and somatic
response when working with populations of grieving children was heart. The heart
seems to carry the metaphor of an integral informant to this work, not only because of
what the participants feel in the moment through their hearts, but also how they
mention its capacity for transforming the experience of grief within themselves and
their clients. One therapist remarked, ‘‘The whole basis for my work with these kids is
the heart,’’ while another responded, ‘‘What I feel in my heart in that moment is
always informing me.’’ One participant stated that ‘‘To go forward, it’s through the
heart,’’ because it ‘‘connects the past and the future.’’ Two participants also relayed
that working with this population can be heart-breaking and heart-wrenching.
Other responses that the participants spoke about when working with this
population included how they are moved and touched by the children’s stories and
expressions of grief in deep, profound, powerful, and beautiful ways. One participant
discussed and validated her own terror, fear, and stress when walking into unknown
situations in her work, because it possibly mirrors what these children might be
experiencing when they have recently lost a loved one to death. She commented,
‘‘Yes, I’m scared, maybe I don’t know what to say, maybe I don’t know what to do.’’
Two participants also mentioned some of their personal experiences with grief
and relayed that they are actively invested in reflecting on their own emotions
throughout the process, because it informs their work with clients. One participant

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Table 1 Summary of results, grouped into categories, themes and sub-themes

Research Question One

What are dance/movement therapists’ experiences in their work with grieving children?

CATEGORY 1: DANCE/MOVEMENT THERAPIST

Theme 1. Noticing their own emotional and somatic response
Heart; Being “moved;” Fear; Personal experiences with grief
Theme 2. Working with this countertransference
Body regulation as a teaching tool and informant for what children might need; Compassion toward
themselves; Valuable way of gathering information

CATEGORY 2: GRIEVING CHILD

Theme 3. Feelings and expression
Openness, honesty, risk-taking, sadness, anger, joy, trust etc.; Deep emotional spaces; Importance of play
Theme 4. Relating to the person who died
Remembering and honoring
Ritual with candles; Dancing with or for their loved one; Inviting them into the room; Loved one is a part of
them; A coping skill
Feelings about that person
Love; Pride; Never getting to say goodbye; Bravery to share allows for others to self-disclose & witness
Telling the story
Dialogue, creative writing, or movement; Willingness; Need to share; Fully in their bodies
Learning about mortality and limited amount of time
Therapist’s sensitivity to timing because it may mirror child’s experience; In the moment; Making it count;
Transform the experience
Resiliency
Feeling good; Hope, courage, bravery; Feeling strong; Humor; Play; Appreciating the good memories;
Finding control; Witnessing and being seen

Research Question Two

How do these experiences inform their clinical interventions with grieving children?

CATEGORY 3: DYNAMIC OF TOGETHERNESS

Theme 5. Therapeutic relationship
Connection
Shaping; Creating a dance a relating; Cultivating a relationship; Developmental needs; Creative muse
Empathy
Major, foundation, core; Kinesthetic; Gives the work its depth; Working with it all of the time
Presence
Listening with whole body; Tracking countertransference; Doing vs. being; Comfortable with silence;
Stillness; Spontaneity; Being real in the moment

Theme 6. Containment – space, safety, and support

Physical space / therapist’s body as container
Chacian circle; Physical environment; Balance between relating to self and others; Rules & agreements;
Breath; Therapist as part of container by creating boundaries
Being witnessed, offering support
Camaraderie and community; Understanding that they are not alone; Mirroring; Less inhibitions; Asking for
help; Nourishing

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Table 1 continued

CATEGORY 4: MOVING GRIEF APPROACHES

Theme 7. Interventions used
Activities
Dancing in honor of the loved one; Use of props to allow for greater connection and play; Rocking and
singing; Story-telling through movement, art, writing, sand-tray; Moving and witnessing with a group
sculpture or marionette scenario; Breath work; Structured rhythms; Guided relaxation and yoga
Therapist’s body and self-regulation
As a teaching tool; Shaping; Internalizing coping; Self-talk; Therapist’s awareness of own emotions and
sensations; Breath; Naming and normalizing feelings of grief; Stillness and groundedness; Description
Theme 8. Potential importance of dance/movement therapy with this population
Observational skills
With non-verbal attunement; Movement patterns
Knowledge of developmental movement needs
Based on movement patterns; Attachment theory; Creating safe spaces; Offering self-reflection; Creating
new meaning; Ability to process based on age, development, and non-verbal means
Understanding of bodily impact / expressions of grief
Acknowledging social and emotional pressures from school and peers; Grief puts children in deep emotional
spaces; Relating based on the child’s feeling; Normalizing; Not isolating; Recognition of complexity
A creative way to self-regulate
Accessing holding patterns; More embodiment, more control, less anxiety; Creativity

commented, ‘‘I think relying on your own personal experience with grief is
invaluable with this population.’’

Theme Two: Working with Countertransference

Themes of countertransference are impossible to separate from the therapists’

emotional and somatic responses. Yet, this emergent theme identifies how the
participants use their own awareness of their responses as a tool in working with
grieving children. Each of them spoke about countertransference on a body-to-body
level in great detail, mentioning that what they feel—through sensations of
emotion—and how they choose to ‘‘regulate’’ themselves may also be directly
related to what the children might need in the moment. This ‘‘body regulation’’
within themselves was also named as a modeling tool for how children can learn to
be with, and respond to, their own emotions throughout the grieving process and
hopefully within other areas of their lives.
Participants also noted that active engagement in compassion toward their own
emotional and somatic responses was necessary, as it had a direct correlation with their
ability to be available to the variety of responses within grieving children. The participant
who noticed her own fear responded, ‘‘When I think there’s that acceptance and
forgiveness in ourselves as therapists…there’s that affinity there and then there’s that
acceptance of all those feelings with the child.’’ Another participant commented that:
Countertransference…[is] very much a part of the puzzle…with grieving
children. Because it’s where you can have the awareness whether this

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[intervention] is too much, or too soon, or too little, or not enough. And, you
can be better present with the client.
One of the participants also explained that to work with her own countertransference
requires focus, discipline, and experience, ‘‘in a way of being able to leave everything
else at the door and just really be there, with [the grieving children], and embrace that,
accept that, in myself too.’’ The third participant remarked, ‘‘In the moment I really
am routinely checking in with myself and noticing how I’m feeling in response to the
work we’re doing.’’ One participant summarized the value of her own countertrans-
ference awareness well, stating, ‘‘If you don’t tap into what you’re feeling on your
body level, you are missing out on all this information. It is an invaluable way of
gathering information that will ultimately inform what you’re gonna do.’’

Category Two: Grieving Child

All three participants named that their observations of children’s feelings and
expressions, as well as how children reflect on their memories and relationship to
the person who died, are some of the most significant experiences they recall in their
work as dance/movement therapists with grieving children. These responses led to
the grouping of two major themes relevant to the category of the Grieving Child.

Theme Three: Children’s Feelings and Expression

When asked what felt significant in their work with this population, two participants
noted the qualities of openness and honesty that grieving children exhibited. Another
participant noted children’s sincerity and risk-taking as well as their availability of
feelings in how they moved and spoke about their experiences. Other words the
therapists used frequently when describing what they witnessed within the children’s
sessions were vulnerability, guilt, sadness, despair, struggle, pain, and anger.
One participant spoke about working with children specifically in the grieving
process: ‘‘This feels different than other kinds of therapy. I think [how children feel]
is right there. Grief is really this propellant…to get the kids to deeper emotional
spaces than they would normally be in.’’ The other participants also felt, through
witnessing children within this process, that the ‘‘experience of grief is held in the
body.’’ With this in mind, each participant spoke about the importance of witnessing
children playing, and that it is often necessary for children to not only ‘‘express the
experience,’’ but also to ‘‘forget about it and play’’ at times. All participants also
commented on being moved by children’s expressions of eagerness, joy, and trust
with the other group members which came out through their resiliency and ability to
‘‘transform the experience.’’

Theme Four: Relating to the Person Who Died

A large part of the dance/movement therapists’ reflections in their work with this
population included how children remember and express their feelings about loved
ones who died. Throughout the participants’ conversations, five sub-themes were

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gleaned from children’s expressions of relating to their lost loved one: remembering
and honoring; feelings about that person; telling the story of loss; learning about
mortality and limited amount of time; and deepening into resiliency.

Remembering and Honoring All participants reflected on how they create the
opportunity for children to remember and honor their loved one through dancing.
One participant spoke about this experience becoming a ritual with candles. Another
participant explained that she invites children in her group to imagine dancing with
their loved ones, or dancing similar to how their loved ones would have moved, as a
gift to that special person. Another participant asks her group members, ‘‘Who
would you invite to join us in this circle?’’ She commented that many children want
their loved ones who have died to be a part of their circle. This participant relayed
how she supports the children to engage with their memories, by encouraging them
to tell the group what their loved ones would say if they were in the room.
Overall, the participants named that many children had a sense of their loved
ones being with them or a part of them. One dance/movement therapist reflected that
this remembering and honoring serves as a coping skill for children because they
‘‘experience feeling really happy…and having their feelings of love for that
person.’’ This participant also mentioned that the children could relate emotionally
and cognitively to their memories while being witnessed by a group of other peers
who have gone through a similar experience.

Feelings About that Person Each participant also spoke about the significance of
children having the opportunity to share and be heard in expressions around their
relationship to the person who died. Some children shared feelings of love and pride,
while others grieved their disappointment and sadness about never getting to say
goodbye and ‘‘wanting more opportunities to see them and talk with them.’’ One
participant recalled a memory: a teenager took a risk in front of her peers to share what
she wished she could have said to her loved one. Reflecting on the bravery of the
teenager, the participant noted that it gave her the courage to also self-disclose and
model an ability to become vulnerable as a facilitator, sharing some of her own
feelings surrounding losses in her own life. The participant chose this moment with
attention and care, so that it could support more children to witness and respond,
transferring courage and bravery to one another and building upon the group dynamic.

Telling the Story All three participants mentioned the importance of children
telling or sharing their stories about their loved ones through verbal dialogue,
creative writing, or movement. One participant commented on the children’s
willingness to share their stories, while another said that the children have this
‘‘need to tell.’’ One participant explained that:
Children, depending on their age, may or may not have the words to express
themselves, to tell their stories, to talk about their feelings. And so the work
that we do, just provides them with such rich opportunity to do it in a different
way…to tell their story, really, fully in their bodies.

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Learning About Mortality and Limited Amount of Time Each of the participants
noted that they are highly aware of the length of their own therapeutic timeframe
with children. Whether this followed the course of anticipatory grieving into a loss,
or was constrained to a one-day camp, participants mentioned how the amount of
time they had with grieving children might trigger anxiety surrounding untimely
death. Each participant spoke about how they relate to timeframes by being in the
moment, naming that ‘‘all we have is this moment,’’ or that ‘‘this might be the only
chance’’ to work with these children in this way. One therapist felt inspired because
of the time-sensitive nature of therapy, affirming, ‘‘Let’s make it count…. Let’s
make it really mean something, because…this child and this family has allowed me
into their lives, so I’m going to really just give it everything I have.’’ Another
participant explained that:
There is such a potential for using [grief work] to serve us in such a wonderful
way, to transform that experience into something positive. And I think when
working with children, with people that hopefully have a long life to live, I
would want to give them an opportunity to feel that. And to know that yes, this
is such hard work, and it’s maybe one of the hardest things that I’ll ever go
through in my life, but I’m gonna really make this count! I’m gonna do
something. This is gonna serve me in the long run.
Each participant noted that they wanted to give the children the opportunity to
transform their experiences, supporting them through modeling and teaching how to
take care of themselves—through awareness of their bodies and emotional
responses—in dire life circumstances.

Resiliency All three participants also commented on the resiliency and transfor-
mation that they witness in children through the support of groups, in how
members care for the relationships and experiences with losing a loved one. One
participant spoke about the importance of ‘‘bringing it back to a place that feels
good to you as a facilitator,’’ to model how to move through the group experience.
Another participant mentioned how the children find hope, courage, and bravery
among the group setting with their peers. She specifically supports them to regain
control and strength by asking them, ‘‘What do you do to feel strong?’’ She also
inquires about the strengths that they can rely on, in further support of how they
can ‘‘find those strengths and feelings in themselves.’’ The third participant
mentioned using humor as a way of relating with the children in their grief,
‘‘giving a way to express it that just feels good, and is empowering, and is
creative.’’ Each participant mentioned that giving children the opportunity to play,
to share happiness, to feel joy, and reflect on good memories allows them to
regain confidence in a situation that may have frequently felt out of control.
Additionally, giving children the opportunity to move through these experiences
with a group of peers and a caring adult that also have their own relationship with
grief, cultivates a willingness to being seen, as well as witnessing others, in the
full range of the grieving experience.

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Category Three: Dynamic of Togetherness

The third category begins to offer a response to the second research question how do
dance/movement therapists’ experiences with grieving children inform their clinical
interventions? As dance/movement therapists experience and feel resiliency in the
children they work with, witness the remembrance and honoring of loved ones, and
actively work with their own emotional responses, they are also planning and
offering spontaneous interventions. Each participant commented on the dynamic of
togetherness as a valuable intervention: how the co-creation of the therapeutic
relationship and the structuring of physical and emotional containment provides
necessary tools for children to actively process their grief.

Theme Five: Therapeutic Relationship

When participants spoke about the therapeutic relationships as active interventions

in their work with grieving children, they frequently reported the importance of
connection, empathy, and presence.

Connection One participant commented that in groups she has run, she introduces
an intervention she refers to as shaping, where she will ‘‘mold [my] body at a
comfortable spatial proximity with [the client].’’ She describes that with shaping,
‘‘it’s how you’re positioning yourself that is making the connection and the
intervention…because it’s really supporting [the child’s] feeling experience.’’ This
participant reflected that this interaction aids in ‘‘creating our own dance of
relating.’’ Another participant explained that in her work with children throughout
the grieving process, she has the opportunity to cultivate a whole relationship
because ‘‘there’s that awareness, there’s that connection, there’s that depth of
feeling between the therapist and the child.’’ The third participant described that
paying attention to the children’s developmental needs and her creative muse
supports her to find an appropriate way to help whomever she is with ‘‘make the
connection of what’s the good intervention here.’’

Empathy All three participants described empathy as a major factor, at the

foundation, or at the core of working with grieving children. Additionally, each
participant noted the importance of empathy on a kinesthetic or body-to-body level
as a way of understanding and creating a deeper relationship with their clients.
Participants worked with this specific kind of empathy as a tool, to try on the
children’s experiences by mirroring subtle micro-movements that the children
expressed, and then becoming aware of their own internal responses to how the
movements felt and operated within their own bodies. One participant reported that
this kind of empathy becomes second nature and is what gives the work its depth.
Another articulated that empathy is ‘‘an awareness that I work with all the time,’’
and that it is ‘‘just who I am, and how I am in my work.’’

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Presence Each participant mentioned the concept of presence several times when
speaking about the therapeutic relationships between themselves and grieving
children. One participant described presence as ‘‘really listening with your whole
body.’’ Another relayed that presence comes with tracking her own bodily
countertransference, so that she can discern how her own responses affect what is
happening in the relational dynamic between herself and the child. Two participants
mentioned how the concept of presence reminds them to not always do something
with clients, but rather to be with the variety of emotions that arise. One participant
explained that this required becoming comfortable with silence, while another
explained that incorporating moments of stillness is an important intervention, to
slow down and rest with the process. Finally, each participant mentioned that
presence requires spontaneity, or a ‘‘way of being real in the moment.’’

Theme Six: Containment—Space, Safety, and Support

While continuing to relate to the dynamic of togetherness, each participant spoke

frequently about how she creates a safe therapeutic environment through structured
physical space, her own emotional and bodily regulation, setting boundaries, and
through active witnessing.

Physical Space and Therapist’s Body as Container Each participant mentioned

using the ‘‘Chacian circle’’ as a way to provide a physically safe space for children
to work through their emotions in the grieving process. One therapist explained that
she takes the entire physical environment of the room into account when preparing
for her groups. Another participant commented that establishing a safe circle
involves not only the literal shape of each child facing one another in the circle, but
also finding a healthy balance between relating to oneself and others. To do this, the
therapist has each child hold onto a large parachute while she encourages simple
exercises in the horizontal plane of making eye contact, reaching across the circle,
and waving to one another. In this way, children can establish connection with
others while feeling themselves as a part of the whole system moving together.
Each participant frequently used the words safe place, holding, and containment
to affirm the value of regulating her own body as a way to support each child.
Participants mentioned establishing rules and agreements, in addition to directly
talking and moving with children in ways that address safety. One participant
explains that she regulates her own body through breath, and through relational
movement games so that children can ‘‘internalize another way of coping, that’s not
just cognitive…but actually really get it in their bodies and know that it’s
somewhere safe.’’ Another participant commented, ‘‘I see myself as part of that
container,’’ because she creates her own bodily therapeutic boundaries with being
firm and direct when necessary, in addition to becoming light and playful when the
children need to titrate their depth of emotion.

Being Witnessed, Offering Support Within the dynamic of togetherness, partic-

ipants also mentioned the importance of children being witnessed and offering

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support to other peers in the group. One participant spoke about the camaraderie and
the community among group members, recognizing that children understand, not
just cognitively but through a bodily experience, that they are not alone in the
grieving process. Children have the opportunity to feel understood when their
movements are mirrored or repeated back by other participants, and when they can
see that other members are moving in ways that they can relate to. Another
participant described that within the group setting there are less inhibitions and
children learn how to ask friends in the circle for help through exercises where they
build their own web of support. Additionally, one of the participants commented
that ‘‘sometimes we don’t even talk about [the grief], and we sort of provide these
experiences that, I believe, help to nourish them.’’

Category Four: Moving Grief Approaches

Taking into consideration the experiences of the dance/movement therapist, the

grieving child, and the dynamic of togetherness, participants draw upon a wealth of
knowledge to develop their own approach for working with grieving children.
Within this category, themes summarize participants’ specific activities, how they
regulate their own bodies, and why they feel that skills inherent to DMT may offer
support for grieving children.

Theme Seven: Interventions

Grouped into two sub-themes, participants spoke about specific activities that they
do with children, including the use of props, specialized movement practices, and
additional creative arts therapies, and ways of being with children, regulating their
own bodies as a teaching tool to encourage children’s integration of the techniques.

Activities The activity that all three participants reported including in their
therapeutic work with grieving children is dancing in honor of the loved one.
Additionally, each therapist spoke about how she includes props, such as scarves,
blankets, and parachutes to allow for greater connection and play among the group
members and the therapist. One participant said that she might rock younger
children in blankets and sing to them, to recreate feelings of containment and
nurturing. Each participant encourages storytelling, whether that is through
movement, art, creative writing, or sand tray therapy. One participant also
structures her adolescent groups to both move and witness one another, bringing
their feelings from an internal space into an external dialogue by directing a group
sculpture or moving a partner in a marionette scenario.
When children are deep in their experiences of grief and it is nearing time for the
session to end, participants spoke about how they often change the qualities and
efforts of the movement organically. Participants achieve these changes by working
actively with breath, as well as introducing structured rhythms as a way to organize
and contain thought and expression. One participant also mentioned using guided

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relaxation and yoga, including the Warrior Pose, to support the children to feel
simultaneously strong and rested.

Therapist’s Body and Self-regulation as an Intervention Each participant spoke

about her own bodily and affect regulation as a teaching tool for supporting grieving
children to learn how to tend to themselves, and stay in relationship to others when
their grief felt overwhelming. One participant said that as she shapes her body in
spatial proximity to a child and moves in relationship with the child’s expression of
grief ‘‘it’s really supporting their feeling experience, whatever that feeling may
be…it’s also teaching them some sort of level of self-regulation, on a body level…I
think that it’s a way for them to internalize another way of coping.’’
Another participant explained that she keeps checking in with the children as an
intervention. In one particular instance, she worked with a child who was having
nightmares and trouble sleeping at night. This therapist mentioned that she taught
the child self-talk around how to relax her body and to know that, ‘‘I’m here, I’m
safe.’’ As the participants model that they are there for the children, they are also co-
creating safe environments together. Children can then discover these ways of being
in their own bodies, and how to be present and keep themselves safe throughout the
grieving process.
Each participant also mentioned that because she has trained herself to be aware
of her own emotions and sensations as a dance/movement therapist, she also guides
the children in these techniques. For instance, two participants mentioned the
importance of beginning with the breath as a way to teach self-knowledge and
bodily presence. One participant explained:
For a lot of kids who have been traumatized by a death, I just really try to work
with getting them to breathe, and to be very present in their bodies and
understand what’s going on, on a physical body level.
Another participant demonstrated working with inhalations and exhalations of
breath, while moving her arms up and down in syncopated rhythm. One participant
also noted that she incorporates guided relaxation, physical stretching, and yoga
movements to ‘‘promote that awareness of their physical sensations during a
stressful time, and how to be aware of it, and how to breathe through it, and how to
get through those situations.’’
All participants also noted the importance of naming and normalizing feelings of
grief. One participant explained that helping children to identify the words and to
sometimes label expressions helped them anchor the experience. Another partic-
ipant said that she pays careful attention to when too much movement may become
a distraction for the child’s feeling experience; she encourages stillness and teaches
groundedness through her own body as a way of supporting the children to begin to
integrate their emotional experiences. Additionally, each participant encourages
children to describe their sensations and to create imagery and movement based on
their feeling experiences, as a way of promoting self-regulation. For instance, one
therapist asked a teenager to ‘‘describe your pain,’’ using questions to guide the
adolescent about where the pain was in her body, what the pain looked like, and

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how the pain might have moved. The participant then encouraged the client to
‘‘move that pain out,’’ so the child could feel capable of working with her emotional
experience. Using this practice of self-regulation, children can learn that their
experiences are valid, that they have the ability to move with it and change, and that
grief itself is not always all-encompassing.

Theme Eight: Potential Importance

Each participant spoke about the current gap in therapeutic practice between dance/
movement therapists and grieving children, with assertions and a variety of reasons
for why DMT might benefit this population.

Observational Skills First, participants noted the level of expertise that dance/
movement therapists cultivate with non-verbal attunement and observation of
movement patterns. One participant commented about her clients, ‘‘Their feelings
are so available even if they don’t have the words for them. You know, we see it in
their bodies, in their openness.’’ Participants noted that they are continually
observing their clients’ bodies for information, as well as their own.

Knowledge of Developmental Movement Needs Second, each participant men-

tioned that dance/movement therapists can see and embody an understanding
about the developmental stage a child may be in intellectually or emotionally,
based on their observations of a child’s movement patterns. Additionally, one
participant explained that dance/movement therapists have the capacity to
understand attachment theory from a movement perspective. This includes:
creating safe spaces in a movement circle; supporting children to build their
relational skills and work together with movements in the horizontal plane;
offering a space for self-reflection in dances that honor a loved one; in teaching
body regulation skills; and offering ways to create new meaning from the
significance of death, through communal ritual with other peers who have their
own lived experiences of grief.

Understanding of Bodily Impact and Expressions of Grief Each participant also

noted that DMT may be beneficial for grieving children because dance/movement
therapists have an understanding for how a child’s physical body and emotional
expression may be impacted by grief. All participants commented on the social and
emotional pressures that grieving children might carry if they feel different from
other peers in school. One participant explained, ‘‘These are ordinary kids in
extraordinary circumstances,’’ and that ‘‘grief puts them in deeper emotional spaces
than they would normally be in.’’ Participants described that the way dance/
movement therapists work with the body through non-verbal communication can
help to normalize the full expression of grief, supporting children to find connection
with other peers without reactivating feelings of separateness. Each participant
noted that DMT movement groups add a dimension where children can feel normal,

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where it’s okay to express their grief without fear of isolation, and where they can
allow for all of the different stages and complexities of this emotion to surface.

A Creative Way to Self-regulate When each participant specifically spoke about

the potential importance of this work with populations of grieving children, two
mentioned that grief is held in the body. Because of this, they explained, dance/
movement therapists have the capability to access those holding patterns through
support and self-regulation of the bodily experiences of grief. Another participant
recalled some of her own childhood experiences with grief, wishing that she had the
opportunity to work in movement groups. Through her DMT groups, she has
witnessed grieving children finding ‘‘more embodiment, more control, and less
anxiety.’’ Finally, one participant smiled with enthusiasm and affirmed, ‘‘It’s
creative!’’

Limitations and Suggestions for Further Research

The scope and nature of this research serves to present preliminary findings on
three dance/movement therapists’ experiences and applications with grieving
children, thus it is not meant to make any universal assumptions or claims about
how or why a dance/movement therapist should work with this population.
Additionally, while this study may present themes that could support the growth
of DMT and its use with grieving children, it is limited in its sample size. While
recruiting for interviews, the researcher found that the number of dance/
movement therapists working on a regular basis with children grieving the death
loss of a loved one is either incredibly small, or challenging to find. Because of
limited time and resources, the researcher used convenience sampling, and also
had to widen the age range of children initially proposed for this research project.
This study includes conversations with dance/movement therapists who worked
with children ranging from very early childhood, through adolescence, and into
young adulthood. However, from participants’ conversations and reviews of grief
literature, it is evident that children process concepts of death in a multitude of
ways based on their age and developmental needs. The research in this study did
not focus on grouping interventions based on different age ranges of grieving
children.
Future research may offer more substantive evidence through conducting more
aggressive recruitment strategies to work with a larger sample size, or to group
findings into what may support children in different stages of development.
Additionally, further research may be able to present DMT interventions that have
been tested and proven in some way to offer benefit to grieving children. The
researcher also recognizes that the three participants in this study identified as
female; it is important to note that the interventions discussed may be related to
the gendered social constructs of each therapist and the clients they worked with.
Further explorations may offer insight into how women, men, and transgender
therapists experience and work through personal death loss, and how this may

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affect their clinical work with young children. It may also be important to note
how and why therapists are drawn to this work, evaluating whether personal
experience with death loss may be an important competency for working with
populations of grieving children. Finally, researching different cultural values and
implicit coping skills relating to death, and the effects this has on children, may
offer insight into the therapeutic modalities that may be most supportive for
children from a variety of cultural identities.

Implications

Results from this study illuminate that three dance/movement therapists’ emotional
responses, as well as what they witnessed in their work with grieving children,
informed their clinical choices. Interventions were often in support of cultivating
safe physical and emotional environments where normalizing and honoring the full
range of expressions in children throughout their grieving processes could become
possible. It is also evident that body awareness and compassion, including the
physical and emotional responses of the heart, as well as self-regulation techniques
of breathing and moving in relationship with other group members who have been
through a loss, were key components of the techniques that were passed down from
dance/movement therapist to child. It is possible that the knowledge of mortality, as
experienced on a very profound level by both the participants and grieving children,
influences the dynamic of the therapeutic relationship and the potential for
transforming concepts of loss into moments of healing.
Body psychotherapist Susan Aposhyan (2004) writes, ‘‘When we face death, our
bodies respond. We feel it; we grieve; we move, biologically, if only for a moment,
toward death’’ (p. 260). Within the dynamic of DMT, children may have the
possibility to feel their grief, through movement and full expressions of their bodies’
responses toward death. What might it mean for a dance/movement therapist to
honor children’s embodied understandings of death? Perhaps it could mean the
surrender into moving grief: trusting the vitality of the heart’s empathic resonance
while dancing through the complexity and transformative power of emotion.

Acknowledgments The author wishes to thank The Somatic Counseling Psychology department and
her cohort at Naropa University, Dr. Christine Caldwell, Wendy Allen, Himmat Victoria, Leah D’Abate,
Jason Geoffrion, The Denver Hospice Bereavement team and her clients, and her three participants for
their inspiring words and devotion to this project.

Appendix

See Table 2.

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Table 2 Interview questions asked of each participant, grouped by themes

DEMOGRAPHICS
1. Within these categories, please share the demographics that you identity with:

- Race
- Ethnicity
- Gender
- Preferred pronoun(s)
- Age range: Under 30, 30-40, 41-50, 51-60, 61-70, 70 and above

2. What age ranges of grieving children do you work with?

3. Describe the setting and type of work you do with grieving children.

EXPERIENCES AND INTERVENTIONS

4. What have been some of the most significant experiences in your work with grieving children?

5. Have these experiences informed the dance/movement therapy interventions or models have you developed in
your work with grieving children? If so, how? If not, what informs your choices to use specific interventions in
specific situations?

COMPETENCIES UNIQUE TO WORKING WITH CHILDREN AND GRIEF

6. Are there any competencies unique to working with children, as opposed to other populations, that you feel
you need as a therapist? If so, what are they?

7. Are there any competencies unique to working with grief, as opposed to other emotions, that you feel you need
as a therapist? If so, what do you notice?

EMPATHY
[Ask this question only if participants speak about empathy earlier in the interview]
8. According to literature in grief counseling and dance/movement therapy, the empathic therapeutic relationship
serves as an important part of healing within the grieving process. Based on your experiences as a
dance/movement therapist, is there anything you would like to add regarding this concept and/or how it may or
may not relate to your work with grieving children?

CLOSING REMARKS
9. Is there anything else you would like to add to our conversation today?

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Author Biography

Ellen Philpott
E. Philpott is a recent graduate of Naropa University’s Somatic Counseling Psychology program, with a
concentration in dance/movement therapy. Ellen pursued her passion for working with dying and grieving
populations in her internship at The Denver Hospice, where she integrated DMT techniques with children,
teenagers, and adults who were anticipating or grieving the death loss of a loved one. Ellen is continually
inspired to create and engage in dance/movement therapy models that further support healing for people
throughout end of life transitions.

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