Here’s why Dance/Movement Therapy is especially valuable for the queer community:

1. Affirming Identity and Expression

Exercise: Authentic Movement Queer clients often face societal pressures to conform to heteronormative standards, which can stifle authentic self-expression. Authentic Movement involves moving with eyes closed and following inner impulses without judgment. The therapist acts as a reflective witness, prompting further exploration and connection. This can be incredibly liberating and affirming, allowing individuals to explore and embrace their identities in a supportive environment. 

2. Healing Trauma and Discrimination

Exercise: Release and Grounding Many queer individuals have experienced trauma related to discrimination, rejection, or violence. When trauma is experienced, it is common for our ability to process that event with language to shut down interfering with our ability to actually put the experience in the past, and recognize that we are now no longer in a threatening situation. Even when we do find the words, it’s not uncommon that the body seems to have not gotten the message. This can lock our bodies into a survival-mode characterized by anxious hypervigilance or depressive collapse, but almost always tension. 

The Release and Grounding exercise helps clients process these experiences somatically. By focusing on releasing tension through shaking or vibrating movements and then grounding themselves with strong, stable movements, clients can release stored trauma from their bodies, fostering a sense of safety and healing. 

3. Building Body Positivity and Acceptance

Exercise: Mirror Work with Therapist Body image issues are prevalent in the queer community, often exacerbated by societal norms and expectations. Mirror Work involves the therapist mirroring the client's movements, which can create a powerful sense of being seen and understood. This exercise engages mirror neurons, which are brain cells that respond both when we perform an action and when we see someone else perform the same action. This neural mirroring can enhance empathy, self-awareness, and body positivity - promoting a positive connection with the body.

4. Enhancing Emotional Expression and Communication

Exercise: Emotion in Motion Queer individuals might struggle with expressing emotions due to fear of judgment or past negative experiences. Emotion in Motion involves clients identifying a specific emotion and expressing it through movement. This nonverbal communication allows clients to move outside the limitations of words, helping articulate feelings that might be difficult to express verbally. This is especially true if there were experiences early in life that made it unsafe to speak these words into being. 

5. Supporting Holistic Well-being

Exercise: Felt Sensing and Movement Felt Sensing and Movement, inspired by Eugene Gendlin's concept of felt sensing, involves clients tuning into their bodily sensations that arise during the therapy session and moving in response to these internal cues. This creates a dialogue between their subconscious body sensation and the executive cognition portion of the brain. For queer clients, this practice can be especially helpful in reconnecting with their bodies, uncovering and dispelling old self-limiting stories, and integrating complex emotions related to identity, societal expectations, and personal expression.