Thania Acaron

University of South Wales · Faculty of Creative Industries

The 27th ADTA International Panel explored the journeys of dance/movement therapists who have experienced both the realities and challenges of the immigrant experience: learning a new language, leaving a familiar culture, uprooting families, leaving friends, and becoming a member of a new community. Nine panelists offered a verbal description of th...

Dance/movement therapy (DMT) in Latin America has a growing number of practitioners, strong training programs, and a steady trajectory of contributions to the field in both research and practice. With the objective of finding spaces of professional solidarity, discussion and support, a group of Latinx practitioners from 13 countries gathered during...

This article explores the embodied decision making model, an innovative method of skill-building and fostering sustainable practice in professional development and workplace wellbeing. Embodied decision making features a non-linear, dynamic process is used to identify body-based stressors, assess environmental factors and clarify needs and prioriti...

Dance is often overlooked in the peacebuilding literature and this essay seeks to address this omission. Rios and Acarón focus on the role of dances which form part of Afro-Colombian funerary ritual performed in the annual commemoration of the massacre of Bojayá, Colombia. As Rios and Acarón demonstrate, these dances have a striking impact on both...

This chapter provides an introduction to collaborative creative arts therapies practice with clients who identify as gender and sexually diverse identities. Its objective is to examine gender identity and sexual orientation in the context of interdisciplinary therapeutic work in a community-based setting in Scotland. The authors will particularly f...

Studying parallels between movement behaviour and violent actions can help understand interdisciplinary possibilities for prevention, intervention, mediation and post-conflict healing. This article explores the role of unconscious and conscious movement decision-making in violent/peaceful interactions. Thematic analysis of interviews was conducted...

How does the body shape space, and space shape bodies? This article proposes an interdisciplinary conceptual framework based on characteristics of interpersonal and intrapersonal negotiations of space. I discuss how “personal” spatial boundaries and “levels” of space are constituted, sculpted, impacted, and negotiated across realms of lived experie...

This article explores the potential for intermodal methods in person-centred supervision, focusing on the application of techniques from dance movement therapy (DMT) and psychodrama. The article proposes how specific structures combining psychodrama and DMT allow the supervisee to negotiate between proximity and distance, offering ways to hone in,...

This chapter explores whether the use of choreography, dance technique and performance in dance/movement psychotherapy (DMP) hinders or enhances the therapeutic process and how these modes of practice might impact the patient/client’s well-being. The therapeutic performance, as developed within a DMP context, is defined and described using examples...

Book Review: The Choreography of Resolution: Conflict, Movement and Neuroscience Editors: Michelle LeBaron, Carrie MacLeod and Andrew Floyer Acland Chicago: American Bar Association, 2013, 306 pages, $69.95 ISBN: 978-1-62722-137-5

Dance movement psychotherapy (DMP) in Scotland is a budding yet still emerging field, with new opportunities, as well as many challenges in its development. Similarly as other countries, Scotland dance movement psychotherapists have battled through: isolation of resources, funding challenges and the pressure of the process of national and cross-nat...

How does the body shape space, and space shape bodies in the face of violence? This paper proposes an interdisciplinary conceptual framework on characteristics of interpersonal and intrapersonal negotiations of space. I discuss how ‘personal’ spatial boundaries and ‘levels’ of space are constituted, sculpted, impacted and negotiated across realms o...

This paper outlines the potential for creative methods in supervisory practice, especially focusing on the application of techniques from dance/movement therapy (DMT) and psychodrama. Current models of creative supervision are outlined, as well as examples of models pertaining to psychodrama and DMT, with some models that illustrate potential cross...

‘Perspectives’ is a special feature included in this issue of the Journal of Creativity in Mental Health. It provides mental health professionals with an opportunity to discuss their positions on a variety of creativity-related topics. In this column, Thania Acarón, board-certified dance/movement therapist, dancer, educator, and curriculum designer...

(Traducción autorizada del artículo original por Claire Schmais en 1985 - American Journal of Dance Therapy, Volumen 8, 17-36). Este artículo evalúa la literatura sobre los factores curativos 1 en la terapia de grupo verbal y desarrolla una razón fundamental para los ocho procesos en la danza/movimiento terapia grupal: Sincronía, Expresión, Ritmo,...