Finals!

Boy oh boy you'd think after 6 years of post secondary education I would be used to the madness that is finals. For some reason this semester seems to be worse than others. Between work, internship and final papers, I am very much ready for a break both mentally and physically.

Now mind you over that break I have a thesis to work on and an application for the college of registered psychotherapists of Ontario to complete but it will be wonderful just to be home.....and of course able to sleep once again!

As much work as finals are I have truly found them interesting this year and feel as though have helped me reflect on the work I have done all semester.

I will be spending 3 weeks in Canada with my family and boyfriend before returning to complete my last semester. For all those students reading this congratulations on surviving finals!

Mindful Movement Workshop

This past Sunday I attended a workshop held by Nancy Krieger, R-DMT, of the ADTA. This workshop was offered free to Lesley University students and I received a certificate of completion at the end. Why not go?!

It turned out to be a wonderful workshop that was focused on adapting dance and movement for children with special needs and how to adapt your teaching when there are multiple abilities in the same group.

We did a portion of moving ourselves and then discussed the theoretical underpinnings. 

I left with many new ideas to add to my toolbox and a whole new music playlist (this is one thing I always struggle to find...music!). 

Laban Institute for Movement Studies in New York

I know, I know, it's been a while since my last post. Things have been hectic down here to say the least. However some exciting things have happened including a trip to New York this past weekend.

Myself and my roommate went to the Big Apple for a workshop offered by the Laban Institute for Movement Studies (LIMS). Lesley University requires us to take an anatomy course as part of our degree. However given my background with anatomy I was able to take a weekend workshop instead and LIMS was recommended.

I have never been to New York before and let me tell you, it was something else! We gave ourselves Friday to explore the city. Lots of sight seeing was done through a hop on hop off tour bus. The class was all day Saturday and all day Sunday.

I can not speak highly enough about the teacher, Anastasi Siotas who was fabulous. He was extremely knowledgeable of the topic and tailored the content to our class. We only had four people in the class which made learning the material much easier. On the first day Anastasi asked us what we wanted to learn about and then scheduled the weekend to fit our needs. Although there was a lot of review, the way we discussed the material and were able to take it to a new level was great. The course is tailored for those with a movement background so instead of memorizing the muscles in the body we learned injury prevention and how they work for movers.

I would highly recommend checking out the school and if you are in the area and need to take an anatomy course, this is the place to do so!

www.limsonline.org

Myself in front of the skating rink at Rockefeller Center

Scheduling Self-Care

As I sit this morning waiting for my internship to start I am reminded again of the importance of self-care.

It is the second week in October and I am beginning to feel as though the semester is kicking my butt (have no fear, I have amazing support and know this will pass).

Sleep patterns have been disturbed and many classmates are getting sick.

Yesterday we had a guest lecturer in my supervision class, Robert Macy, who spoke of the burnout rate in new practioners.

What I took from that and from how I am feeling is that self-care can't just happen on the weekend or if you take a vacation. It needs to happen every day.

Goal for this week, do 5 minutes of self-care a day. Although this may not seem like a lot it is a realistic goal.

Body Paint Fun with Sheri Gundry

I've finally had a minute to sit down and process a wonderful experience I had this summer. A friend and colleague, Sheri Gundry (see link below), used her artistic abilities to turn my body into a canvas for her painting.

She body painted me over the course of a day and then we had a movement session where we tried to bring the piece alive even more. The artwork and photography are credited to Sheri Gundry with myself as the model. Please do not use any of the photos below unless given permission by the artist and model.

We hope to collaborate again soon!

http://www.reachingintoheaven.com/

Busy busy busy!

If the last couple of weeks have been any indication I have an inkling my posts may not be as frequent as last year.

Classes are well under way and that means the usual copious amounts of work. However some exciting news....in addition to courses and internship I am also working this year! I was offered a graduate assistantship position doing research with one of the professors at Lesley. I just met with the prof last week and think it will be an exciting project with a publication at the end with my name on it!

It will make it a busier year but I am just thrilled to be back into the throws of research. Speaking of research I think I have finally chosen a research topic for my own thesis. I had hoped to do a quantitative project but after discussing my schedule with my professor, I think a qualitative one is more realistic for this time. I'd like to look at the history of DMT in Canada but more specifically why it disappeared (the association dissolved as did the training programs) and why the push for it to come back in the last year. I think that this would give valuable insight on how to perhaps prevent it from disappearing again.

Stay tuned for progress on both research projects! I'm off to try and navigate my way through the process of getting a social security number and the large amount of paperwork that goes with it.

First Day of Classes

I have officially survived my first class of the year! Just finished Movement Observation II which continues to build on the Movement Observation I class from the Spring. The course is built on the Laban Movement Analysis framework and counts towards certification as a Laban analyst should I choose to go that route. So many extra certifications to consider getting!

Next up on the schedule is Assessments in Mental Health Counseling, where from the readings and syllabus we will be learning which assessments to use and how to evaluate them. Stay tuned for more on that! Tomorrow it is my Research and Evaluation class and Supervision class. My first day of internship is on Wednesday and just like that things are back in full swing.

I have finally registered for my anatomy and kinesiology workshop that I will completing at the Laban Institute of Movement Studies in New York. Glad I can finally cross that off my "To Do" list (registering for it has only been on there since May!).  It's the first weekend in November so something to look forward to. I have never been to New York and although there won't be much time for exploring I hope to at least see Central Park...maybe Times Square.

I best be off for now to make the possible topics for my thesis a bit more concrete before class tomorrow!

End of Summer

Hello loyal readers!

Hope you enjoyed your summers, it certainly went by fast. I was fortunate enough to return to Canada for almost 7 weeks and was able to enjoy lots of family time including a week at a cottage.

I realized over this time that I was home how much inspiration I receive from nature. It was during the silent moments of sitting on the dock at the lake watching the stillness of the water, the sun rising and setting or just watching the family of loons and ducks go about their days that I felt grounded in time. I had images come to me and movement choirs erupt within.

Again today I ventured out into a outdoor museum and it was walking through the grass that I couldn't help but dance!

Classes and internship start next week for me so I am taking the long weekend to settle into my new apartment and then getting myself geared up for what lay ahead this year.

Only 9 months left until I will be graduating and returning to Canada...but who's counting?!

Wild Geese by Mary Oliver

This poem seems to be a re-occurring theme in my life right now so thought I'd share.
Taken from her collection of poems entitled "Wild Geese"

Wild Geese

You do not have to be good.

You do not have to walk on your knees

For a hundred miles through the desert, repenting.

You only have to let the soft animal of your body

love what it loves.

Tell me about your despair, yours, and I will tell you mine.

Meanwhile the world goes on.

Meanwhile the sun and the clear pebbles of the rain

are moving across the landscapes,

over the prairies and the deep trees,

the mountains and the rivers.

Meanwhile the wild geese, high in the clean blue air,

are heading home again.

Whoever you are, no matter how lonely,

the world offers itself to your imagination,

calls to you like the wild geese, harsh and exciting --

over and over announcing your place

in the family of things.

by Mary Oliver

More Certification?

I just had my last weekend for my Body-Oriented Psychotherapy class. I am still as much in love with Bioenergetic work as I was after the first weekend.

I started looking into becoming certified in it once I return to Canada. Funny thing is that none of the association's in Canada have contact emails that actually work. All my emails seem to keep bouncing back to me. My professor recommended reaching out to the international association which I did today and hopefully I hear back from them soon as to how to reach someone in Canada.

I think that it may be something I would like to do once I am working in the field and can integrate it into my work once I have established my own style within the DMT framework.

I feel as doors are just starting to be opened and I am beginning to realize how many options there are in this line of work! Exciting things on the horizon!

Standards and Ethics

If I'm being honest, I walked into this weekend intensive dreading it and thinking this topic was going to be a dry one. Boy was I wrong! The professor is amazing and is really able to keep us engaged as a class. She incorporated a lot of experientials which was nice and broke up the material.

I'd like to say a lot of this course is common sense; confidentiality, misconduct, code of ethics etc. However, I am realizing how many grey areas there are and how it is hard to make blanket statements as every situation and client will be different.

It has also been interesting to reflect on questions such as
- Are there any populations you would not be able to work with?
-What/Are there any personal values that may prevent you from providing the best care for your client?
- What happens when the law and your association's code of ethics say different things? Which do you follow?

This course has allowed me to realize that it's not all common sense and realistically, I (and probably you) at some point will make mistakes. Supervision is so incredibly important for new professionals and is a process that continues to be throughout one's career.

After learning about the laws for the U.S. I am already starting to think of where I could do a refresher course in Canada once I return after graduation and what associations I want to be a member of and code of ethics I want to follow apart from the American Dance Therapy Association.

Processing with Art

Part of my processing from last week

Please do not use any of these images without permission. Artwork and photos credited to myself.

Let the summer begin...sort of!

Well it's been over a month since my last post. Three of those weeks I was back home in Canada on "vacation" which really means I'm just as busy there as I am when I'm in school. Just a different kind of busy, less stressful!

Summer classes started last week so I am already back to the grind. Last week I had Group Process in DMT which was a week long intensive class. The professor was amazing and although it was a draining week, I learned a lot about myself and how I am in groups as a member, witness and a leader.

This past weekend I had my first of two weekends for the course Body Oriented Psychotherapy. Wow was my mind blown in that course! I was expecting it to be similar to dance therapy and I was very wrong. It's a completely different field, using touch mostly, based in psychoanalysis and I have fallen in love with it. The professor is amazing and in two weeks when we meet for our last weekend together I plan on finding out how I can become certified in this work!

This upcoming weekend I have my first weekend of Standards and Ethics which I think will be a heavy course full of rich discussions. Already have a couple of assignments due the first class on Friday which I am trying to work my way through. I think after the week intensive followed by the weekend intensive my mind is resistant to getting work done.

Instead I have been catching up with friends, knocking things off my "To-Do" list and trying to get back into my Pilates workout routine (and trying to find a new place to live!). Don't get me wrong, I have been doing some work obviously but it's hard to give it my full attention when the sun is shining and technically it should be summer break.

I am noticing that I have been finding it hard to devote as much time as I would like to this blog and am finding some blocks when I do go to write. Any feedback from the readers?

Finals

Yikes! It's been a while since my last post but school has been busy to say the least. Stress levels have been high resulting in me catching a lovely virus (and having to pay $20 to go to the doctor, still can't get used to the having to pay for health care thing). Finally starting to feel back to normal, well normal with allergies, just in time for the last week of classes.

I presented a duet with a classmate this morning and just finished writing my final for my psychopathology class. As part of the final I just completed I had to pick a memoir to read from someone who had/has suffered from mental illness (who hasn't to some degree?!). I chose My Stroke of Insight by Jill Taylor.
For those of you who have not read this book, I strongly suggest adding it to your "To Read" list. It is a shorter book and although there is some terminology involved the book, she included diagrams and her aim is to reach the masses by keeping it "user-friendly". She shares her experience of going through a stroke and how it has changed her life. She suggests what is helpful and what maybe isn't so much when working with someone who has suffered a stroke. I won't share too much so you can enjoy the read for yourselves!

Bobby Orr and Laban Movement Analysis

With the end of term approaching there are many final papers, projects and presentations in the works for the next 3 weeks. If you haven't already noticed my posts will probably become less frequent as I try to navigate the end of my first year in graduate school, yay!

In the meantime I wanted to share with you my meshing of something I'm learning in classes to something I'm big on, hockey! For my movement observation class' final project I had to write a paper and analyze movement around some activity I enjoy. Somehow I ended up on hockey, yes very stereotypical that the Canadian in the program picks hockey. So who else do I pick but Bobby Orr with whom I share the privilege of calling Parry Sound, ON home. Specifically I chose to analyze his 1970 Stanley Cup winning goal (pictured below). (Shout out here to my Uncle who is a big hockey fan, I now can say I know hockey facts!).

I just finished presenting my project to the class and it ended up taking twice the time I thought because I had to explain how hockey is played to my classmates and teacher. All in all the project was a success and I really got into this project of applying skills I am learning to "everyday life". It also gave me a chance to connect with home while thinking about how else Laban movement analysis can be applied outside the classroom setting.

Photo from www.bobbyorrhalloffame.com

Internship Secured for Next Year

I have secured an internship for next year! One major thing crossed off my "To Do" list. I will be interning at a threshold program for adults with learning disabilities. I will have the opportunity to intern alongside an art therapist which I am very much looking forward to. Although I had been hoping to gain experience working with children, I think this site has so much to offer an am very much looking forward to being part of their team next year.

I wish there were more programs like this in Canada!

Oldest Dance Videos in Existence

If any of you folks are on Facebook you may have already seen this amazing news. The New York Public Library has just announced their release of oldest dance videos in existence. I've been able to catch a few moments of the videos but haven't had time yet to sit and watch as many as I would like or even see what all they have.

I've included in the post an article that has been circulating via Facebook with regards to this and the direct link to the New York Public Library's page. Enjoy!

 Facebook Article

New York Public Library 

Post NEADTA Conference

Although it is 2 days later I am still trying to process everything I took in on Saturday at the conference. The keynote speaker, Dr. Robert Macy, was inspiring and led the attendees through several tribal dances as part of his presentation. The day was filled with new knowledge, knowledge that challenged pre-existing knowledge and of course dancing!

The piece I was a part of opened up the conference and resulted in the dance party you see pictured below (photo courtesy of Jessica Sorentino). Students, alumni and faculty from Lesley University, low-residency and on-campus programs and Antioch University represented some of the attendees at the conference. The day was rounded out by several performances from students at the end of the day, allowing us to leave moved by their pieces and ready to go home to try to begin processing the day. Next year the conference will be held in New Hampshire at Antioch University with the national conference sometime in October. Until then continue to move and inspire!

NEADTA Conference

Getting excited for the NEADTA conference that Lesley is hosting tomorrow! It will be a full day, including a performance which I will be part of, but a great day. I managed to get signed up for two workshops; "Valuing Nuance: Expanding Expressive Repertoire in Multiply Handicapped Adults" and " Mindfulness in Motion: Using Mind/Body Awareness to Transform Movement Expression and Nurture Connection". Both sound interesting and can't wait for the day to arrive, stay tuned for the post conference report!

Introducing the Upsee

I came across this article the other day and was blown away by this invention. I couldn't resist sharing it with you folks. I can see how wonderful this invention is and the potential for its use by DMTs in the future.

Upsee Harness

Fathers Support Groups

This week I am working on a group project for my Theories of Dance/Movement Therapy II course. The project was to pick a family member of a child with multiple handicaps and design six therapy sessions to be used with this client.

Our group chose to do a fathers only support group as we believe they are under researched and thought it would be interesting to learn more. So far we have identified potential issues that fathers with children with multiple handicaps face such as feeling isolated from their friends and family.

It has been an interesting challenge trying to devise movement interventions for a group of males. The challenge comes from creating a safe space and having movements that the men may feel more comfortable with if this is their first experience with movement. However our group has risen to the challenge and we are coming up with some really great ideas.

We still have to continue doing some research on the topic before presenting next week. It's nice to be able to have some choice in what our projects are on so that we can really find one that we find interesting and can then get more out of the assignment! Stay tuned for how the presentation goes!

Summer Classes

Talk about time moving along quickly! The time to register for summer classes snuck up on me and I just received an email about Fall registration coming up on April 1!

As I am doing the program here at Lesley in two years, I do have to take three courses over the summer. Luckily, they won't take over my whole summer but only June and part of July. The summer courses are only offered in week long or weekend intensives which will make them a bit...intense.

I successfully registered for Standards and Ethics, Group Process in Dance/Movement Therapy and then had to decide between Yoga and Therapeutic Touch or Body Oriented Psychotherapy. I decided on the latter as I really enjoy the professor who is teaching it and let's face it, as many times as I have said I would like to try Yoga I haven't found the time to do so.

It's going to be a busy summer!

Judith Jamison

Before I took off back to Canada for Spring Break, I had the honour of attending a talk by Judith Jamison here at Lesley University.

For those of you who aren't familiar with her name, Judith Jamison is a renowned American dancer who, I would say, is most famous for her performance career with Alvin Ailey Dance Theater. Her debut was when she performed "Cry" choreographed specifically for her to perform by Alvin Ailey as a birthday gift to his mother which he dedicated to all black women.

Judith Jamison moved on to choreograph and become the Artistic Director of Alvin Ailey and now holds the position of Artistic Director Emerita.

She was a fabulous speaker with her loving spirit and passion for dance being quite obvious to the audience. Being able to be in her presence is an experience that I will never forget.

Judith Jamison Bio from Alvin Ailey

Judith Jamison at Lesley University

The Parachute

Back from Spring Break and ready to blog again!

I tried something new for me at my internship this week. I have been comfortable using props before in my sessions but have only ever explored the use of balloons, scarves and more recently an octaband. This week I brought in a 12-foot parachute I was given.

Boy was I surprised by the reaction I got! I was hesitant to try the parachute as the more modern version, the octaband, wasn't a big hit in the fall with this group. The seniors I have worked with in the past respond the most to the use of balloons. They enjoy the bright colours and finding new uses for an old toy that also allows them to share stories from their past that have involved balloons. 

When this group's curiosity prompted them to ask what was in my bag and I replied with a parachute, I got a few "well that's interesting" and "a parachute!". I had decided that in honour of St. Patrick's Day, that had fallen earlier in the week, I would put on some music from Lord of the Dance and we would move the parachute to the music. My professor had done this at Perkins earlier in the week with the children and it had engaged some with others not showing interest. I thought I would try it at my site to see if I had a different experience with an older group.

When the time came I pulled it out from the bag and the group was full of joy about the colours in the parachute and how cheerful it was. As we began to play with it, smiles emerged with laughter close behind.

I expanded on how I had seen it used earlier in the week and began forming relationships within the circle by lifting the parachute above our heads and waving to the person across from us. It then turned into a bit of game to see how many people you could wave to before the parachute fell down. I was able to engage everyone in the group!

The group requested I bring it in again in the near future....I think it's safe to say that it was a success!

Psychopathology

I have to say this course has completely taken me by surprise. When I received the syllabus over Christmas break and saw that we would be tackling the DSM-5 in one term, I immediately groaned and thought this course would be the end of me.

Although it is an intense course, it is one of my favourites thus far. I just finished my first assignment where we had to examine two case studies and write up the client's history,symptomology, differential diagnosis and then our final diagnosis while using clinical language. I loved it!

Yes the DSM is intimidating but the more I flip through it the more comfortable I am becoming with it and being able to know what symptoms fall under what categories etc. We have a couple case study textbooks for the course and it is helping immensely to be able to read examples of how a disorder could, maybe present itself. (I say could, maybe because of that disclaimer that no client is the same and no disorder presents itself the same in in two clients).

This course is reinforcing why I chose Lesley's program, because not only do I get my DMT education but also can become a licensed mental health counselor (LMHC). I realize now that it was this balance that I was missing at ISIS last year and is one of the reasons why I am enjoying this program!

Inspiring Video to Reflect On

This past week I attended a movie viewing at the university. The movie was entitled "Girl Rising" and was being viewed in honour of Gender and Sexual Awareness Week at Lesley University.
After receiving the email about the event I thought the film sounded interesting but I would be at my internship site all day so I was not sure if I would have the energy to go. All day I debated going and finally decided to go while on my way home.

I am so glad I did. This is a film that will stay with me forever. The girls whose stories were told were inspiring and allowed me to be reminded of how lucky I am to have this opportunity of studying DMT. It was what I needed this week.

Reflecting back on the film now I am trying to relate the content to my Power, Privilege and Oppression class from last term. How does culture affect a community's views on education? How can we as practitioners be sensitive to a client's culture and the resistance they may be coming up against while seeking an education, while supporting them through this fight?

Check out the website below for information on the project and film.

http://girlrising.com/

School for the Blind

This week we started at a school for the blind for my theories class. Last week we had a tour of the facility and this week we began running our groups.

This is my first experience working with children and DMT and I think it will expand my knowledge of myself as a practitioner and as a mover. The school is fantastic and I have already learned about CHARGE syndrome which is a new disability for me to read up on.

I am brushing up on my sign language although this experience will solidify my ability to communicate relying solely on my body and its movements. Most of the children have multiple disabilities including but not limited to cerebral palsy, CHARGE syndrome, blindness and deafness. For some their only way of communicating is through movement and each child has their own unique language for us to learn.

Fran Levy

One of the required readings for my Supervision course this term is the book entitled "Dance and Other Expressive Therapies: When Words Are Not Enough" edited by Fran Levy. This book has been fascinating to read so far with the chapters being short enough not to overwhelm but still giving enough information and case studies to keep my interest.

The chapters are each devoted to DMT with a specific population such as battered women, anxiety and chemical addiction to only name a few. I think this will be a book that I return to time and time again when I work with a client from these populations.

Business Cards

Yay! Finally got my business cards in the mail today for networking and I think they turned out great. I ordered them through vistaprint.com.

Spring Classes

Well I have survived the first week back and am getting my head back into the school mindset. I have now had 3/4 classes once and so far I think it will be another really interesting term. Quite a bit of work as can be expected but lots of freedom in choosing topics to discuss and research which will be great.

The classes for this term are DMT Theories and Practice II, Body/Movement Observation and Assessment I, Psychopathology and Clinical Practice and DMT Supervision. For my theories class we will be at a school for the blind all semester working with a child one on one with DMT. This is the one class I have not had yet as last Monday was a holiday here. I think it will be rewarding working at the school however this will be my first time working with children in a DMT context. Psychopathology I think will take the cake this term as I have found myself wanting a more clinical course which this is proving to be...DSM-5 is one of the many texts for the course.

I am in the midst of applying for second year internship sites which has been a daunting task. I am hoping to be at a site working with children and also hoping for a clinical setting. For our second year site we will be under the supervision of a BC-DMT on-site whom I am looking forward to be working with and gaining feedback from.

This term will be busy and a lot of hard work but I will be one step closer to being a DMT! I leave you with a quote from Martha Graham that I came across on Pinterest...

Short and Sweet

As I begin to switch back into school mode and try to get a head start on readings I came across this video and blog. I plan on having a better read over the blog when I have time but for now thought I'd share this video and hope that you enjoy!

DMT: Greater Than the Sum

New Year, New Term

Since I last wrote, my first term of training to be a DMT has ended (with straight As I may add) and I had an amazing 4 week break back in Canada.

Now as I sit at the boarding gate I have already begun my "To Do" list for when I arrive back in Cambridge.

The syllabi are posted and it looks like another busy but interesting term ahead.

Saying goodbye is always hard to do but knowing I am attending one of the best training programs for DMT and that it is where I am supposed to be is comforting.

Here's to 2014!