Year 1-2-3

Year 1 – Developing: In year one the focus is on development and growth, play, creativity, giving meaning to movement, dance in therapy, finding out about one’s own and the other’s (movement) preferences and values, exploring the body, different DT principles and methods, diversity issues, and critical reflection connecting it all, building up the enquiring mind and getting acquainted with mental health care institutions through regular fieldwork visits.
Classes take place every Friday, two Saturdays per month and three intensive weeks (Oct., Feb. and June/July). Fieldwork visits need to be scheduled individually on other days.

Year 2 – Connecting: Year two will focus more on practice; pathology and different client populations, treatment goals, observation skills, building up confidence and identity as a dance therapist, leadership styles and skills, and sharpening research skills. Students may begin an internship and will most likely continue this into the third year.
Classes take place every Friday, two Saturdays per month and three intensive weeks (Oct., Feb. and June/July). Internships take place on other days of the week.

Year 3 – Integrating: In year three the acquired and accumulated skills, knowledge and experience of the first two years will be further applied into the internship, and into the research project leading into a master’s thesis; the integration of it all.
No scheduled classes on Fridays in year three as students will have an individual route for internship and research. Dance therapy supervision and research labs are offered as a rule every three weeks on Saturdays.

Master

The Research modules, classes and labs,  and the research project leading to a master thesis offer professional tools for the dance therapy student at two levels: First, it generally contributes to an increased understanding of dance therapy. Second, it introduces enquiry, evaluation and research methods that help the DT practitioner to understand and develop practical approaches to treatment. Students learn how an enquiring approach adds value to the therapeutic profession. By seeking out information and developing evaluation skills students link therapeutic experience with theoretical knowledge and acquire the skills of a reflective practitioner.

After Graduation

The programme leads to a master’s diploma, MA Students emerge as critically engaged and enquiring dance therapists. This training enables them to make significant contributions to the further development of the field, both nationally and internationally. Dance therapists can be employed in public health services, social service agencies with crisis intervention programmes, day centres, prisons, special education and geriatric institutions, and in private practices. Dance therapists can work as artists and therapists combined in ‘arts for health’ projects, they can play an important role in prevention. And last but not least dance therapists also conduct research, publish articles and move on to a PhD degree.