Clinical intervention using dance-movement psychotherapy for couples: qualitative research and clinical implications

Dance-movement psychotherapy for couples (DMP-C) provides the space to mentally process physical experiences in relationships. The objective of the research is to become familiar with how, in the therapeutic process, a combination of, and a transition from, verbal to experiential occurs. Fourteen couples participated in 12 sessions conducted by four therapists. The sessions were documented using video and in diaries. Three themes characterized the therapeutic intervention: (a) when the narrative is perforated–suggesting connections between action, sensation and emotion; (b) when the past is reconstructed in the present–naming of roles and their trans-generational implications manifest in the body; (c) when the conflict intensifies–instructions to look for a psychosomatic resource. The significance of the findings will be examined with respect to expanding the role of the therapist in work with embodied knowledge.