Dance movement therapy is a psychotherapeutic approach using body movement as the primary medium for expression and transformation. Founded by pioneers such as Marian Chace and Mary Whitehouse, it draws on Laban Movement Analysis and embodiment neuroscience to address psychological, emotional and relational disorders.
Contact Improvisation, created by Steve Paxton in 1972, is an improvised dance form based on tactile listening, weight sharing and the point of contact between dancers. Used therapeutically, it addresses trust, body boundaries, letting go and relating to others, with specific applications for touch phobia, social isolation and motor disability.
Authentic Movement is a meditative and therapeutic practice of spontaneous movement developed by Mary Starks Whitehouse, Janet Adler and Joan Chodorow. Based on the relationship between a mover and a witness, it draws on Jungian psychology to explore the body unconscious and foster individuation.
Biodanza is a system of human integration developed by Rolando Toro Araneda in Chile in the 1960s. Based on music, movement and group encounter, it activates five lines of vivencia — vitality, sexuality, creativity, affectivity and transcendence — to strengthen identity, self-confidence and social connection.
Therapeutic body expression uses free movement, improvised dance and body schema work as tools for psychological transformation. Focused on process rather than performance, it helps restore body image, release emotional tensions and address eating disorders, depression and identity difficulties.