The DMT Institute - Polish Institute for Dance and Movement Psychotherapy leads the training that is a postgraduate programme based on the requirements of the Polish Psychotherapy Council for trainings in psychotherapy. Its aim is to prepare students for independent psychotherapeutic practice. The programme was established in cooperation with DMT tutors from Roehampton University and Goldsmith's University of London. Its main author is Penelope Best who for many years held the position of DMT Programme Convenor at Roehampton University.
Upon completing the programme students may apply for registration with the Polish Association for Dance and Movement Psychotherapy.
The 4-year programme consists of monthly Friday-Sunday sessions, over 9 months during the first three years and 6 months in the fourth year. In total the training consists of 33 sessions. In their first year of studies students will concentrate on developing dance/movement therapy skills, during the second year on group DMT with children and adolescents, during the third year on group DMT with adults. The fourth year will focus on working with individuals. Years 3 and 4 also focus on research methodology and supervision. After year 3 and 4 the students will be required to prepare and present a case study based on experience from their placement which will be the basis for their assessment.
The monthly sessions will last from Friday to Sunday. On Fridays students will take classes offered by Polish tutors. The subjects include general psychotherapeutic knowledge:
- Developmental Psychology
- Psychopathology (Child and Adult)
- Approaches to Psychotherapy
- Group Process Theories
- Diagnosis
as well as:
- Experiential Anatomy
- DMT history
- Authentic Movement
- Movement Observation and Analysis
- Group supervision
Application of all subjects taught to DMT is emphasised. Most of the classes are dedicated to working with various client populations, e.g. there is a weekend session on DMT with autistic children, DMT with patients with eating disorders, etc. Each weekend session consists of lectures, workshops, group process work, work in small study groups and group supervision. Students have the opportunity to get acquainted with:
- DMT theory,
- DMT practice - contracting, building therapeutic relationships, movement and verbal interventions
- Application of movement observation and analysis
The programme is based on experiential learning and requires the students' active involvement. In between sessions students will be assigned tasks, e.g. child movement observation and analysis. The training is designed to meet requirements set by UK training programmes, which are academic in character, students will therefore undergo an assessment procedure.
Over the 4 years of studies it is required that each student has:
- Clinical practice - starting with the second semester students will be expected to offer individual or group DMT sessions (first with children, then adults).
- Individual supervision of clinical practice (min. 40 hours)
- Personal therapy (min. 100 hours)
- Clinical placement (min. 360 hours) in institutions offering psychotherapy which enables contact with different client groups and offers the experience of being part of a therapeutic team.
In 2008 the Institute's DMT Training was affiliated with the Association for Dance Movement Therapy UK and accredited by the Polish Association for Dance Movement Psychotherapy.
