During my time at the University of Northern British Columbia, I have learned that children do
not communicate through words because the speaking part of the brain takes time to fully
develop. When it comes to counselling children, actions, such as those from creative arts
therapies, can benefit children more than talking. Among these actions are dance movement
therapy interventions, some of which use proprioceptive, exteroceptive, and interoceptive
strategies. This project aims to give counsellors, particularly child and youth counsellors who are
new to dance movement therapy, a starting point for bringing dance movement therapy into their
work. It acts as a guidebook that explains the purpose of using dance movement therapy in a
counselling setting and how to do this safely. It lists specific interventions and the intentions
behind them, and it finishes with listing where to get further training.
