FREE Webinar: Bringing the Body Back Into Recovery: Dance/Movement Therapy and Eating Disorder Treatment
In Partnership with the Sarah Lawrence College Dance/Movement Therapy Graduate Program, join BALANCE eating disorder treatment center™ Dance/Movement Therapist Danielle Levitine MS, BC-DMT, LCAT, CED-CAT, BALANCE Dance/Movement Therapy Intern Aliesha Bryan, and guest presenter Jennifer Sterling MS, R-DMT, LCAT-lp to learn how Dance/Movement Therapy can benefit eating disorder treatment.
DATE: Tuesday, February 16th
TIME: 5:30–7:00 pm EST
Eating disorders see no race, gender, age, sexuality, or socioeconomic status and do not express themselves in the same way. Dance/Movement Therapy (DMT) is a psychotherapeutic approach used in eating disorder treatment that allows all individuals and all bodies to connect in a meaningful and non-verbal way.
At BALANCE and as dance/movement therapists, we know that clients do not choose to have an eating disorder in the same way you can not choose whether you are a non-verbal communicator. Dance/movement therapy is utilized to foster a mind-body connection to further the social, cognitive, emotional, and physical experience of each member as well as the community it fosters.
Sometimes words cannot describe what we are seeing and experiencing in our world and we cannot control the way our bodies respond to our emotions. Whether you want to inhibit your impulses, change your body’s appearance, control when and why you express yourself, we ask that you be open to learning about how your relationship with your body never goes away.
Through a guided experiential, you will be able to identify challenges that interfere with connecting to your own body
If you are curious about deepening your relationship to your body or feel completely scared about how you would open up the conversation with your body, this introduction to dance/movement therapy could be your first step!
BENEFITS:
Learn why DMT is an effective therapeutic intervention for clients struggling with an eating disorder
Learn the benefits of incorporating DMT into eating disorder recovery
Discover how eating disorders are often overlooked in BIPOC
Understand the architecture of a dance/movement therapy session and how it is created
Explore the role oppression plays in the development of an eating disorder
Get a few tips on how to challenge detachment, dissociation, and disengagement when even thinking about connecting to your body
Build greater community and connection regardless of what you think your barriers are
MEET THE HOSTS
Danielle Levitine, MS, BC-DMT, LCAT, CED-CAT
BALANCE eating disorder treatment center™ Dance/Movement Therapist
Danielle Levitine is a Licensed Creative Arts Therapist and Board Certified Dance/Movement Therapist with over 10 years of experience working in the mental health field. Danielle received her undergraduate education in dance and psychology at the University of Maryland and went on to earn a Masters Degree in Creative Arts Therapies from Pratt Institute in New York where she specialized in Dance/Movement Therapy. She has worked with adults, adolescents, children and families, gaining comprehensive experience working specifically in the eating disorder field.
Jennifer Sterling, MS, CNS, R-DMT, SEP, LCAT
Dance/Movement Therapist
Jennifer is a graduate of the Dance/Movement Therapy Program at Sarah Lawrence College. She is a Registered Dance/Movement Therapist, Somatic Experiencing Practitioner, and the creator of Bodyful Healing, an initiative that offers support and resources to Black women living with depression and eating disorders. Having witnessed the adverse effects of oppressive systems on Black women in her community and through her own lived experience, Jennifer has made it her mission to help reduce the stigma around mental illness within Black communities, as well as educate others on the effects of oppression on Black women's bodies.
Aliesha Bryan
Sarah Lawrence College Dance/Movement Therapy Intern
Aliesha is a second-year graduate student at Sarah Lawrence College pursuing her Master of Science in Dance/Movement Therapy. Aliesha is a professional Flamenco dancer who has had the opportunity to perform live at venues and festivals here in the United States and internationally. As a Dance/Movement Therapist in training, Aliesha believes that the body is a repository of extraordinarily valuable information - often symbolic and potentially difficult to express in everyday language - but nonetheless vital to healing. She is currently working on her graduate thesis, which will explore new research in the area of continuous traumatic stress and dance/movement therapy interventions.