Layla Smith

It is a form of therapy that encourages self- expression, creativity and communication using the body. Within the context of a therapeutic relationship, it uses movement and verbal expression as a way of exploring and working through positive/negative emotional issues and unacknowledged feelings. Creative and spontaneous self-expression and the use of symbolism in the moment can help bring focus on body mind integration and promote healing. DMP engages people in an artistic and therapeutic process through which they can discover their own power to symbolise, organise and integrate important life experiences. DMP encourages the integration of physical, emotional, cognitive and social aspects of each individual.

The cost of a session is dependent on location, time of day and your financial circumstances.

Yes, but this is dependent on which course you study on, any course other than Roehampton is fine. The reason being; I teach at Roehampton on the 2nd year MA and clear boundaries need to be maintained in order not to mix dual roles.

Usually students have supervision from tutors at their place of study. If you are at a stage where you are running sessions and need to find your own external supervision then yes I can provide this for you.

Yes a sliding scale may be possible, please contact me to discuss.

Yes a sliding scale may be possible, please contact me to discuss.

At the moment movement psychotherapists are not affiliated with any private health insurance companies. The Association for Movement Psychotherapy UK (ADMP) is now in process of becoming registered with the UK Council for Psychotherapy (UKCP). Once this happens it will allow movement psychotherapy to be a covered therapy option within private health care insurance.

Usually a session involves a mixture of moving and talking and there is no prescribed amount. It may feel strange to imagine exploring movement in a therapy session initially but often can start to feel more comfortable after 3 -4 sessions in conjunction with developing trust in the therapeutic relationship with the therapist. Sometimes you may not feel not like moving at all and that is okay too. All movement no matter how small or large, breath support and the subtleties are of equal importance as is to remember there is no right or wrong way to move. I encourage everyone to work within their body limitations at all times and people with disabilities are most welcome.

This is a popular question with students who are in a Psychodynamic training. Even though my theoretical approach is Integrative with Humanistic Theory, a large part of my work over years has been within Psychodynamic settings like the NHS. Here I work with transference and counter-transference processes.

A Dance Movement Psychotherapy (DMP) session lasts 1 hour, a supervision session lasts 1 hour, an LMA session lasts 1 hour.
Group supervision sessions could last longer depending on number of participants.
Group DMP sessions last 1 hour.

My cancellation policy for Supervision and Dance Movement Psychotherapy sessions requires discussion of contract arranged between client and therapist.

"Laban Movement Analysis is a theoretical framework and language for describing any movement, from a conversational hand gesture to a complex action. Certified Movement Analysts (CMAs) can observe, analyze, interpret, and prescribe movement experiences in ways that:
1. value the uniqueness of an individual’s (or culture’s) movement patterns;
2. asses physical blocks and dysfunctional movement patterns;
3. guide the individual through expressive and functional changes."
(LIMS, 1994)

LMA can offer ways of understanding and deconstructing how people cope in their environments and in relationship to self and others.

Dance Movement Psychotherapists (DMP) use LMA to gain an understanding of themselves and other’s movement profiles. It is useful to have an understanding first of your own movement preferences before you work with other people. As a DMP I work with feelings that emerge from the client and what they evoke in me which can be referred to as a felt–level response. In embodied clinical practice, dance movement psychotherapist’s use LMA as a tool to stand back and observe movement from a critical stance. It is useful to stand back and quickly be able to break down what you see when working with clients.

Learning language to describe movement using Laban and Bartenieff’s themes and Effort Factors of Weight, Space, Time and Flow can be helpful in simplifying and deconstructing sometimes complex movement patterns enabling clarity of intervention within clinical practice.