Healing through Dance/Movement Therapy

This Thing Called Movement

Welcome back, friends! It's Mental Health Awareness Month and today we're shedding light on dance/movement therapy. We had the pleasure to interview Erica Hornthal, CEO of Chicago Dance Therapy, the premiere dance/movement therapy practice in the Midwest. She has 10+ years as a board-certified dance/movement therapist and licensed clinical professional counselor. Known as “The Therapist Who Moves You,” Erica has truly changed the way people see movement with regard to mental health. She has worked with thousands of patients aged 3-107 and is passionate about bringing awareness to the field of dance/movement therapy to mainstream culture.

What we discuss

• Debunking dance/movement therapy and how it differs from other types of therapy, specifically talk therapy;
• The mind-body connection vs. mind-body communication;
• Being mindful of our relationship to exercise relative to our varying nervous system states;
• Learning how to "invite the body in" — into the conversation with ourselves, into the self-reflective/awareness space;
• How the need for our bodies to be "comfortable", "familiar", "safe" can actually keep us in unhealthy patterns, because we are unwilling to withstand discomfort in service of improving our well-being;
• Moving our bodies is the bottom-up approach we need to address imbalances with our mental & emotional health;
• Finally, Erica leads us through a few movement practices you can implement right away to tap into your mind-body connection and shift your energetic state!

Evolna resources

• Evolna's digital movement studio is live! Try our 14-day free trial + 20% off any subscription (code EVOLNA20);
• Evolna's website to learn more
• Follow us on IG @evolna_
• Our host's IG @mariejanicek

In this episode

• Book: The Body Keeps The Score, by Bessel Van der Kolk
• Rudolf Laban's Dimensional Scale

Get in touch with Erica

• IG @the.therapist.who.moves.you
• IG @dancetherapysummit
• Facebook: EricaHornthal

Thank you for tuning in! Please leave a review and share with those you think would enjoy listening :)