This webinar offers a perspective for understanding emotional communication through the body and provides practical dance and movement exercises to explore with children.
In this difficult time, many countries across the globe have put in place social distancing measures. We are collectively in survival mode and children can feel particularly vulnerable in this time of uncertainty. The schools and systems on which children rely for social connection are operating remotely. While there is little discussion around what our bodies need to feel safe and secure, the needs of our nervous system goes largely ignored in regards to the social, cultural and legal expectations surrounding risks to our health.
Children especially communicate their sense of safety through their bodies. To this point, this webinar will take a neurodevelopmentally-informed approach to examine this type of communication with children and to begin understanding how, through socially engaged movement experiences, we can support them in calming their nervous system and creating a sense of bodily safety. Christina Devereaux will draw upon Stephen Porges’ empirically supported research surrounding the neurophysiology of safety to examine the powerful role that dance and movement experiences can play in today's outstanding circumstances.
This event is presented by the National Centre for Dance Therapy and supported by the RBC Foundation. It is oriented to professionals, parents, educators, and therapists.
Duration: 1h webinar followed by a 30-minute Q&A period.
Platform: Zoom.
Language: the webinar will be presented in English.
Price: the event is free of charge but you will need to register to save your spot (we will accept a limited number of participants).
Dr. Devereaux is an associate clinical professor and program director for the Dance/Movement Therapy (DMT) and Counseling program at Drexel University (Philadelphia, USA). She served on faculty at the Pratt Institute (New York, USA) in the Department of Creative Arts Therapy and was program director for Dance/Movement Therapy at Antioch University New England (Keene, USA) in the Department of Applied Psychology. Internationally, she serves on the senior faculty of Inspirees, dance therapy training in China, Agape Belgium Academy, and Dance Therapy New Zealand. From 2011-2017, she was co-editor of the American Journal of Dance Therapy and was twice awarded the President's Award from the American Dance Therapy Association (ADTA) for her outstanding contributions to the profession (2008 and 2017). She has been featured on National Public Radio (NPR), CCTV, the largest television station in China, and as a presenter at the 2014 ADTA Talks series focusing on dance therapy and autism.
In addition to authoring many chapters and journal publications, she has a blog with Psychology Today ''Meaning in Motion: Dancing with the mind in mind''. Dr. Devereaux is a recognized scholar as well as national and international presenter specializing in dance therapy with attachment disorders, autism spectrum disorders, trauma, clinical supervision, mind-body integration, and embodied understanding of neurobiology.
