Creative Arts Therapies Theses

Date of Award

12-2013

Degree Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Art in Dance/Movement Therapy and Counseling (MA)

Department

Creative Arts Therapies

First Advisor

Kim Rothwell

Keywords

Dance therapy, Movement therapy, Self-perception -- Religious aspects

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to understand how dance/movement therapists, with BC-DMT or R-DMT credentials, acquire, foster, and perceive their own religious multicultural competence. The research question was how do dance/movement therapists develop religious multicultural competence? Through the methodology of a qualitative case study and the data collection method of a focus group, I examined the selfperception of each participant’s own religious multicultural competence. After I transcribed and analyzed the data, I uncovered several themes, highlighted in the Results section. Once the analysis was complete, I utilized the data analysis method of intuitive inquiry. Findings included a) a definition of multicultural competence, b) a reciprocal relationship between religious shifts and religious self-exploration c) a lack of religious training in the Columbia College Chicago Dance/Movement Therapy and Counseling program, and d) the shared experience of religious insensitivities. Ultimately, this study demonstrated the need to prioritize religious multicultural counseling training in dance/movement therapy curriculums to help novice counselors become better equipped to manage complex, diverse, and ethically sensitive religious experiences.

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