Co-leadership in Dance/Movement Therapy: An Art-based Literature Review

The co-leadership model is an unseen thread in the current picture of the field of dance movement therapy (DMT). Even if it’s deeply rooted in the development of the field, its significance for the current context of culture-informed and evidence-based practice is still under-investigated. This thesis sheds light on the importance of co-leadership in DMT through a historical review of the development of the field, the rationale of using co-leadership in DMT from neuroscientific, psychological and practical perspectives, and a synthesis of empirical studies on effectiveness of co-leadership in DMT. Co-leadership is a tradition in the field of DMT which prospered when second-generation therapists inherited the work from founders of the field. However, the tradition is vanishing as a single narrative unconsciously dominated the field. In this historic lens, the use of co-leadership is a method to honor the tradition and embrace multiculturalism in the field. Studies in neuroscience and psychology provide theoretical frameworks of how co-leadership strengthens the healing factors in DMT. The co-leadership model also solves practical issues that are commonly faced in DMT sessions. The art-based synthesis of empirical studies showed that the co-leadership model enhances the effectiveness of DMT in terms of providing a holding environment, developing meaningful interventions, and facilitating shared insights. The current thesis serves to advocate for more studies on the usage of co-leadership in the field of DMT. CO-LEADERSHIP IN DANCE/MOVEMENT THERAPY 3 Co-leadership in Dance/Movement Therapy: An Art-based Literature Review The concept of co-therapy was developed in the 1960s when two or more therapists were engaged to lead a group session (Hudson, 1995). In this setting, the therapy group adapted a leadership structure with at least two therapists partnered to facilitate the group (Okech & Kline, 2006). Today, co-therapy, which is also called co-joint therapy, is still widely used in family and group therapy, usually with a dyad of therapists in the session together. The shared leadership among therapists forms a special therapeutic relationship with the benefit of flexibility of roletaking, resources-supplementing or complementing, strengthening the containment of the session when hostility in the group exceeds the holding ability of a single therapist, and reducing blind spots through shared insight (Heilfron, 1969). The co-leadership model is widely used in dance/ movement therapy (DMT) groups as a basic structure for group settings as evidenced by a survey showing that ninety-eight percent of the respondent therapists had co-led DMT groups (Hudson, 1995). Co-leadership is also embedded in various DMT graduate-level programs as a primary pedagogical approach (Payne, 2002). Therapists in training reported the development of their clinical skills and professional relationship through co-leadership in DMT (Rice, 2016) and in cognitive therapy that engages other body-based methods (Chartier et al., 2010). How the coleadership model will benefit clinical practice in DMT is not yet fully understood through the lens of empirical evidence even though it is widely used in the field. An electronic search was performed in the database of American Journal of Dance Therapy (1977-2019), which is the official journal of the American Dance Therapy Association (ADTA), with final search completed by February 28 2020, using the keywords “co-therapy OR co-leadership OR co-led OR co-leader OR co-therapists” in title and abstract. After reviewing the full-text articles, the only study that directly focused on the topic of co-leadership was published in 1995 (Hudson). In CO-LEADERSHIP IN DANCE/MOVEMENT THERAPY 4 light of the advancement of research into the relationship between DMT and neuroscience (Berrol, 2006; Burzynska et al., 2017) and the rising awareness of diversity and inclusion in DMT (e.g. Carmichael, 2012; Chang, 2015, 2016), an investigation of the co-leadership model through these two lenses is warranted to discover new theoretical support. As the researcher for this project, my authenticity was introduced into this academic project through using my own multi-layered identity as a reference to construct the disclosure. The multiplicity of my own identity always serves as the founding block of my research. As a therapist with a multicultural background, co-leadership in DMT speaks well to two important principles in my culture of origin, which are connection of body-mind-spirit and collectivism. As connection of body-mind-spirit is one of the pillars for DMT (Chaiklin, 2009), my Eastern belief of the somatic nature of human beings built my faith in my current work. In collectivist culture, the group as a whole is highly valued, and wisdom and new knowledge is considered to be beyond the discovery or innovation of an individual (Michailova & Hutchings, 2006). In this sense, having two therapists contributing to the therapeutic work at the same place and time feels like a better holding environment. During my current internship at Boston Children’s Foundation, I experienced being a part of the holding environment created by co-leadership regardless of my role as the leader, co-leader or participant. This experience feels culturally familiar to me and has nurtured my self-growth during DMT training. This experience also informed me that using the co-leadership model may be culturally appropriate for either therapists or clients who share the same collectivism cultural background as me when the congruency of cognitive and bodily experience is considered to be beneficial in DMT (Koch & Fuchs, 2011). Beyond the argument regarding multicultural background, using a methodology which values both intellectual and experiential perspectives is also at the core of my ontological CO-LEADERSHIP IN DANCE/MOVEMENT THERAPY 5 lens. As a former cognitive neuroscientist, I rely on the newest scientific findings to inform my therapeutic practice. As a flamenco dancer, I honor embodied artwork and tacit knowledge. Through the movement exploration of empirical studies (Hervey, 2007), the current literature review shed light on the issue of how co-leadership benefits DMT practice pertaining to mental healthcare. The discourse starts with a brief historical review of the development of modern DMT, its multicultural/many-cultured origins, the current concern on multiculturalism in the field, and how the co-leadership model will serve as a call for attention to our roots and inspire culture-sensitive practice in future clinical work with further regard for diversity. Then, an insight-based synthesis of literatures is presented to support the rationale of using coleadership in DMT with evidence from neuroscience, cognitive science, and psychology. In the third part, systematic review was conducted on the effectiveness of the co-leadership model in DMT through a hybrid method that accommodates art-based inquiry in the widely used medical framework. This multi-perspective literature review, which includes historical, intellectual, intuitive, emotional, and spiritual perspectives, will systematically build the bridge between coleadership and DMT.